Following RAAM: Let Me Count the Ways

Who thought following RAAM would be like watching paint dry? This is one exciting race and there are many ways to keep track of the action! The intrepid RAAM media crew is posting frequent updates to the blogs hosted on the RAAM web site. These updates include short video clips as well as blog posts and photos. In addition, endurance cycling fans with shorter attention spans can follow the frequent tweets from the official "RAAMrace" Twitter feed. Individual riders and teams are also posting updates on their personal web sites and blogs and sending out email blasts through Google groups set up for the occasion.

Just after the halfway point in the race, four-time RAAM winner Jure Robic continues to ride strong and maintains a healthy lead over second place rider and 2006 RAAM winner Dani Wyss. It is not a very big lead, though and with Wyss is riding stronger than predicted, he continues to give Robic a run for his money. An upset victory for Wyss is not out of the question. Austrian Gerhard Gulewics, who crashed out last year, is riding very well in third position. Slovenian Marko Baloh is currently in fourth. Rookie Christoph Strasser from Austria, who was riding in the top group for most of the first 1000 miles, took a DNF at mile 1471 for medical reasons. These amazing riders have maintained a high level of competition in the front of the pack.

There has also been serious movement in the "back" of the field. With nine male racers having DNFed, solo rookie Kevin Kaiser has been climbing his way up from last position (where he was breifly due to several DNFs) to 6th. His pace has increased and he seams to be getting stronger with each mile. Kevin is currently the top US rider and it is not out of the question for him to finish in the top 5. Kevin rode RAAM 2008 on the two-person team Gran Fondo Fixie team with Jeff Bauer who is now a member of Kaiser's crew. You can learn more about Kevin (and make donations to his RAAM fund) at http://www.kaisercycling.com/.

The other amazing story of RAAM 2009 is the Great Grand PAC Masters, a four person team with an average age of 75! Riders Lew Meyer, Lee Mitchell, Robert Kash and Chris Stauffer have maintained an unbelieveable average speed of 15.6 up to mile 2105. UMCA Director John Hughes is serving as Crew Chief.

I rode with Lew Meyer on my first 400K in 2007. He is an wonderful guy and an amazing cyclist. Over the course of the day, he shared a wealth of information about training and equipment and I listened in awe to his stories of PBP and the Fireweed 400. More memorable, though, is what a strong cyclist Lew is. I remember fading a bit, having never ridden a 400K before, and having Lew lean over to say, "just get behind me and I'll pull for a while." I mean this guy was 73 years old and he was pulling me all over creation. Respect!

So there is no excuse. With plenty of ways to follow the action, dial in an update today and see what these superhuman cyclists are up to. The first finishers will pull into Annapolis some time on Thursday.

The UMCA Year-Rounder Challenge

Act now! It’s not too late to join the 2009 UMCA Year-Rounder Challenge. Each year, ultra-cyclists from around the world submit long distance rides (anything over 100 miles will do) as part of a global mileage challenge. AnyUMCA member can participate after paying a $10 fee for medals (sound familiar fellow randonneurs?). Participants also receive bi-weekly email newsletters from program coordinator John Lee Ellis with stories from the road and results.

Participants may submit miles ridden on both "organized" and "personal" rides. “Personal” miles are send in by mail along with a simple form and proof of passage (receipts, etc.), but specific routes and distances need not be approved by UMCA. Any route will do. Ride results from “organized” rides, such as brevets and ultra races, can be submitted on-line. Riders can even apply one indoor “century” (6 hour) ride per month, which is a great help to those of us riding in northern latitudes.

The program awards achievement by in several categories. The Larry Schwartz Award is presented to cyclists who ride at least one century ride per month over the course of 12 months. Make-up miles are transferable for two months only, so March is the last month in the year to begin. Other awards include the Gold Award, given to cyclists who ride more than 3,000 miles during the year and the Platinum Award, for riders who log more than 5,000 annual miles. Now, these are not total yearly miles, but rather miles derived from rides over 100 miles in length.

For me, the Y-R Challenge is another way to stay motivated throughout the year and perhaps pedal a few extra miles from time to time. It also provides me with a link to other cyclists who log, what may be long, lonely miles in far corners of the world. Looking at the riders with the top mileage results is also truly inspiring. In 2008, Canadian randonneur Ken Bonner, for example, logged over 17,000 miles!!! Shellene Foster rode over 11,000, Dan Driscoll over 10, 000. Where do these folks find the time?!?

Last year I participated in the Y-R Challenge for the first time and reached my goal by achieving the Larry Schwartz Award. This year, I’m after “Gold.” With L-E-L this summer and several other long rides planned, it should fall into place nicely. (Knock wood . . . ) So register today while there’s still time!