Some earlier upates from Jeff Bauer

Another call from Gary Carter. They've just passed time station
#33 in Washington, MO. There's a big steep climb ahead, then
more flat riding for a while. Last night Kevin was climbing
the rollers well in the big chainring. The crew's current
goal is to have Kevin bank about 24 hours (he's about 22+
now) before the really tough climbs ahead in WV, PA, MD.
His mood changes inversely with the temperature, but once
he crosses the Mississippi, the next time station, he has
less than 1000 miles to go. It's all relative, right?
But as many RAAM veterans state, the race doesn't really
start until you've crossed the Mississippi.

The crew will attempt to find a motel and have Kevin
shower and sleep around 2pm today, possibly sending me
photos to forward if they have time and wifi available.

Kevin has temporarily moved to 5th place(!). I say temporarily
because it appears Jim Rees probably sleep during the last
section and Kevin will have to sleep sometime today. Regardless,
he's got a good shot at being the first American to finish
this year, and, with a little help from cooler temps maybe even
take a 5th place position before this race is over.

I will lead a Pancake ride this Sunday wearing my RAAM jersey
for the first time ever in Kevin's honor. Go Kevin!

--
Jeff Bauer
Nashville, Tennessee

Sorry for the lack of coverage

Hey everyone! Thanks for all your comments. We are printing them off and reading them to Kevin on the road. We have had very limited internet access and just trying to keep his motor running. We'll try to update this site more as we get closer to Annapolis and we'll work on finding hotels with computer access. 

 

He had an awesome day and Kevin is still the top rookie and top American in RAAM 2009. We crossed the Mississippi River around 3:15. In ultra racing this is considered where the race begins. Kevin is excited about his current place in the race and crunching numbers in his head throughout the day. For a guy that was worried about making the Taos cutoff he has turn things around and cranking the big ring across the USA. He went down for a couple of sleep and a big meal and was back on the bike around 6 or 7 en route to Greenville, IL. 

 

If you get a chance take a look at www.raceacrossamerica.org and especially the solo blog they have on there. Click through the pages and they have a really cool article titled 'Kaiser passes Rees'. To see the stats click on the racers link and click on the live coverage leaderboard.

 

Troy-crew

Twas the Night Before RAAM

We passed inspection this afternoon and that is the first hurdle to
get over. After being a part of RAAM several years ago I know how
tough the officials can be and safety is the biggest concern. The 3
Cannondale rocket ships are good to go and ready to have the motor
(Kevin) mounted for takeoff! The women solo racers took off at noon
along with one male 60+ racer; their accomplishments were quite
impressive and we hope they have a safe night out on the road. We
spent the rest of the afternoon hanging around at the Oceanside Pier,
getting some last minute supplies, and having a few beers since we
will not be able to sip on the hoppy goodness until we make it to
Annapolis. Please keep up with us, leave messages (especially for
Kevin), and we will pass on your words of encouragement.

Troy-crew

RAAM is near

Saturday I got to preview about 45 tough miles of the RAAM start.
Gary and I rode up and past Lake Henshaw (the first time station on
RAAM). After climbing to about 4,000 feet, we descended the Glass
Elevator into the desert. The descent was a very challenging and
scary 11 miles. I hit 50mph without any effort, but then got hit with
some serious cross winds that forced me to slow down to 30mph.
Because I'm a light guy, the unexpected wind gusts had me working
almost as hard going down as I was going up. When we finally reached
the bottom the desert temperatures were probably about 15-20 degrees
higher than up top. I'm going to have to find a way to survive 300
miles of these desert temps. Blythe is predicted to reach 105 degrees
on Wednesday.

David Bundrick and Mike Miller arrived yesterday. We went
through registration, got our vehicles ready for inspection, and did
some easy riding. I think I'd be pretty excited right now if I didn't
have such a big ride ahead of me. I have some confidence that I can
do well if I can just get through day two without incident.

Today Chuck Garwood has arrived, and I believe that Phil Cohen
and Troy are here as well. They'll meet us at the rider's meeting in
a couple hours. I'll be a little out of place on the same stage
tonight with riders like Robic, Baloh, and Gulewicz.

We've got the rental vehicles set to go and we'll do a grocery
and laundry run soon. Tomorrow we have inspections and photos, and
the women will depart at noon. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see a
few of them again before the race ends.

In my down time before the race, I've been tracking the progress
of riders on the Shenandoah 1200k. Gator Cochran picked a tough ride
for his first 1200k, but it looks like he and Ian have finished
successfully. Congratulations!

Kevin

Getting to the Start

After some weather delays, Chris and I flew to San Diego last
night and arrived around midnight. Gary Carter spent some long days
on the road driving the pace van (from Georgia) and he was there to
pick us up from the airport. We're getting some maintenance done on
the van now and hope to do some riding this afternoon. The plan today
will be to drive up the RAAM route to about mile 30 or 40, do some
climbing in the heat, and then descend the Glass Elevator into the
desert. It will be a short ride, but should remind me of what to
expect on day one of RAAM.

I'm starting to get excited. However, I haven't decided how much
I should try to focus on the task ahead of me. The more I think about
it the more nervous I get.

Kevin

Counting the hours....

My name is Mike Miller and I am a member of Kevin’s support crew for RAAM 2009.  One of my jobs during RAAM will be to post progress reports and news to the blog as Kevin makes his way across America.

 

I feel very fortunate to be a part of this event and to be part of Kevin’s team, and I am very proud of what Kevin has accomplished.  I know all of his friends and supports will be even prouder when he crosses the finish line in Atlantic City.

 

Go Kevin!

 

Mike

 

T minus 10 days

I haven't ridden enough miles, I haven't been fast enough, and I'm mentally weak. All that said, I'm probably about as ready as I'm ever going to be for the start of RAAM. Perhaps I reached my peak fitness a little early this year, but I've kept up enough to remain in good shape. Realistically, I don't think I'll ever be much stronger on the bike. Now I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm not a rabbit, never will be, and need to ride like a tortoise. I'm hoping that all the long hours I'm spending at work this week will take my mind off the task at hand and help me relax.

I'll drop off the pace van with Gary Monday or Tuesday and I'll be flying to California on Friday. We're mostly packed and ready and I think everyone is starting to get excited. The plan will be to keep this blog updated about every 8 hours during the race, so we'll see how that goes.

Kevin