Jul 12, 2024
RAAm Day One continuedStill I believe going conservative was helpful to keep power as expected. I made it perfectly fine through the mountains in California. Also did the so named Glass Elevator a bit more careful this year. Last year almost had a collision with a Fedex truck and was not willing to take unnecessary risks. Switched bikes to TT bike shortly after Christmas Circle. The idea was good but could have waited a bit longer to avoid the minor climbing at first 5-10 miles after that. Still was happy with handling on the TT bike. Went great into second day but admit heat was something special. Many say its dry heat and not too bad ... I disagree .. dry heat has some ad side effects since we do not feel like we should drink. So I ask the crew to remind me every 15 minutes to keep drinking. As annoying those reminders have been to me. Also crew started to cool me down a bit. So that was great. Did ok distance for first 24 hours and cannot really complain. Crew start getting a feeling of it during night direct follow and daytime leapfrogging. Would I do it different on next attempt? Maybe ... hard to tell since it was to some degree a successful start and I was able to stick with my initial plan. https://youtu.be/79xcTqfSMzs
Jul 12, 2024
RAAM Solo 2024 Day One It's funny ... some even ask why the heck do you do this again while knowing the pain and how tough the race is? RAAM Solo was on my bucket list and I had to get this one completed. Plus I wanted to show that if focused and dedicated to such a goal that as long as having an outstanding crew and being fully focused on the goal it is doable even not being long into Cycling at all. So after another year of preparation I am back at the start location in Oceanside CA again. And I had the feeling I will get this one done. Strategy was a bit different to 2023 ... I had a solid nutrition plan and also ... 2023 I pushed harder on day one while on 2024 race I decided to go a bit more conservative. Mhhh, however we do it it's never perfect 😂. Going conservative caused me some more issues on the road since I had to suffer heat a bit longer and did get into sand/dust storms that may have been avoidable if going a bit faster on first days.
Jul 10, 2024
Could bot resist and had to get the RAAM logo as tattoo after finishing Solo RAAM.
Jul 08, 2024
Why racing RAAM? Or maybe why even another attempt to race RAAM Solo? For those not knowing… I start cycling in 2020 only as easy workout option. My first ultra distance race was Sebring 2022 and I did better than I expected (3rd overall and 440 miles). With that I qualified for RAAM and signed up with zero idea what RAAM was about. Since I signed up and learned about RAAM I decided to push for the finish line. Increased training for endurance and power improvements. First RAAM attempt and first ultra cycling season was 2023. Unfortunately had food poisoning kick me out so I only did a bit over 2100 miles and signed ip for 2024. Changed training and focused on completing RAAM this year as top goal.
Jul 05, 2024
Impressive summary from one of my crew members Dave to show what it means supporting a racer in the ultimate race RAAM.
