As I begin to draft my race report for RAAM I just wanted to throw this little display picture of all the stuff I thought I would need.

Accelerade and Endurox savings

Hey I just wanted to pass on some savings to you my friends, clients and anyone that reads my blog.

I used Accelerade as my primary fuel during Race Across America. I used a less concentrated mix during the really hot times so that I could get more hydration and then at night used a heavier concentration to catch up on calories. I always felt well fueled. Remember protein is essential in longer endurance events to continue to produce more glycogen. I also used Endurox as my recovery drink after every pull.

Please go to my sponsors page and find the link for Pacific Health Labs and go directly to my online store to save 25% off your Accelerade and Endurox.

or use this link http://www.accelsport.com/epictraining

Official RAAM Finisher

Picture courtesy of :TBD

Well I did it. I am an official finisher of the world's toughest bicycle race, RAAM. I was a member of a 2 person team called Team Beat Cancer #209. Rick Schulze and I braved the elements and the terrain to finish with an official time of 9 days 18 hours and 55 minutes. The graphs are from my Polar 720i Heart Rate Monitor/Cycling computer. The graphs represent just my portion of the 3043 miles and the 108,000 feet of climbing.

I competed in the 2007 edition of Race Across America which started in Oceanside California and traversed this great country of ours and finished in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The course covered 3043 miles and 108,000 feet of climbing. The California mountains, Arizona deserts, Colorado rockies, flat plains of Kansas and the steep rolling terrain of West Virginia and Pennsylvania really tested my resolve.

STATS FOR THE EVENT 1578 MILES AND 66,362 FEET OF GAIN IN 9 DAYS

I know now that I would rather race Solo RAAM. I have always ridden my ultras for the solitude and the expectation of challenging myself to find my new breaking point. I will be racing in Solo RAAM 2008. Please support me in every way that you can to make the rest of 2007 a successful year and help me prepare for 2008.

Want to keep track?

I am providing you with links to both the Time Stations and a worksheet if you chose to keep track of us and our goals.

Here is the Route with Time Stations from the Race Across AMerica

Here is our Time Station goals. Print this out and fill in the blanks ---keep track of us you might have fun doing it.

2 days and we roll

Slowly the reality is sinking in. Today we loaded the RV with most of our supplies, no perishables. Put up all the signage and I defaced my bikes. I put reflective tape all over the bike and wheels but it is what it is. It's getting so close. Tomorrow the solo riders head out and soon it will be the eve before I roll out. Am I nervous? Yes. Am I anxious? Yes. I just can't wait to get started.

Team Beat Cancer cycling Kit

Here is a picture of the Team Beat Cancer Cycling Kit at the Eastern Sierra Double Century.

4 days until RAAM

Well the clock keeps ticking. Yesterday, Thursday June 7, we picked our light kits, and course books from the RAAM organizers.

ON SPONSORSHIP:

I picked up a sponsorship from TEAM VELOSPORT and was issued clothing and $500 dollars for my expenses. Thank you Damion. If you haven't joined a club and live in the Orange County give them a try. They have regular team meetings and rides. Their bike shop sponsor is Rock n Road Cyclery. They hold functions with guest speakers a valuable asset to begining or experience riders alike. Chances are they have a store near you with their 4 locations in: Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Anaheim Hills and Irvine. THANK YOU! and Yes I will take lots of pictures.

12 days until RAAM

The days are ticking away much faster than I would like. I am anxious but nervous that I haven't gotten everything handled before my departure on June 12, 2007. It is a two person team not solo but I'm still concerned that I haven't put in the requisite miles needed to complete the event. By the way, we are not trying to compete in this event we just want to finish

Breathless Agony Picture

Picture from Breathless Agony on the Oak Glen Climb MAY 5TH 2007

KOM Series Breathless Agony & Heartbreak Double Century

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I want to thank my sponsors for all their support this season without them I wouldn't be able to race as strong as I have been. Thank you. Here they are in alphabetical order:

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Accelerade- Sports Drink with Protein a must for Ultra Cycling-- Chris Facas

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Bonk Breakers-Peanut Butter and Jelly nutrition bars very tasty --Jason Winn

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Cervelo Bikes-- Truly the best engineered and best riding bikes in the world- Phil White

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Finish Line- Your chain is the life of your bike lube, clean it. Love your bike clean it too--David Clopton

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Kenda Tires-- You must ride the C2C tire developed especially for RAAM- Jim Wannamaker

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I have been training and working so much lately I haven't been able to issue my race reports as promptly as I used to. But here I am posting about two events that are part of the Planet Ultra King of the Mountains Series. There are three events are:

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1. Mulholland Century Challenge although I did the Double Century and then the Century the next day.

2. Breathless Agony
3. Heartbreak Hundred which I did the Double Century


So first I will talk about Breathless Agony. 114 miles and 12,000 feet. Of which 11,000 feet in 73 miles. We climb to a max altitude of 8,443 up to Onyx Summit. I had a a great day on the bike. My goal 5:45 and top 30. I did even better than I expected. In training I had done the course in 5:51 so I thought 5:45 was doable. I finished in 5:40 and 21st place overall and 7th out of 144 in 40-49 age group.

Next was the Heartbreak Double Century 202 Miles and 17,000 feet. I had a bad day on the bike. It was my worse race day on the bike this year. I went out with the lead group and suffered quite a bit. By mile 25 I was dropped and 6 riders went away. It continued to get hot during the day and I knew I was heading for a meltdown eventually. It happened sometime before the lunch stop. I was overheating and feeling miserable.
Mile 104. 6 --At the lunch stop I soaked my head twice once when I got in and once before I left.

I stopped consuming calories after my first century. I then started drinking sodas. I had a Mountain Dew at lunch.
Mile 119--Vanilla Cola at the base of the Heartbreak climb.
Mile 126.7 --1 bottle of water
Mile -171.4-- I had 1/2 an Orange Sunkist (knock-off).

The last 30 miles I hooked up with another rider who helped me get through the next 14 miles and then I helped him get to the finish. I was not feeling good all day and lost valuable time climbing Old Ridge Route --two years in a row I have faded there.
My goal was sub 14 hours I finished 13:28 for 5th place. I'm quite happy with the end result but the process to get there was one of the most challenging days on the bike in recent memory.