Shit, I'd definitely volunteer for crew if we ever managed to do that. Who would ride?
Teethgrinder, surely?
Has anyone done RAAM fixed?
I'd love to have a go.
I'd want to do some big mileas beforehand, so it'd mean me giving up my job. $20,000 sounds about as cheap as possible. IIRC, you need 2 vehicles, a crew of 8 including a doctor as a minimum. The backup crew for a solo ride have a very tough time, some solo riders have pulled out because their backup crew couldn't handle it. Jure Robic was as good as a professional. He was paid by the army to train and had soldiers as a back up crew.
I'm not surprised that Oranj (and I) have never heard of our fellow British RAAM riders. I think you need to get a name for yourself riding USA UMCA events to get the sponsorship. I believe that Chris Hopkinson had a hard time scratching the money together for his ride. I think he spent £15,0000 doing the ride and that was a tight budget. I have heard some say that it can be done for £2-3000. That wouldn't even pay the air fare for me and a crew of 8, let alone vehicle and fuel costs.
So, even if I could get the £15-20,000 together for the event itself, I'd still want another £15,000 or so, maybe even just £10,000 so that I could give up work and get the miles in. I'd want about a years run up to the event, or at the
very least, 6 months. For comparison, I reckon my 2007 Audax season cost me £7-8000 and that was pretty much everything I had.
So, as much as I'd like to ride it, I want to be at least confident that I can finish and yes, I'd want to ride it on fixed, just because... I have qualified and recieved an e-mail a few months ago from UMCA telling me so. As I am now, I think that if I tried riding while having a full time job, it'd be touch and go whether I finish or not.
It's a lot of money and hassle with a slim chance of success IMO.
I have a plan for a European venture though (and I don't mean PBP)