Race Across America

[lord hereford]

I have made a serious error of judgement and told someone that I am going to do the RAAM in 2014. I now need to get some advice/treatment. The official site is good but I could do with picking people's brains, mostly about qualifying at this point. I have noted that there are YACFers who have ticked this wee ride off. Is there anyone out there happy to answer a few queries or point me in the direction of more information?
Thanks awfully, Lord H.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Solo or team? Big difference between the two.

[lord hereford]

Solo. I don't know anyone who would agree to take part! I will probably struggle to get my mates to crew for me, never mind compete.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Qualifying with a 400+ mile 24? Fast 1200km brevets don't cut it anymore.

[mattc]

Solo. I don't know anyone who would agree to take part! I will probably struggle to get my mates to crew for me, never mind compete.

Forgive me for telling you how to suck eggs etc, but ...

The finances are pretty serious; sadly it's not just Mates+Time+legs

You need to run 2xRVs minimum, for about 2 weeks. Dunno what the entry fee is, but the "cost of livng" while on the move will be lots of cash. Most estimates I see are into the thousands

Of course sponsorship can fix such things. [or being in the armed forces]


I don't believe any frequent YACFers have done it, but there's quite a few brits around that have. Even _I_ could put you in touch with 1 male, 1 female (on the web anyway).

[mattc]

Aha, found the old thread (it was in "Racing"):

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)

[vorsprung]

To do a solo RAAM you need

1) vast amounts of money as seen above.  Probably serious sponsorship is involved, unless you are a millionaire playboy

2) riding a 24h time trial and scoring at least 400 miles.  If you want to be with a chance of actually winning, you need 500 miles apparently

3) some mad training.  For instance, riding for 24 hours most weekends.  For instance doing a near record pace lands end to JoG

4) loads of spare time to do the event.  You'd have to get there a few weeks before to acclimatise to the deserts that it goes through for example

5) a team of helpers, probably including a doctor, who would also be willing to give up lots of time supporting you in your training and on the event

[Exit Stage Left]

The easiest way to qualify for Solo RAAM is to ride 500 miles in 48 hours as part of the Texas Time Trials.
The relevant event is called the Tejas 500.
http://www.tt24tt.com/
I'd aim to do an SR series, and LEL and a 24 hr next year, and to use the Tejas 500 as a backstop qualifier. That would also give you an insight into US cycling culture, and you's meet lots of RAAM riders, not just Hoppo.

The alternative is to do th PAC Tour next year, and see how you like crossing the USA on a bike.

[lord hereford]

Hmmm, the money issue is possibly the key. Better get saving up then!!
I have ridden across the U.S. about 12 years ago, so I got the gist of how mahoosive the place is.
At the risk of showing my innocence, I watched a RAAM Doc.and some of the riders seemed vaguely human, the sort you would see riding long Audax (i.e what I can do with some more training) and did not all resemble the barking mad Jure Robic, who asks his support team at one point,
"Why am I training? why do you make me do this?".
"No Jure, you are doing the RAAM now!"
"Am I?"
The most worrying part seemed to be the number of competitors who dropped out due to kidney or liver trouble, sounds quite nasty. A bit more serious than my PBP hot foot.
I am sure there are zillions of reasons to bottle out, but I have now got that itch.
Ta, Lord H.

[mattc]

The money issue is what detracts from my interest in RAAM*. Audax is much more inclusive, and doesn't require ten people to drive along while one person pedals - that's not what cycling is about, for me. Or if you want pure racing, look at the 24hour events. They look like they're generally won by the best rider, and the 'average' rider can measure him/herself in a fair way.

(It's still an amazing event, and I can't help myself reading threads like this!)

_{*As a spectator I mean - there is no way I'd be able to ride it solo, even WITH  £30k to waste!}

[Karla]

Have you read Hell on Two Wheels by Amy Snyder?  It's an account of the 2009 race.  Buy a copy, or else there's one in the lending section here; I'm currently halfway through and Fungus is after me, but you could put your name down after that.

The money issue is what detracts from my interest in RAAM*.

_{*As a spectator I mean - there is no way I'd be able to ride it solo, even WITH  £30k to waste!}

What with your 60 mile PB this year, anything is possible! 

[Jasmine]

I don't believe any frequent YACFers have done it, but there's quite a few brits around that have. Even _I_ could put you in touch with 1 male, 1 female (on the web anyway).

You could, but he'd probably blind you with his headlights then headbutt you....   

[twiddler]

Obviously it's not America, but it's a lot of miles for the money, http://www.theraceacrosseurope.com/RACE_2012_Price.html

[mattc]

I don't believe any frequent YACFers have done it, but there's quite a few brits around that have. Even _I_ could put you in touch with 1 male, 1 female (on the web anyway).

You could, but he'd probably blind you with his headlights then headbutt you....   

It takes a special person to be First British RAAM finisher. With the emphasis on "special" ...

[Karla]

TG's described Hoppo as a "colourful" character.  I take it that "colourful" was referring to the blue hair?

Brian Welsh is having another crack this year, he started training this week and intends to be fitter and more serious than 2 years ago, where he was 3 hours over the limit.  Good luck to him.