Author Topic: RAAM  (Read 8874 times)

RAAM
« on: 31 May, 2011, 09:50:30 pm »
A few four man/women teams participating, and an interesting 8 man crew containing John Tanner and Kevin Dawson.

Anyone completing 400miles+ in a 24 TT can apply to enter.
#makewattsnotwar

pdm

  • Sheffield hills? Nah... Just potholes.
Re: RAAM
« Reply #1 on: 31 May, 2011, 10:25:16 pm »
Mmmh.
I see that they have done away with the reduced requirements for over 60's (used to be 360 miles in a 24 TT)
I suspect because so few over 60's have finished in recent years?

Team RAAM participants do not appear to need to qualify individually and completing RAAM in a team is in itself a qualifier for solo RAAM.

One of my colleagues at work is retiring next month (age 60) and is chuntering on about getting me and a few others to join a team for RAAM - wishful thinking I guess; you have to be more than a little insane to do it and I don't think we are quite mad enough yet  ;)

Another colleague recently won a category in the Florida challenge series (and thereby qualified for RAAM solo). He has held or still holds the UK 12 and the 24 hour tandem records but even he could not be persuaded to "join the team"  ;D

Re: RAAM
« Reply #2 on: 31 May, 2011, 10:49:11 pm »
I see there are several 4 and 8 person teams from the UK, and a single solo rider.

Whilst the team entries are mad, doing it as a solo rider is truly nuts, and exceptionally impressive if you manage to finish, let alone be placed!
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: RAAM
« Reply #3 on: 01 June, 2011, 02:15:30 pm »
Funilly enough, we were talking about RAAM over dinner with a friend of ours last night.  He’s coaching one of the members of a four man team and was telling us about how they actually ride the event.

The team splits into two pairs.  Whilst one pair do 30 minutes on and 30 off, the other pair rests.  They get half an hour to eat and to attend to personal hygiene, then they get three hours sleep.  On waking, they do half an hour to warm up for their stints.  Lather, rinse, repeat for 4,800 km in about a week.  Nutters.

Each four person team needs a couple of (big) vehicles and a smaller one, along with usually about a ten person support crew.

Then the subject of Jure Robič came up...
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

Re: RAAM
« Reply #4 on: 01 June, 2011, 02:18:34 pm »
A few four man/women teams participating, and an interesting 8 man crew containing John Tanner and Kevin Dawson.

Anyone completing 400miles+ in a 24 TT can apply to enter.

So, in theory, I qualify. Ho ho ho.

Karla

  • car(e) free
    • Lost Byway - around the world by bike
Re: RAAM
« Reply #5 on: 01 June, 2011, 02:20:31 pm »
Looking at the start list, as in previous years there are quite a few names from the UK I don't recognise in both the team and solo races. With the amount of time I spend riding long-distance races and so on, I'm always surprised to see names on there I've never heard of, e.g. Brian Welsh, in the solo catergory, who, looking at his website, has done quite a few long-distance events and has some pedigree.
He used to ride with our club! He's done the RAAM as a 2 person team before with Stacey Eccles, where they won their category.  I believe he's going to ride PBP 'as a warm-down' but don't know whether he managed to jump through the ACP hoops while living in a different country to last time.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: RAAM
« Reply #6 on: 01 June, 2011, 02:22:49 pm »
There was an episode of Radiolab a while ago about people pushing their body to its limits. It included a section on RAAM, featuring Jure Robic.

I may have mentioned it before but it's still well worth a listen:
Limits of the Body - Radiolab

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: RAAM
« Reply #7 on: 01 June, 2011, 02:29:24 pm »
Looking at the start list, as in previous years there are quite a few names from the UK I don't recognise in both the team and solo races. With the amount of time I spend riding long-distance races and so on, I'm always surprised to see names on there I've never heard of, e.g. Brian Welsh, in the solo catergory, who, looking at his website, has done quite a few long-distance events and has some pedigree.
He used to ride with our club! He's done the RAAM as a 2 person team before with Stacey Eccles, where they won their category.  I believe he's going to ride PBP 'as a warm-down' but don't know whether he managed to jump through the ACP hoops while living in a different country to last time.

89hrs 20mins in PBP in 2007, I can believe it was a wind-down.


mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: RAAM
« Reply #8 on: 01 June, 2011, 02:33:59 pm »
That's interesting, Charlotte.
...

The team splits into two pairs.  Whilst one pair do 30 minutes on and 30 off, the other pair rests.  They get half an hour to eat and to attend to personal hygiene, then they get three hours sleep.  On waking, they do half an hour to warm up for their stints.  Lather, rinse, repeat for 4,800 km in about a week.  Nutters.

So are they getting nx3hours sleep per 24 hours? If not, 3 hours-per-day seems way too short to maintain speed for the whole week - with a team of 4 I see no reason why the riders should run up any sleep debt.
[the more complicated problem to solve would be disorientation - how do you split the shifts, without riders waking up in a confused daze about what time it is. It's a horrible feeling, boys and girls ... ]

Remember the Comic Relief David Walliams /MIranda Hart team? they really made it hard for themselves by keeping eachother awake round the clock when they should have been banking ZZZs  :facepalm:


The 30mins stints sound a little short to me - there is always time lost faffing in any handover, and that is time everyone could just be chilling/resting in the RV too. then again, they may have rehearsed and tested this routine ...

Anyone completing 400miles+ in a 24 TT can apply to enter.

So, in theory, I qualify. Ho ho ho.
Excellent - I have a cast-iron excuse.
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: RAAM
« Reply #9 on: 01 June, 2011, 03:40:26 pm »
RAAM relay changeovers are done at speed.  The relay occurs when the 'ending rider' gets in front of the 'starting rider'.

Each pair effectively completes a session of 30 minute TT intervals, with four hours rest between sessions.  Sleep deprivation doesn't significantly slow the riders.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: RAAM
« Reply #10 on: 01 June, 2011, 04:36:24 pm »

Remember the Comic Relief David Walliams /MIranda Hart team? they really made it hard for themselves by keeping eachother awake round the clock when they should have been banking ZZZs  :facepalm:


Young love, eh?
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

Re: RAAM
« Reply #11 on: 02 June, 2011, 07:59:54 am »
A few four man/women teams participating, and an interesting 8 man crew containing John Tanner and Kevin Dawson.

Anyone completing 400miles+ in a 24 TT can apply to enter.

So, in theory, I qualify. Ho ho ho.

It's going to be an honour and a privilege to support you next year! ;D
#makewattsnotwar

Re: RAAM
« Reply #12 on: 02 June, 2011, 11:20:57 am »
I've been told that I'm not allowed to enter by MrsH. Not sure if I should be pleased or not  :)

The entry qualifications have been relaxed somewhat recently, they are trying to make it a bigger event - and encouraging a lot more teams to enter (especially military groups - presumably because they are seen as having the fitness and determination necessary).

Re: RAAM
« Reply #13 on: 02 June, 2011, 05:58:53 pm »
I have had a gander at the profiles of the forty odd solo entrants.  There are four or five who have completed PBP, a couple of them more leisurely than myself! One of the riders finished LEL 2009 in 6th place, and there is a 60 hour and 73 hour PBP finisher amongst them.

One has to admire all the participants' guts at having a go at this epic event. Apart from the cycling, the logistics and cost of running a support crew seems to present plenty problems.

It's something I would like to be involved in one day, whether in the guise as a team rider member or crew member .
I think that the solo version must be unbelievably hard.

#makewattsnotwar

Re: RAAM
« Reply #14 on: 02 June, 2011, 06:04:12 pm »
In terms of cost, the recommendation is to budget US$20,000 for a solo attempt. It is a huge undertaking, though some of the faster riders do get sponsorship (of the pay for the ride costs kind, not pay to charity).


So, Team YACF in 2012 anyone?

Re: RAAM
« Reply #15 on: 02 June, 2011, 06:22:32 pm »
So, Team YACF in 2012 anyone?

There has been talk of this in previous years, but what a good idea. Now is the time to start planning.
#makewattsnotwar

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: RAAM
« Reply #16 on: 02 June, 2011, 08:17:46 pm »
Shit, I'd definitely volunteer for crew if we ever managed to do that.  Who would ride?

Teethgrinder, surely?
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: RAAM
« Reply #17 on: 02 June, 2011, 08:44:07 pm »
Plan on putting in some serious money. Several of the locals we rode with in Texas had completed solo and team RAAMs. They'd be happy to give first-hand advice.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: RAAM
« Reply #18 on: 02 June, 2011, 08:48:36 pm »
I have regular contact with several RAAM vets (one of the things I do is edit the UMCA Year-Rounder email newsletter). There is a huge amount of info freely available from these people, and every February in London there is a crewing seminar that covers lots of the logistics stuff.

Re: RAAM
« Reply #19 on: 02 June, 2011, 10:07:49 pm »
Shit, I'd definitely volunteer for crew if we ever managed to do that.  Who would ride?

Teethgrinder, surely?

Has anyone done RAAM fixed?
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

pdm

  • Sheffield hills? Nah... Just potholes.
Re: RAAM
« Reply #20 on: 02 June, 2011, 11:02:41 pm »
Shit, I'd definitely volunteer for crew if we ever managed to do that.  Who would ride?

Teethgrinder, surely?

Has anyone done RAAM fixed?
No, but there was a guy last year who did it single speed. (using more than one bike, it seems, with different ratios depending on the stage)

Re: RAAM
« Reply #21 on: 02 June, 2011, 11:21:37 pm »
In 2008 the Gran Fondo Fixies was a 2 person team that finished in 8d 1h 25m.

Kevin Kaiser and Jeff Bauer - riding coast to coast with no coasting. (and no stopping either!)

Re: RAAM
« Reply #22 on: 03 June, 2011, 01:54:40 am »
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) ;)

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: RAAM
« Reply #23 on: 03 June, 2011, 08:32:41 am »
So that's a mere tenner from each one of our 2500 registered members to finance a record attempt for the fastest cyclist to cross America onna fixer...

:demon:
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: RAAM
« Reply #24 on: 03 June, 2011, 08:38:31 am »
I shall put sponsoring Teethgrinder on the list of things to do should I win the Lottery.
Getting there...