LEL - Rick Carpenter rides RAAM

[MattH]

Whilst RAAM (Race Across AMerica) sits in the racing section of the forum, I put this here as no doubt Rick is known to many of those who rode LEL - he was the American who was wearing tartan for part of the ride, and suffered the crash at Thorn writing off his titanium Bianche, completing LEL on a borrowed bike.
Here is his RAAM web site

[Exit Stage Left]

He's at 3 minutes on this film.

      YouTube
            - Many Nations of LEL
   

I wish him luck, here's an article from his local paper.

   53-year-old legs must propel Reading bicycle racer across America

[Karla]

Correct link location

He's looking better than last time I saw him, his face is symmetrical!

[Bendy Bianchi]

Wow, that's really really nuts!

[vorsprung]

He packed at TS 28

Pushed on to El Dorado against my will. I wanted to stop in Maize but my crew are sadists and told me I couldn’t have any more food or drink if I didn’t press on. I made El Dorado, got four hours sleep and set off again, but my left knee sent me a message to throw in the towel. Since it had given up, I had to do so, too.

From his blog

[Karla]

That's Paul Carpenter.  Rick's blog is at www.rexcarpenter.com and he's still racing.

[Greenbank]

I spy an LEL jersey in the 1999.9 miles photo...

In fact, loads of the photos if you scroll down...

[Nuncio]

Of the 8-man teams, the two British ones are top, with a US one very close behind.  The second team is the "Sir Steve Redgrave Crew", with Sir Steve one of the eight.  The American team arrived at the last time station just 8 minutes behind.  About 370 miles to go. Details here

There seem to be a lot of time penalties being handed out. 

Rules 400.2, 480.1  Failed to call HQ w/i 6 hrs; racer out of view for longer than 30 minutes.

And even some credits.

Road washout just before TS 27, while determining new route.

[Salvatore]

Sounds like it's all over for Rick after 2138 miles

Rick prudently decided to temporarily suspend riding, after blurred vision and seeing double made it unsafe to go any further today. He and his crew are currently checked into a hotel for the night in Newton, IL. Although the goal of reaching Annapolis as an official finisher is now beyond his grasp ...

More here from his crew's blog.

[Bendy Bianchi]

First man home was in 9 days 1 hour. So that's 3,000 miles / 4,800 km in 9 days = 533km a day.

That's impressive.

Insane. But impressive.

[Nuncio]

He would probably agree with your view.

‘‘During race, I am going crazy, definitely,’’ he says, smiling in bemused despair. ‘‘I cannot explain why is that, but it is true.’’

The craziness is methodical, however, and Robic and his crew know its pattern by heart. Around Day 2 of a typical weeklong race, his speech goes staccato. By Day 3, he is belligerent and sometimes paranoid. His short-term memory vanishes, and he weeps uncontrollably. The last days are marked by hallucinations: bears, wolves and aliens prowl the roadside; asphalt cracks rearrange themselves into coded messages. Occasionally, Robic leaps from his bike to square off with shadowy figures that turn out to be mailboxes. In a 2004 race, he turned to see himself pursued by a howling band of black-bearded men on horseback.

‘‘Mujahedeen, shooting at me,’’ he explains. ‘‘So I ride faster.’’

From a long, quite scary NY Times interview here.

[Exit Stage Left]

There's a good interview on Youtube with Robic in 2008, he looks pretty normal to me.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/NtOj1HMMsbE&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/NtOj1HMMsbE&rel=1</a>
What wins events like this are long uninterrupted periods of riding at slightly above the target average. The moments of breakdown make a good story, but it's the relationship with the team that's important. The feeding, hydration and awareness of how far the rider can be pushed are critical.
RAAM riders have support with them at all times, hallucinations are a lot more problematic when you are on your own. RAAM still looks to be the ultimate challenge in long distance cycling, but coverage is bound to focus on the exceptional moments of crisis and not the daily grind.

[DrMekon]

Breaking News: Sir Steve Redgrave badly injured in Race Across America | road.cc | The website for pedal powered people: Road cycling, commuting, leisure cycling and racing

Redgrave crew out - bad crash

[Simonb]

Amazing. The BBC have managed to reduce RAAM to a "Charity Cycle Event"!

BBC Sport - Sir Steve Redgrave injured during charity cycling event

[Greenbank]

Redgrave crew out - bad crash

They stopped for a night but did finish (at Redgrave's insistence).

[simonp]

Hands up who did LEL in sub 75h.

If you have, you've qualified.  No excuse not to ride. 

[Justin(e)]

Hands up who did LEL in sub 75h.

If you have, you've qualified.  No excuse not to ride. 

IIRC, it is 65hrs on PBP, BUT you have to have paid your money before you get the time. 

So, I think that there is an excuse.