It's a Team's Life

20 mph 3000 miles RAAM Day 8

By Linda Caffee
Posted Jun 22nd 2012 1:14PM

We are almost to Maryland and this week is about in the history books. We rotated back into the crew in Indiana and started on the back, narrow, and twisty roads. It was going to be a LONG time before I saw sleep again and it is amazing that when fortitude is needed we can find it.

I drove the RV for approximately four hours to relieve another driver who needed some sleep and then immediately rotated into the follow vehicle to navigate for four hours through some tricky reroutes and turns. This is stressful to me as if I navigate the riders off course they have to walk their bikes back or reload their bikes back on the vehicle and we have to go back to the point we went off route and begin again. So far with the help of the riders in the vehicle and the other Expedition we have stayed on course. Once I was done navigating it was time for my eight hours chasing the bikers and by the time this shift was done I was exhausted and ready for sleep.

Erika, rider Brian Rayâ€™s wife and I slept on the couch in the middle of the RV and the riders take the back bed and the loft. The RV sleeps six comfortably â€œRIGHTâ€ it is crowded but at this point in time we want sleep not comfort. We are all ready to sleep more then three hours, to soak in showers, and to eat a meal sitting down at a table. We have had awesome meals on this trip that people have brought to the RV and all of these have been eaten while on the way to the chase vehicle.

The roads in Indiana and Ohio have been narrow and crowded with vehicles which is stressful watching all of the drama unfold as the riders are passed in these tight quarters. I know it is harder on us watching then it is on the riders, as they do not see this craziness going on behind them. We have spent as much time as possible close enough to the rider to protect them BUT far enough behind that if they go down we do not run them over. Once the rider is with in a mile of ending their shift we fly forward and get the other rider ready to ride, they pass each other and the new rider takes off alone. They are usually a mile down the road before we can catch them and start the process all over.

While going through the mountains of West Virginia we were thrown around a lot in the RV. There was no sleeping for anyone as we crossed over the mountains on these tight roads. It was miserable but as usual the guys handled this with their unique sense of humor.

The plans are being laid on how we will enter Annapolis, as there are a lot of rules on how the race is finished. There is one last time station that the cyclists must cross and that is the official finish of the race. The riders then go to a holding pen and wait for an escort to go across the parade line. There will be two follow vehicles at this point and everyone wants to cross the line with the guys.

Rider Scott Garcher's Blog

I thought I would quickly jump on and send out some day 6 comments and thoughts. First off, please let me start by saying â€œthanksâ€ to everyone on this distribution list. Thank you for your donations, e-mails, calls, prayers, texts, tweets and Facebook posts. I have never been involved with something of this magnitude â€“ nor with something that has had this reach. There have been hundreds of hours given by dozens and dozens of volunteersâ€¦all for a great cause. I want you to all know how much of an impact this has had on my personally, but also my fellow racers, crews, and of course the kids at Akron Childrenâ€™s. So in short â€“ thank you. You have made a difference. Please know that I/we appreciate you.

Before I go any further, let me give you an update about Jake. We lost the raceâ€¦that is with beating him home! His recovery went much faster than expected and Jake is home from his surgery recuperating with his family. What a blessing! Many of you have asked about him so there you have it â€“ great news to end your Friday.

Letâ€™s talk about the race. We have held our own since the beginning. Keep in mind we are an entirely 100% rookie crew and team. None of us came with any RAAM experience. To be sitting in 12th place is very respectable. We DID NOT set out to win, but do have some hopes of making up time on positions 11 and 10 if possible. Our forecasted ETA into Annapolis is roughly 10:00 AM on Saturday. We have deployed our second runner vehicle now as a chase car and will leap frog as the leading teams have done all week. Hopefully this will really shake things up with our hand-offs and transition.

The racers are all spent. Our legs hurt. Our bodies are worn out and sleep deprivation is taking itsâ€™ toll specifically on our thought processes and emotions. We were just joking about who would be first to cry as we cross the finish line to see awaiting friends and family. IN THAT DISCUSSION we got choked up already. By tomorrow morning we will be an emotional mess.
As far as thought processes are concerned, I just left a spare wheel on the side of US 50 as we were changing a flat. Of course, a passer-by watched as I left it on the side of the road, picked it up and chased us down to hand it back to us. Kind deeds rock! Oh, and this was the second time this happened this week. A fellow teammate did the same thing on Wolf Creek pass. And yes, a passer-by picked it up and chased us down in a car.

For me personally, I stink. No literally, I smell bad. I havenâ€™t showered since Tuesday in Walsh, Kansas. The RV is a hot mess and the support cars are just as bad. All I do is ride, drink fluids, eat, sleep for a few hours, get up, eat, ride drink fluids, eat, sleep for a few hours, etc. Itâ€™s sort of a robotic mess in order to deal with the constant fuzziness in my head.

Anyway, I need to get some quick â€œzâ€™sâ€ before the last few shifts of this race. What a year it has been leading up to this week. Itâ€™s sort of surreal to think about the team crossing the finish line tomorrow. I canâ€™t wait!