Tough in another regard - there are 2 guys this year competing as a team on fixed gear bikes. This means that there is zero coasting, when the rear wheel is rolling so are the pedals. I had a fixed gear bike and while it was fun tooling around town on it, I cannot imagine riding down the Montezuma Grade on the RAAM course on a fixie. This grade drops 4500 ft in ten miles. It would practically rip your legs off.
A photo from an emotional start line - the first 12 or so miles are a ceremonial parade. The real race start is out in Bonsal. It was fascinating to look into the eyes of these solo riders and see the concentration on their faces. Some you could almost see some fear while others were just eager to go. For the next 9-12 days they are going to be one with their bike - rarely getting off. To boot, they were all well hydrated - some of them stopping 2-3 times in 13 miles to relieve themselves. If you check the RAAM website this morning, you can see there is amazing dual between the returning champion and an Austrian. They are neck and neck out in Arizona - neither stopping for sleep yet and that probably will not happen until tomorrow.
I am getting excited. The body feels amazing. The legs are fresh - I could not believe how well I performed on Saturday. On the hill climb, 1.5 miles with 800 ft of elevation gain, it was no problem to hold over 12 mph average when I used to complete the intervals around 10 mph. T-2 days.
One friend always signs his e-mails "find it" - I can respond now and say "Found it". Let's go -
NJB
1 comment:
I'll be checking in on your progress along the way.
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