Originally Posted by
Richard Cranium
My RAAM experience involved crewing. I got a rider across the US in less than 11 days. But my previous points reflect my serious exploration of human endurance by riding bicycles at a rate of over 400 miles per 24h hour period on a dozen occasions. In addition to this "riding experience" I was hired by several RAAM winners for a number of reasons in a number of roles. We often exchanged perspectives and experiences about long bike rides.
Anyway - anybody who thinks RAAM riders seldom suffer delirium hardly understands the event. Things get crazy - even crew people "freak out."
We don't disagree on the mental aspect of RAAM. Having , raced, officiated and this year was a crew chief for the first time (two man team), I have noticed that (and this is just observation) that "delirium" and mental issues are more concentrated in the slower racers. The faster racers are definitely not immune but you don't see it manifest itself as pronounced with them. There must be a reason for that, either they are mentally stronger, in better physical condition or they just have better plans for dealing with sleep issues. They are also riding several days shorter than those who are out there for 11+ days. 8-9 days is a long time but it's infinitely shorter than 11 days when you are talking about sleep deprivation.
Danny Chew never had any delirium issues during RAAM did he? I know it's hard to tell with him...
