Alex carnavas

Anyone here ever done the race across America? I'm planning on attending next year, and being new to long distance cycling I was hoping to get some input here from you guys. Thanks in advance

10 Wheels

Are you on a team or solo?
https://www.raceacrossamerica.org/raa...?N_webcat_id=1

Homeyba

Looks like I'll be at the start for my 5th RAAM. It's lots of fun. I'll be on a team this year.

10 Wheels

https://il.youtube.com/watch?v=tCsuaQHmn0c

Homeyba

Cool Video, do you know him?

Here is a video of our 4 tandem team last year. Day 1

Alex carnavas

Im going to be doing it solo.

200miler

I'm also going to be at Oceanside in June. I'm part of the crew for Team Hammer Frogs, now kown as "Team 4 Raw Milk Cats", who will be aiming for the 50+ female tean record. One more "scratch off" from my bucket list [pun was intended]!
YMMV
-dg

Homeyba

This year or next? You say you're new to long distance cycling, what ultras have you raced in so far???

Homeyba

200miler, you're going to have your hand full with those ladies! Good thing you got Fuzzy to keep them in line.

DanteB

Homeyba, great video! Great shots of yourself, Joe and Linda. I just watched a very good film, documentary, on the 2009 RAAM. It's called Bicycle Dreams and Alex you should watch this film. It may be hard to find, I got mine from Kerry Ryan at Action Sports.

StephenH

Well, a while back you posted "Never done a LD event before..." With that in mind, I'd suggest doing LOTS of long distance events and working your way up.

As far as I know, you do have to qualify for RAAM in other rides, so check into that.

I gather from what I have heard that competing in RAAM requires lots of money, time, and friends' time, so it's not just a matter of having big leg muscles. For example, you're going to have a chase car to follow you 3,000 miles across the country with multiple drivers; you're going to have people flying or driving to the start and finish points, etc.

kk27

Is a support car & all that jazz required?? I mean can't it be done self supported???

RichardGlover

Yes.

See: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...January_10.pdf

Specifically,

Homeyba

Four man+ sized teams can be self supported, solo riders and two man teams cannot. This ain't no tour son...


Dante, I thought that Kerry Ryan was going to enter a team this year but I don't see them entered yet? Did his plans fall through?

DanteB

When I asked Kerry about all I got was his little grin.

10 Wheels

Don't know Him. Just a follower. We were close on miles when I first started riding on BikeJournal.
He rode 19,000 miles last year. Too much of a man for me.

He is now training with 160 mile rides.

kk27

well it's not about touring, it's like Randonneuring...one rides self supported that's all. I wonder why hasn't this been yet thought about. I mean having a team or someone as support for all those miles is not only a lot of time but also a lot of money too!!! hmm I was thinking I could probably aim for this in 2013 but I can't get all that support thing going for me.

StephenH

I think you have some long stretches without a convenience store every 30 miles which makes the self-supporting idea harder.

If I remember correctly, on the solo runs, if you're not within a certain distance of the leader, you're out of the race, so you can't just take your sweet time and be content to finish 39th or whatever. Which gives some prestige to being a "finisher" as opposed to being an "entrant".

The chase car is partly or maybe entirely for safety reasons. They did have a guy get hit and paralyzed last year even at that.

Bacciagalupe

Support is only one of the hurdles.

You need to qualify to ride in RAAM. Current requirements are here: https://www.raceacrossamerica.org/raa..._webcat_id=229

You may want to look into shorter events, like the Furnace Creek 508 or PBP, before considering a solo RAAM attempt.

Alex carnavas

@Homeyba
Never raced in any.

@StephenH
I've looked up all the things i need such as support cars and such. I've applied at a couple of places around here to start getting the money together; I don't even have a half decent bike! At 18 -or 19 if I join the race next year- I might just be the youngest competitor ? This is the stuff legends are made of

Alex carnavas

You could just PAY some people as a support team, but that wouldn't be too cheap.

Homeyba

The youngest RAAM finisher was 16 years old. Don't let that discourage you though! It is expensive. Our RAAM team has a budget in the $40K range. Solo would be cheaper but not by a whole lot. Generally you don't pay your crew. You do pay all their expenses during the race such as food, gas, hotel rooms at the start/finish etc. It adds up fast. You really need to start finding sponsors. That's the key, get someone else to pay for it. Get yourself out there and do some shorter ultra events like the Furnace Creek 508, Race Across Oregon or some other RAAM qualifier to at least get your feet wet. Actually, you have to do one anyway to qualify. The other route is to get on a team. That will get you qualified and give you a really good idea what your in for. Racing RAAM isn't the hard part. The hard part is getting to the starting line!

Homeyba

My comment "this ain't no tour" was meant to say that it is a "RACE!" All my teams race vans have "Race Across America" banners on the windshield with the word RACE underlined. It's nothing like randonneuring. There are cutoffs if you go too slow and you just cannot be that leisurely about it. You need to be aiming at 250-300+miles a day.

StephenH

Alex, in the randonneuring/ long distance racing field, there's a lot of networking that goes on. The more hardcore local randonneurs also ride with the Houston club and with the Austin club. And they've done some of the various 1200k rides around and some have ridden the Furnace Creek, etc. There's a number that have raced on RAAM teams, with teammates from all over. My point is that these people know people all over, and when one of them decides to do RAAM solo, he/she will have a whole slough of friends that they have ridden with and raced with, so they can get volunteers for a crew, and not just live-body volunteers, but people that have actually been around this a fair bit.

You know, personally, I'm getting better at this randonneuring business, but about half the people I ride with are better than I'll ever be, and they're not necessarily exceptional riders. If I decided to take a crack at RAAM, people that knew me would assume it was just a half-baked pipe dream, and the support would be underwhelming, I'm sure. So one task ahead of you is to get out and really impress some people with your long-distance riding abilities, sufficiently that when you announce you're interested in RAAM, they think you have what it takes to be there and get it done. A second task is to start developing some contacts in the local long-distance scene. In hindsight, they just finished the 24 hour race at Sebring, and you should have been riding there. Look up the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association's website, look at their list of events, and see if there's any you can get involved with. I've been involved as a volunteer at the Texas Time Trials the last three years. This last summer, at the awards dinner, I was seated next to a lady I didn't know. Turns out she's one of the best long-distance cyclists in the country. In the local randonneuring club, I know of two solo RAAM contestants, several that have done team RAAM, one that has served on multiple crews and is now officiating at RAAM. So don't assume that you're just going to pop up out of the blue and race RAAM, get cranking on stuff now if that's your ultimate goal.

200miler

Yup, going to be fun traveling with the "MASTER"! I've known Fuzzy for 12 years and have worked with him over the last 10, mostly Quack rides, but I've also worked in a couple of Brian's, and a stray CK "do". I guess he felt that I was old enough [and maybe harmless enough] to spend 10-12 days in close proximity to sweaty women in spandex! I am TRULY looking forward to this! A lot of work, but well worth it.

Am I correct in assuming you're still going to tandem the HGH the end of the month?
YMMV
-dg