It’s called the toughest bike ride in the world. 3000 miles in one stage. I’ve always enjoyed riding SAG, fixing bikes, reading maps, and insomnia. So with that in mind I volunteered to crew for a team of eight Type 2 Diabetic men who decided to try their best at a relay in the Race Across America. It was the toughest job I never got paid for. It was fun, and it was tiring. I met some heroes and saw some incredible sights.
The Race Across America starts each June in Oceanside, California. In previous years, Atlantic City was the destination – but due to bridge crossings and other logistical issues, it was moved to Annapolis, Maryland. At just over 3000 miles, it is an insane bike race. The clock never stops. For the soloists, that means that resting any more than two hours every twenty-four and your chances at winning are slim. Many soloists never make it – either being cut off by the clock at various time stations, or giving up from exhaustion, injury, or madness. Many that do finish end up with contraptions to hold their head up – pedestals attached to their handlebars, straps tied to their backs. Many riders hallucinate. It’s normal. The race draws all sorts of people, young and old (the oldest was 70 this year). Most ride on traditional bikes, some on recumbents. A few passionate cyclists even attempt on fixed gear bikes like track racers.
For the teams it’s all about speed. For all riders, RAAM is a 24-hour race. While some rested as RVs bumped down backroads shuttling them to the next transition site, other riders packed into minivans and traded off riding legs of roughly 150 mile sections. This year’s fastest team was the sister team for the guys I rode with – Team Type 1 (comprised of Type 1 Diabetics). Team Type 1 set the record last year and lay down the gauntlet for all the teams from the start. Some teams (like Team Type 1 and 2) ride for a mission. But make no mistake: RAAM is a race, not a ride. And Team Type 2 raced the entire way across the US.
It became apparent around Colorado that there were two teams nipping on the heels of Team Type 2. Vans marked with the number 808 kept leap frogging our riders. At each transition as we entered Kansas, confusion in the darkness as to whose rider was approaching – or whose relief rider was waiting made the night interesting. Refusing to let the 20-something triathletes of “Charlie’s Champions” beat the 40+ diabetic riders, self-titled “Smokey Squad” rode the race of their lives through the night. One rider had labeled his time trial bike with the words “hammer time”. Riders shouted “ride it like you stole it” to the outgoing rider in the rotation. For hundreds of miles, night and day, Team Type 2 and Charlie’s Champions traded positions. Mind you, neither was in the lead. In fact, this was a race for second and third to last place. That didn’t matter. It was a race.
By the time Team Type 2 reached the hills of Missouri they were tired – and the younger (and lighter) riders of Charlie’s Champions pulled ahead. For hundreds of miles, depression and fatigue kicked in. There’s a phrase that’s often repeated at RAAM, “the race STARTS at the Mississippi”. The gradual grades of the West and flat stretches of the plains gave way to wicked grades in Ohio and West Virginia. Double-digit percent uphill grades punished the riders. Descents of 50 mph or more were not uncommon (would you be willing to push a 23mm tire at 55 mph for a race?). By Hanover, PA everyone – riders and support crew – was acting on reflex. At this point we had been racing for 7 days and most had perhaps 20 hours of sleep caught in between bumps in the road and the customary 90 minutes of calm in a Wal Mart or church parking lot prior to the flurry of activity during squad transitions.
It was then when we got word that the last place team, The Friar’s Club, was only fifteen minutes behind us. And there was a fifteen minute penalty awaiting us at Mount Airy Bicycles because an official had caught one of our vans without the four-ways on while stopped during one of the approximately 500 times we traded out riders. While we waited in the parking lot – with 14 minutes and 45 seconds expired in our penalty, the last place team came around the corner. The team had been reading our time reports and knew they would catch us here. The rider was overwhelmed with excitement as he watched us sidelined – he poured on the steam… and missed the right turn the course took just after the bike shop parking lot. It was then the official said “Go”.
Over the next 90 miles the riders of Team Type 2 rode the hardest they had ridden for the entire race. At one point we were making rider exchanges as fast as possible, getting the freshest legs on the road. With 12 miles to go, the “hammer time” cyclist burned all his remaining energy to beat the Friar’s Club team by two minutes – the closest RAAM finish in history. It was amazing as the officials led the entire team for a parade ride to the pier in Annapolis (the clock stops a few miles out of town on roads better for racing).
In all, Team Type 2 finished RAAM in 7 days, 15 hours, 8 minutes. The team of Type 2 Diabetics was comprised of eight men ranging from their mid-forties to a 70-year old rider who inspired everyone on the team. All of the riders were heroes. Being part of a RAAM crew was part college party, part bike geek, and a large part family. We learned to be patient (imagine driving on the shoulder behind a 15mph average rider at 20 feet for 3000 miles). We learned to be compassionate (there are some unique challenges that diabetics share in the course of their daily lives). We learned that no matter how tired we were, no matter how sore or sick someone felt, that something about this crazy race made everything worth it. The sixteen crew and eight riders started in Oceanside as strangers and ended in Annapolis as great friends.
For more information about Team Type 1 and 2, go to http://www.teamtype1.org/teams. For more information about the Race Across America, go to http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/ To see some of my photographs of the race, go to http://www.chrischampion.org/
