I awoke at a Kansas gas station and noted seeing the first solo rider and crew. He looked like shit and it was just Kansas.  I am a little sadistic in that when racing I feed positively off other people’s negative energies.  It just made me feel tougher and stronger. Yeah, I know he was not in my race, but I envisioned myself even as a solo rider, tougher than this soul who was struggling to just stay in the race.

The next thing I noted was the strong wind, but then I noted that the sun was in the wrong place. We were looking at a nasty cross wind out of the SOUTH!  I would later be told by ABConFire that this was a product of stationary highs over the Rockies and a stationary low over the Midwest. The wind was just howling and Alpha team was way behind our previous goals. It was disheartening and then scary, as I knew that I was set-up to ride my TT bike with disc and light-weight front wheel with a cross to quartering wind. Kyle stepped up with veteran expertise and started changing to a lower profile front wheel. My front wheel on my road bike was 40mm (vs 80mm) and slightly heavier than the carbon clincher on the P3 and I made the change, as well. I had my evening coffee, ate some grub, and prepared myself mentally to take the first pull. I was nervous as shit, but excited to get to lead us off into the night.

Let's go again!

I am not sure if the support crew was being nice, but when I took off, they gave me some guidance and then complemented my ability to ride straighter than the previous team’s riders.  They could have been full of shit with their complements, it did not matter, but it helped my confidence in some of the sickest cross winds I have ever encountered.  I had purposefully ridden my disc in Colorado on the windy days to prepare myself for this situation, but I still felt under-prepared. Looking back, I held some great wattage for those pulls and for most of them I never looked at my bike computer because I could not.

In this shift I really learned to rely on our team’s support crew. On my second pull, I re-learned to watch the flow of the grass to prepare for the winds. I leaned into the wind and even more importantly rode my bike like a kite. I allowed my bike to get pushed when the winds came across my right side. I had a great follow crew “closing the door” behind me, preventing any vehicles from coming up behind when the winds carried me across the road. It was night and I had little reference points for how bad the wind was. I just watched the grass and kept my grip light in my hands so not to jerk my handle-bars. Back to the amazing crew- after my second pull not getting to see anything on my computer, I decided Amanda would need to talk with through each pull. She was great telling me my speed and pushing me to get my speeds up. You can see the results, as the third pull became my push to stay above 25 mph then driving to keep up to 26 or 27 and finally 28. The comfort of knowing the driver literally had my back and the constant flow of information through the radio helped as we descended through a dark hole on the Kansas plans lit only by the van. I would be remiss to not acknowledge that Bravo team really came back together in those first couple hours. My teammates bonded over our common enemy of the wind and sucked up the return to sea-level air. ABConfire gave us some great tips for riding our discs through the wind. He truly showed his cycling professionalism in his guidance.

View from the Crew (daylight!)

As the night ended, the hell did begin. As is every night, the mind wants to sleep and I wanted my body to ride. That was the second worst night of the race. Thankfully, I saw it coming as one of my teammates hit that hard point of fighting the biorhythm before me. Smartly, I asked for a shorter pull, knowing the only reason for me to be on the road was because my teammates needed rest time. I felt horrible for getting off early, especially when I had actually been enjoying some longer pulls. Then it happened- the sun came-up. Kyle smartly got the radio cranking, I probably drank an extra coke and I know I downed about four Gus and I began the journey back to greatness. Again, RAAM was the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.  Kansas was physically and mentally tough, navigating the wind. It is probably why that evening’s mental biorhythm was so hard to beat-back. And when I did beat it down, you can just see from the power numbers…I was crushing it. It is just thinking about those highs that get me pumped for this year’s RAAM.

Feeling good and passing it on to JimmyNeutron

At this point, we were losing the first place team, and personally, I was pissed in a couple ways. I know my teammates were doing their jobs and doing the best they could, but they looked a little down- especially a couple guys from Alpha team.  When I got off my bike, I was high as a kite and went and punched the biggest dude on Alpha team in the chest and shouted at him “300 watts, ALL NIGHT!!”  It worked pBro crushed it that next shift, and we started a little banter and verbal battle. It helped me and I think he had fun with our little wattage battle across the teams. It was a race and it was a way to stay competitive when not getting to see the enemy.

Shift 4 Pull Information

1. 7.0 mi/16:29/ 25.6 mph/ 290/292 watts

2. 3.8 mi/10:34/ 21.7 mph/ 310/318 watts

3. 5.0 mi/12:03/ 25.1 mph/ 289/290 watts

4. 5.0 mi/11:36/ 26.2 mph/ 298/299 watts

5. 5.2 mi/10:50/ 28.8 mph/ 300/300 watts

6. 5.6 mi/13:18/ 25.5 mph/ 279/280 watts (low point)

7. 4.1 mi/ 10:53/ 22.5 mph/ 285/286 watts (asked for a shorter pull)

8. 5.0 mi/11:22/ 26.5 mph/ 303/304 watts (coming out of the low!)

9. 5.1 mi/ 11:27/ 26.6 mph/ 316/316 watts

10. 5.1 mi/ 11:11/ 27.4 mph/298/298 watts

11. 5.2 mi/12:03/ 25.8 mph/ 312/312 watts

12. 4.1 mi/8:53/ 27.9 mpn/ 322/324 watts

My sponsors are stepping up to encourage your pledges and donations:

-If you donate $6 per mile or more, you will be eligible for a Ruckpack prize drawing

-If you donate $8 per mile or more, you will be eligible for a Gu Energy prize drawing

-If you donate $12 per mile or more, you will be eligible for a 2XU prize drawing.

I am really stoked for this endeavor.  If I am going to ask you to donate, I might as well step up and really do some work. Please put money where my mouth is.  Stay tuned for more details and EMAIL ME YOUR PLEDGES.  billy.edwards.mdot@gmail.com

Donation instructions will come immediately after the race and will be via Paypal and www.team4mil.org

When Jimmy Neutron laid down his plan for our team conquering RAAM at record pace, I was immediately thrilled that our sub-team would likely do the highest climbs and the majority of Colorado.  I had even made one request; I wanted to have the pull that put us over 10,825 feet on Wolf Creek Pass. Virginia still feels like home to me, but I have really come to love Colorado and its many, many great attributes.  That is why on Monday morning when we awoke just east of Pagosa Springs, CO, I was thrilled and wanted to welcome each of my teammates to MY TERRAIN!  I even had special socks for the day.

Climbed well with my CO socks and my GU Brew.

Our bus had shimmied through the western mountains to our team hand-off at the foot of the Wolf Creek Pass climb, but we had our first down-time in normal sleeping hours, so I slept very well.  My TT bike aero bars needed some attention, so when I awoke, I quickly went to getting my TT bars fixed with some carbon paste.  Thankfully, I would not have any troubles after this work was done.  I knew the day would be full of extremes, climbing on steep grades at altitude and then flying on the flats with prevailing tailwinds.  I needed both bikes in perfect condition.

The only sore spot of the morning was finally seeing Team ViaSat. They did an athlete exchange in front of our team hand-off position.  They were over an hour ahead of our time and it was slightly disappointing.  I made sure to be social and sarcastic.  They said they had one rider who would do the entire climb– uh, bull shit. So when they asked me our plan, I hinted sarcastically I was done being friendly and sharing information.  Oh well, they had a great race, I wish it could have been closer and more back and forth.

Back to our race, we did some serious trading off on the climb, as you can see I barely was doing a mile, but I did get in a good 2 mile pull at the outset.  I also pulled an extra going up, so I could get to finish out the climb, reaching the highest point of the race and then tag off to ABConfire so he could descend Wolf Creek like the badass he was.  I thoroughly enjoyed being back in Colorado, but my teammates were immediately suffering. They had these looks of death and were having difficulty thinking, eating, and even riding.  At that point, I began to discover how much it really did aid me to be from altitude.  We had shot up to 6000+ in less than 48 hours and with the efforts we were putting out, it was hard on those not accustomed to the lack of oxygen. I took a few longer pulls across the flats and saw some decent power numbers, but although not feeling ill, I was not able to push huge numbers, either.

The highlight of the day was awaiting me in the last third of our shift.  Lara and Paige had driven down to meet up with Kyle’s parents and cheer our sub-team.  So across the flats we flew unremarkably, and then I was given the first pull through La Veta to the base of the other 10k climb.  When I entered La Veta, I made a right hander and right before me was Lara and Paige there to cheer me into town.  For me this was one of my Le Tour moments. It was just Lara and the cowbell, holding Paige, but it felt like a massive group of fans bringing me into their small town before I took on their massive climb.  I was high as a kite and took off.

Paige waiting for daddy.

Unfortunately, my follow car got confused a half mile later and asked me to stop.  Being about 99% sure I was correct on my path and knowing that stopping was never a good idea, I kept going and yelled into the radio for them to get their heads out of their asses.  It was not nice on my part, but I was frustrated.  Thankfully, we were on the correct road and we kept trucking up to the climb.  The last climb was tough tactically, as with RAAM you have to find enough shoulder for pulling over that transition vehicle in order to transition.  Unlike Wolf Creek, La Veta made this difficult.  Having seen the anguish in my teammates, I really only wanted to be on the road. I was riding well and really enjoying TTing uphill on my Soloist.  Plus, Lara and Paige were leapfrogging us up the climb which just gave me chills. I was always happier on the bike, as my patience was thin in these situations. I was very happy with my numbers on that last climb, as holding over 280 over 8000 is good for me even on a good day and I was doing it at the end of the shift.

I got to hit the apex of the climb and hand it over to our crazy man ABConfire as he descended amazingly well.  He did have a near crash, but it only got him more jazzed about ripping descents.  That is why I climbed and he descended.  At the end of the day Shawn and I compared numbers.  I had the same time on the bike as he, but had gone about 15 miles less.  The roads after the decent into our team transition were rolling and fun.  We each got a good roller-coaster pull and with the altitude coming down quickly our team was finally coming back to normal physically. Even our assistant crew-chief was excited beyond belief because she unknowingly was driving right through an area where she had hunted with her dad as a child.  Seeing the country this way has these kinds of awesome moments.

Best reward of the trip came in CO

At the team transition we quickly stripped and let our amazing crew get to washing bikes and even washing our kits.  I then spent about 45 minutes with Paige and Lara.  It was about noon, so just about the right time for an egg and cheese burrito.  Jimmy Neutron even abandoned his vegan ways and had an egg, cheese, AND bacon burrito.  Seeing Lara and Paige really was rejuvenating.  I never really thought being a parent or husband would change me much, but they really do make life MORE awesome.  Our sub-team was gelling and we were all very enthusiastic- me for being in Colorado and seeing little Paige and Lara, my teammates for being done with the hell that is the altitude of Colorado.  We had our eyes on records and the soon to be flat, easy, rewarding section that is Kansas. Unfortunately, we had no idea that our next shift would be the hardest.

Bacon Burrito time even for the Vegan

Shift 3 Pull Information:

1. 1.9 mi/ 7:00/ 16.3 mph/315/312 watts (266 ft gain)

2. 0.7 mi/4:16/9.7 mph/319/x watts (234 ft gain)

3. 0.7 mi/4:40/11.2 mph/320/x watts (250 ft gain)

4. 6.9 mi/13:21/ 32.1 mph/ no data (flats to Alamosa at 8000+ ft)

5. 7.5 mi/16:24/ 28.1 mph/ 287/284 watts

6. 7.2 mi/15:37/27.6 mph/ 283/283 watts

7. 5.9 mi/13:34/ 26.0 mph/289/291 watts

8. 3.3 mi/9:46/ 20.3 mph/ 293/293 watts

9. 4.1 mi/10:43/ 22.9 mph/ 280/286 watts

10. 1.9 mi/ 5:57/ 18.9 mph/282/288 watts

11. 3.1 mi/ 12:18/ 15.1 mph/ 277/276 watts

12. 1.5 mi/8:02/ 11.3 mph/279/280 watts

13. 9.2 mi/17:04/ 32.4 mph/ 268/270 watts (last pull of the shift with some interesting terrain)

SO GOOD! And a great porcelain throne.

Taking a nap after my first shift was nearly impossible, since it was early morning. Thus I spent a good bit of time prepping my gear for the next shift. I felt like I was back in the Marines, making sure my gear was ready for battle so when I woke up I could grab my rifle (bike) and go straight into the fight (race). The comfy bus was also having issues, because the toilet was clogged.  Having re-hydrated after the night of dry heat, I was full and needed to drain. Since someone (pBro?) from Alpha squad had killed the toilet, I was forced to dig up empty water bottles and proceeded to fill four of them.  Once empty I got a short nap before a truck stop in Flagstaff. The truck stop, Little America Travel Center, was amazing, with a suspiciously hygienic marble floored shower suite that cost me and a couple others $10 to rotate through.

The goodDoc recovers in heat outside bus.

We did our third team exchange just outside of Flagstaff, late in the afternoon.  It was HOT! After being posted on the side of the road for an hour, knowing time would be soon I decided the best way to be ready to ride was to get out of the A/C bus, drink hot coffee, and sit in a lawn chair in the 100+ heat. I was nervous, because Kyle had told me that this would be the scariest stretch of road.  The roads were rough, the traffic was great and not friendly, and the terrain would allow speed, but chances for crazy cross winds. I had specifically gone out in the Boulder spring during wind storms to prepare me for this section of the road.  I despised Kyle for having me very nervous about this stretch through Arizona.  Tuba City and Mexican Hat were names of towns I did not want to ride through based on Kyle’s stories.

One of my few pulls on the TT bike that day.

However, it was not bad.  I started out riding very well with my first pull over 30 mph.  On my second pull, the poor roads and high heat took a toll on my TT bike and the base bars slipped and started to drop.  Between pulls, our team wrench tried to tighten them up.  On my third pull I was forced to pull over after only three miles and do a rider exchange due to the bars dropping again.  It was frustrating; however, my road bike was set up with a great set of aero bars and I knew I could maintain great speed in a great aero position even on my road/climbing rig. On my fourth pull, I was getting a rhythm and the fears of this section were starting to dissipate. I did hit one short steep decent (keep in mind I don’t like tricky descents) and I was flying.  Good ol’ Amanda was in my ear and she decided to announce my speed,”Wow, 50, gettin’ it!” She announced this just as we approached a little bridge over a gap. I readied for the small cross wind that of gave me a little shimmy in my last half-mile riding into the exchange.  I was thankful to be on my road rig.

Kyle getting it done as alpenglow approaches in Utah.

After being forced to the road rig, the shift was rather uneventful.  The scenery as we approached Mexican Hat, UT was amazing, the best on the trip for Bravo Team.  Since we were heading east, the sun was setting behind us and lighting up the rock formations changing them from red to purple. The setting sun also gave us a reprieve from the heat, as well. I was very happy with the power numbers on this second shift, as we were between 4000 and 6000 ft.

Racing back into the dark, over 700 miles done.

Keeping in mind this was a race, at this point, Team4Mil was in the middle of a trio of teams riding away from the others.  Within our trio small gaps were being established with us in second and our buddies Strategic Lions in third.  Our team had covered about 765 miles and it was only going into our second evening of racing.

175 and pBro celebrating a clogged can!

This was also a point where we started to lighten up and begin to really enjoy the trip.  Kyle and I were in the gas station, me desperate to find ice cream and a porcelain throne.  Kyle had similar intentions, but both us were forced to wait for a rather boisterous throne sitter.  Kyle and I could not get out of the room of thrones fast enough, as we giggled.  Kyle tried to remain very professional, but we were the ones being laughed at as AirForceCrewdChris of our crew walked out laughing at us for running around in bike shoes to escape his boisterous throne sitting.  Yup, this was going be a long trip and loud poopy noises, real or not, were just a part of the deal.  Giggle away; it was going to be a long trip.

The goodDoc, gets ready to put Alpha on the road and PimpIan supervises.

Shift 2 Pull Information:

1. 6.6 mi/12:12/32.7mph/ no data

2. 7.8 mi/14:16/34.1 mph/277/280 watts (handle bars dropped!)

3. 3.2 mi/6:41/28.3 mph/ 299/303 watts (bars droppd again!)

4. 5.0 mi/10:23/29.1 mph/ 290/293 watts

5. 5.8 mi/15:00/23.3 mph/ 306/306 watts

6. 5.9 mi/12:09/29.3 mph/292/299 watts

7. 7.3 mi/14:48/29.5 mph/ 306/308 watts

8. 4.4 mi/9:22/ 28.5 mph/317/323 watts

I went into Paris-Brest-Paris with very high expectations that I was extremely embarrassed to discuss.  I had done my homework in training, ride discussions, and gear preparation with some solid U.S. veterans of PBP.  The Rocky Mountain Cycling Club (RMCC) although not represented in huge numbers is likely one of the most consistent group of randonneur riders. It does help that we train in one of the best playgrounds for bikes. However, I was new to this event and even 1200ks. As one of the younger riders and likely due to my military background, I was respecting my elders and those who had come before me.  In the days before the ride I was still absorbing advice from anyone who would talk with me.  Some of my hotel-mates and fellow pre-riders were cognizant of my potential, but no matter what, I wanted to be a part of the group and have respect for PBP and its anciens.  Like everyone I was there to test my preparation, push my own limits, and ride my bike in France. I was also going to participate in the race within the ride. Therefore, with a bit of pride, I would like to share some of the story from the front of the ride.

Getting to the front of the ride was almost as exhausting as the 49 hours of riding I did.  At noon (for the 4pm start), on Sunday I arrived in a misty rain to stand in line with two other young U.S. speedsters.  We literally went from sitting on plastic bags in the rain to flopped over our bars in the blazing sun.  I took advantage of those four hours, attempting to meet everyone within chatting distance.  I thought that the more people I could be-friend before the ride, the better.  When the shades went on and the cleats clicked, everyone would be out just for themselves.  For those who do not start in this first group, you are smartly missing one of the most intense and unknown periods of the ride for the speedsters.  It is difficult to understand why you are being corralled in each area and how long you will be there.  I even understood a little French and had difficulty knowing what was happening during those hours.  I had brought about 6 liters of fluids to drink before the ride, so it was important to have some friends to hold my bike when I went to relieve myself.  When we finally started, the emotional relief was replaced with a cycling survival mode.

The first several hours of PBP at the front were some of the most dangerous miles of riding I have ever completed.  I am a professional long course triathlete so my comfort zone is 10 meters back in the aero position.  Despite my lack of group cycling skills there were others who just did not even belong in the front group due to their fitness.  It was amazing to see men on the rivets, others swerving all over the roads with large panniers trying to hang the Euro speedsters who rarely even carried a flat kit or more than two bottles.  The diversity of the group was both entertaining and scary.  It was no surprise that I was witness to three very nasty crashes.  One crash piled up a half dozen riders across the road sending me safely into the ditch.  These crashes split the packs and only the strong who could bridge back up were allowed to continue on in the premier group. The crosswinds were also trouble in the first two hours as we rode pro-peloton style- everyone echeloning on the LEFT side of the road.  Men were being curbed off on the LEFT side and pushing oncoming cars off the road.  Looking back it is funny, but at the time it was frightening.  After an amazing crash where an Italian was left screaming on the side of the road from a broken collarbone, the packs slowed and the sanity returned to PBP.

Into the dark we rode and blazed through the first controle.  I did not have support following me, so at 140k I found myself at the front of the small group.  I did not even need water, as I had enough food and drink on me to get to 220k (camelback, four bottles, and a couple thousand calories of bars and Gus).  It was funny then to be riding with the guys with absolutely no extra gear.  I chatted with fellow U.S. rider Ragsdale who was also a bit buzzed from the crazy first several hours.  Then I went to the very front of PBP and took a long five minute pull.  It was strangely liberating, but I knew that my time at the front was not for long as I would likely lose the premier group at the first true controle when I would have to fill my own bottles.  I enjoyed my five minutes of leadership and for the first time felt the fun of PBP.

As expected, and partially due to my own laziness I let the group go at the first real controle, Villaines. I found out later, that had I filled my bottles just a little quicker, I might have made the first group that had stopped just outside of town.  Instead, I began a 1000k TT which began with following the seemingly close group of lights from the lead group.  I met up with another triathlete from Spain and he spoke no English but possessed the insanity that it took to drive us through the night in a failing hot pursuit.  We worked together through Fougeres, the secret control, and Titeniac.  At both controls we shared some cola and began to encounter Frenchman who had splintered from the premier group.  However, by the time morning approached, I had to leave “the Spaniard,” the name I gave him at one of the controls in honor of Russell Crowe’s character in Gladiator.

I did have some support in the form of friends with my gear laid out like a triathlon transition area in Loudeac.  I arrived solo, five minutes after the premier group left.  With no real concerns, I gladly stripped and changed into my new set of bike clothes and took on food and water and cola.  My friends stuffed chocolate croissants in my jersey and they then spent the day on the beach as I set off on the next 400k of riding.  The trip in and out of Brest was relatively uneventful, as I began to pass more riders, many had decided to rest, or sit and eat.  Being of the triathlon mindset I just kept moving, time not on the road was a waste to me.  I wanted on my bike and wanted to be moving.  I guess it would be a contradiction then when I stopped to have some great people from Brittany take my picture on the side of the road before the descent into Brest.   I did have my camera; I felt it was appropriate at the time.

My second trip into Loudeac was identical in nature as my first, yet there were hundreds of people going the other way.  I really felt the spirit and camaraderie of PBP. I was feeling really good and most on the outbound were doing the same.  I saw several of my hotel-mates who knew I was rollin’, and they gave me the biggest smiles and thumbs-up.   I was in the midst of accomplishing my goals and loving the idea of riding solo through the French countryside. Then the dynamics changed a bit.  With clean clothes and full load of feed ready to crush the last 400k solo, I was asked to wait for several Frenchmen.  I agreed calculating it would be safer and smarter to ride with people even if I was doing 90% of the work.  I was correct in every way.

The Frenchmen I rode with through the night gradually dwindled to two gentlemen Phillipe and Gilbert.  They frustrated me at the controles with long stops to chat with their follow-on support, but around 2am on my second night in the hills outside of Fougeres I nearly lost it. I was beyond tired and could not even stay awake while riding.  My idea of sharing NoDoz with the Frenchies was good for them, but bad for me.  I had run out of ways to keep myself going, so I began to yell jokes in English. I consider myself a very good joke teller, but they not only did not understand, but we ended up having a conversation much like this.

“We do not understand you, Billy.”

“You don’t need to understand me.”

“Billy, what are you saying?”

“You don’t need to know what I am saying.”

“Billy, we do not understand.”

It was very productive, as this kept me awake for awhile, as well.  I did eventually have to stop, for about ten seconds.  I got off the bike and held it with one hand stretching my arm out, so I get as far from the bike, and took three deep breaths.  I remounted and then finished up the last of my darkest hours of riding.  I did hallucinate a bit and tried to catch a little man with a red light, actually there was a little man with a red light that I caught, so not a hallucination.

By day break, I was out of the worst weather, out of the worst terrain, and out of my worst bad patch.  The last day, or 12 hours of riding were relatively uneventful, but I kept Phillipe and Gilbert in tow.  I did spend much of the time at the front of our little groupeto, but I was so pleased to have some friends to allow me to abuse the French language.  (College French was finally paying off. )  I did learn in the final 200k that my bike position was way too aggressive.  By the time we got back to St. Quentin, my hands were mush and my lower back had pretty much failed. I would eventually have to put everything in my hotel room at hip level for the next several days because I could not bend over without collapsing.  I was very pleased to have my friends from support at Loudeac guide me off my bike at the finish, 48 hours and 46 minutes after having been sent off. My wife, an ancienne from 2007, was not there, but I did get to call her several minutes after finishing. Phillipe, Gilbert, and I finished only a couple hours after the premier group and under 50 hours.  I had gotten the Charly Miller and was very, very pleased with my first trip to Paris-Brest-Paris.

I know many may read this as a race report, but I think it’s just a part of bike riding.  It seems to be human nature and a bit more so in cycling, and I am pleased to say I was a part of that race within the ride. Please understand, it was a part of my personal goals to do it without a follow-on support and I am pleased to have pushed the way I did and when I met good sets of riders, worked with them. I look forward to doing PBP again and reconnecting with all those I met along the journey.

-Finally, PBP 2015 is on my radar and I will take a crew, so I can stay with that premier group!

3x3 Ride with great friends

Lara and I don't mess around when on our bikes.

Post ride pose.

Preparation was key to the success of Team4Mil, but by Friday night our entire team, racers and crew, was sick of preparing.  We had a great plan, great racers, great crew, and great camaraderie. I knew it was going to be fun, but I was so dam apprehensive and nervous due to the build up.  The worst part was not being at the start.  My sub team, Bravo Team, was going to pick-up the action about 200 miles down the road. The start time of about noon on Saturday meant an evening start for Bravo Team.  The first several miles is a parade start in a time trial format.  This allows each team to roll out from the start safely and fairly.  It is also a chance for each team to get some microphone time with the race director and give credit to sponsors and explain the team’s mission, such as our assistance with the wounded warriors this year. After the parade miles end, it goes into race mode and completely unsupported for about 25 very solid miles.  We put down a couple riders for the start to work together, but to also allow us to keep going, if there is a flat or a mechanical. PBro and the good Doctor started out for us, which was likely the best since they had probably done more miles together than any other two on the whole team.

Discussing race strategy, another team meeting?!

Me at the start, on the bus headed up the road.

Another point of explanation for the race is Time Stations, the only official check-in process for RAAM.  Each racer (team or individual) must check-in as they pass each time station, about every 60 miles.  This can be done by phone, but only once the team passes the time station.  Unlike my brevets and PBP, we did not have to stop and get anything stamped.  Each time we passed a Time Station our team had to phone race headquarters to give them an update and also find out if there were any route changes.  This was all a job of the crew and was transparent to the racers.  We did however, use these Time Station checks to see where we stood against our competition and the course record.  Unfortunately in the first couple hundred miles our team was behind both the competition and our goal time sheet.  It was early, but it did add a bit of anxiety to Bravo Team’s final preparation in the eastern deserts of California.

Our first team transition point was something out of my days in Iraq, as there was absolutely nothing around in the desert and it was such a nasty dry heat.  Thankfully it started to cool a little as the sun dropped.  We were between Blythe and Brawley, California. The initial wait was horrible with several panic attacks as we thought our racer was there early, but it all happened smoothly, just as in practice.

Seriously, we had a great bus, AC in the desert heat.

Bravo Team picked up the action with ABConFire- rolling out into the night.  The rest of us gathered our gear and a lunchbox of goodies for our shift and piled into a van with our bikes to its rear. We were a bit excited to start. Each of us had a rock-star like first pull.  ABConFire came sputtering back to the transition/rider van after his pull looking as if, it might be his last.  Much of this was due to the lack of moisture in the air, but some of it was initial pull anxieties.  We were killin’ it due to all the pent-up nervousness.  As a long course mentality guy, I immediately noted to myself that we had to hold some back.  This was also so much easier to do and think about in the van, but our legs were so good that I even hammered much more than I should have in the first night.  The first rotation of pulls, had each us on the road for about eight miles each and it was tough.  It was dry, hot, and of course we were all on the gas pedal since there was little terrain to hold us back.

At one point on the bike, I was told via the radio the team was going six miles up the road and I was FLYING.  In the back of my mind, I wanted to show the guys in the van that they were not going to be ready by stopping that early.  It so happened that they attempted a rider exchange and a gas fill-up all at once and there was a failure to have the next rider ready for me.  Honestly, I could not have been happier.  I was a little tired, but it was great to really start to see how well I was gonna be able to dig deep.  That was my longest pull of that night and it was amazing to see the power I held for that entire pull.

So the crew knew what to put in my lunch box.

As the night went into the 0200 to 0500 time frame we all seemed to go through a series of lows.  It kind of shifted through the van.  Each one of us would seemingly take a turn going quiet and trying to work through the no-sleep demons. I had smartly had my lunch pail packed with two cokes and that was my immediate reaction when the bad patches came.  Coke is my favorite wonder drug for endurance racing from ironman to PBP- it is the sweet nectar of the gods.  My lunch pail had been packed with a meat and cheese sandwich, a PBJ, some bars, of course some GUs, and two cokes.  I also supplemented all night with Gu Brew to keep up the electrolytes.  I even had some saltsticks tablets that were key in the heat we would experience throughout our race.  It all sat well with me, but the ham and cheese- flashbacks to jambon et fromage in France, so I went with just PBJ when eating on my shifts after the initial one.

Jimmy Neutron finally seeing the sun after first night of pulls.

Our shift ended on Yarnell Grade, our sub-team’s first real climb, just outside of Congress, Arizona.  It was the best way to end our shift. The sun was coming up and warming our faces and lighting up the desert rock faces. I received a great boost from the rising sun and Kyle even got my go-to-song of the race (Linkin Park’s Burn it Down)on the stereo before my last pull up the last three miles.  My only concern was that half way up the climb the Strategic Lions had a rider exchange vehicle pass me going up the climb.  I got really worried that I was failing my team and allowing Strat Lions back in the race.  Looking back at the numbers, it is obvious, no-one was catching me on my last pull.  I blasted up those last three miles, so dam stoked to be in the race.  When I saw my team bus at the top of the grade and a rider on the road ready to put Alpha Team into action, I just yelled.  I could not talk to them, so it was my chance to let them know I was getting it done and it was their turn to “race their faces off” (CaptAmerica’s quote).

Captain America- the Team Captain

Pulls:
(distance/time/speed/avg/Normal watts)
1- 6.2 mi/13:05/28.6mph/348/351 watt (first pull amazingness)
2- 5.8 mi/12:20/28.1mph/352/355 watts
3- 13.2 mi/31:50/25.0 mph/331/338 watts (the missed exchange- most fun pull of night)
4- 7.6 mi/17:19/26.2 mph/348/348 watts
5- 7.2 mi/17:17/25.1 mph/335/334 watts
6- 5.8 mi/14:03/24.6 mph/331/331 watts
7- 4.5 mi/14:09/18.9 mph/ 330/332 watts
8- 3.0 mi/14:38/12.2 mph/345/347 watts (slower on the grade at 6000ft  but with last pull energy)

Let me briefly explain how we would be going fast.  With a large crew, we were able to break down our 8 man team into two 4 man sub-teams, that would rotate with enough time to keep our crew rested and operating with enough rest. We would call each stint out as a sub-team a “shift” and individual times on the road a “pull.”  Our sub-teams were very evenly set, as we saw some teams yo-yo around us in the results because they had a strong team and a not-as-strong team. Each one of our individuals pulls was relatively short because of the precision of our crew and vehicle set-up.  For example, going over Wolf Creek Pass (10,856 ft), we would change pulls as quick as every mile.  On some decents, instances of failed transitions, or in times of needing gas for a vehicle, a rider could end up on the road for 10 miles.  With these short distances, we were able to go VERY fast, and then get full recovery riding in the van to the next transition.

One last explanation of the rules would be helpful to explain individual transitions.  We had to overlap front of off-going with rear of on-coming rider in order to allow the oncoming rider to begin.  This could be done while moving during the day.  However, at night, the on-coming rider could not start until he was over-lapped, thus a slightly slower individual rider hand-off.  Efforts to get started were VERY high to maintain momentum and speed and slipping a pedal was always frustrating.  At night, we always had to have a follow vehicle and we had to ride within their lights. Finally, it was not that easy to find places to do these transitions.  Vechicles ALWAYS had to be parked at least five feet off the road and we had to avoid high grass to avoid fires and muddy ditches to keep from getting stuck.

I will also add that we each had radios and our vehicles each had a radio.  One of the biggest helps for piece of mind and directions was the constant stream of communication, especially between the rider and the follow vehicle.  Our follow vehicle’s navigators eventually became our bestest friends and our biggest harassers. They would spend hours looking at our butts while we stared down the empty road. They would guide us, encourage us, or berrate us depending on what we deserved at the moment and it was a huge addition to the journey.

When our sub-team was not on the road doing our shift, we were in the bus, attempting to sleep/eat or prepare for our next shift on the road.  The only unfortunate part about this set-up was that we never really got to see our other sub-team.  On the other team was our Rider Captain- Captain America (retired USN, Spec War), our team’s Director of Operations- “175″ (AF dietician), an amazing Armed Forces Team rider- pBro (AF engineer), and a relatively small team climber and ironman age group stud- Relaxed Doc (AF pediatric cardio doctor).  Our sub-team was lead by the brains of our overall team strategy- Jimmy Neutron (USN submariner), and we had an amazing time trialist and decender with great riding credentials- ABConfire (USN meteorlogist), my classmate and always steady rider- Kyle (former Marine engineer). My sub-team would not actually start riding until late into the first day.

The first day for our sub-team was spent getting our gear packed and then relaxing in the sleeper-coach-bus 200+ miles out onto the course.  The Alpha sub-team would put two riders on the road for the start because it was not supported for about 25 miles and if there were any mechanicals, an individual rider could go ahead. They would do the mountain ranges that lie just off the coast and then get Team4Mil into the eastern California deserts.  Our team knew what we had to do in order to break the course record (5 days 9 hours, 3 minutes), and the Alpha team lost some time over the first 200 miles to that speed average.  We were going fast, racing with the known strong teams, but oddly were already facing conditions that seemed a little adverse…

Two years ago a classmate of mine, Kyle started doing RAAM as part of a team, Team4Mil.  To me it initially sounded pretty lame, because RAAM to me was solo riders exhausting themselves over 3000 miles in eight to ten days. Keep in mind, the lovely and tough Lara has ridden her bike across country (her journey was 3200 miles) in 28 days. I have ridden 760 miles in two days, so the idea of needing help in the form of another person, let alone seven others seemed a bit of a slacker session. However, I soon learned that as a team, it was still a real amazing and tough race.  In 2011, the team was second to a British team Strategic Lions and both teams came close to breaking a very competitive course record of 5 days 9 hours 3 minutes.  That is over 23 mph and was done with non-stop cycling.  It ain’t no tour, the RACE clock starts at the pier in Oceanside, CA and stops in Annapolis, MD.

Over the couple years, I learned that Team4Mil was more than just prepping for the RACE Across America. They were doing so in an effort to bring awareness to wounded veterans and the use of cycling to get them back to a full life. This year, the team was going to mentor an eight man wounded warrior team to complete the same race. In April, I even had the privilege to meet most of the wounded warrior team at a training camp.  There were two Marines on the team: one an H2 handcylist, and the other a relatively recent below the knee amputee.  I learned so much from them about their injuries and how they were taking their military ethos to a new outlet in competitive cycling.  RAAM was now a part of that journey in their new life. It really gave a new perspective on competition and getting the most out of my body.   I might not touch too more on the other team, but know these guys were always on my mind during my race and preparation.  I knew RAAM would be tough for my team, but eight other like-minded men doing the same thing with many more obstacles would be out there pushing forward like we always do in the U.S. military.

Let me briefly explain how this triathlete had to actually adapt his training for RAAM. I only raced a couple tris this spring with relatively poor results, but I was really training well, swimming better than ever and always running consistently. I know my power numbers (thanks to some teaching by Dr. Phil Skiba) and have soundly built my triathlon training around them with smart goals for racing.  The smartest coach-type of Team4Mil, aka “175″, told me I needed to plan on pushing low LT watts for my relatively short pulls for 2-10 miles (2 miles in the mountains to 10 miles on the flats).  Between my pulls I would sit in a van- refit and refuel.  When I got back on the bike, no warm-up, just GO!  My workouts slowly morphed into 3-4 days in a row of 2-5 hour rides with multiple LT sets with lots of low watt spin recoveries.  Going into the weeks leading up to RAAM, it was still a little unclear as to whether I could hold LT numbers from Cali to Maryland, but I had a better feeling for how it might feel.  The only unknown was the low-points that you experience in ultra-racing.  I also had no idea how my body would handle the constant up and down within my shifts of racing and then the down time being used to put a group of us up the road and fully recover.  In the next entry, I will give a vague description of our tactics and also explain how the race started for my sub-team and I.

For more information on Team4Mil go to www.team4mil.org
Here’s to hoping I can keep up this little story, as it was a great journey.

Late last year I applied to race for Team4Mil (T4M), a team of all military and former military members on an 8 man Race Across America(RAAM) team.  I was notified in March that I would be asked to ride with the team and I jumped at the opportunity. Most of you have heard of RAAM through the ABC Wide World of Sports and then into the present day because it was all about crazy men and women riding sleep deprived across country in 8-12 days.  It is still that, but now there are some growing team categories.  This year, there are 18 eight-man teams and it a competitive race .  Team4Mil was second last year to another all-military team from the U.K. that shares a primary goal with T4M of raising awareness for wounded warrior programs.  Military precision and discipline are pretty important to this race because both teams are back this year both with a good shot at breaking the course record of 129.5 hours or 5 days 9 hours and 3 minutes.

RAAM is an intriguing event that I doubt I will ever do solo, but it is one that I always wanted to grab my seven best friends/cyclists and head across country as fast as we could.  I now know that this event is VERY complicated and I am not so interested in trying to organize a team anymore. I am finding being a part of another extension of the military into the sports world the best mix.  The founding aspect of this team is it’s connection to the Wounded Warrior Project.  Therefore we are a 501.c3 and will be pushing out the idea of WWP opportunities and funding for their programs.  It truly is the best of all worlds for me, as I do some true giving back to the warriors I once led.  If you are interested in giving please go to the Team4Mil page www.team4mil.org and look to the PayPal link and donate.

In the coming weeks I will talk a little more about RAAM and my training.  If this is your first time back to my site, you will notice it is recently re-done. This the first blog since the re-work.  I hope you like it.  The photo on the front is from Ironman Wisconsin 2011 (hopefully I will go back this year) where my performance was not so great, but I got a chance to shed some pride and show my patriotism on 9-11.
More soon.

If you have been following my twitter or FB, you would see quite a few really good run times over the past six weeks.  I am going to call them really good run times because they impress me and I am my biggest critic.  At age thirty-four, my biggest concern in running is that I may be seeing my pure speed disappear and that I am beyond run PRs.  However, after the last couple runs, I know that I still got the speed that could eventually result in some PRs in at least a open half marathon or marathon, maybe a 10k?

HOUSTON 5k

Lara, Paige, and I went to the Marathon Trials in Houston to be spectators.  We are huge fans of the endurance community and our top-notch friends (especially Joanna Zeiger and Amanda Scott). We went to spectate, but opportunity to toe the line the following day in a low key 5k presented itself, and we jumped on it. The race ended up having about 5000 runners. Lara was the instigator, but I could not be helped and salivated at the test of sea level speed.  Who cares if I was going to be tired from running/walking around watching the trials, it was just a 5k.

I went out with a group and we sailed through the first mile in 5:05, not too fast, but as fast as my legs would go and I figured my end was near.  However, aerobically I was never spent and went through the next mile in 5:09 and finished with a 5:07 for a 15:53 finish.  I was not even out of breath at the finish, but my legs had moved as fast as they could.  It was cool to hold close to 5 minute pace for 5k.

FAST AND FLURIOUS 4 MILER

In Boulder, there are a lot of really elite runners that are prepping for the National XC Champs each year and the best preparation race is an annual four mile XC.  Four miles is just about the right distance here at altitude to test your speed and strength, but not totally kill your legs or lungs.  I had been encouraging good friend Joanna to run the race, in her XC preparation, and then she pointed out it would be a good prep for my upcoming half marathon.

She was correct and I ended up running my best executed XC race of my 25 plus years of running cross country.  My mile splits are a little skewed by some miles having more hills than others, but they went as follows: 5:36, 5:21, 5:28, and 5:15 for a finish time of 21:57 (the finish was 100m past the 4 mile mark).  I was in probably 30th place or worse in the opening mile and ended up in 16th, within fairly respectable distance of the guys that only run- the really skinny dudes.

SURF CITY HALF MARATHON

This past weekend Lara and I did one of our favorite trips to escape a bit of the winter here in Boulder.  It is a short pleasant weekend to visit her parents and get in a sea level half marathon.  The Surf City Half and Full Marathons are a fantastically well run event in Huntington Beach. I highly recommend the race, especially to my Colorado friends.  It is held each year on Super Bowl Sunday and a very short trip to sea level and the warm Cali sun.  This year I thought I had it in me to challenge my PR of 70:04 for the half marathon.

I was really ready and still know it, but I think I may have over done it in the week prior to the race. I ended up running a very even paced 71:46. I was really stiff the whole race and struggled to get under 5:20 pace even in the opening miles (keep in mind the 5k race I did in Houston).  It was only slightly disappointing, because I held just under 5:30 pace the entire run.  I gave it all I had and ended up with a solid result. No regrets, because I had such a fun time, and the race did not disappoint. Plus Paige got to visit with her grandparents, and Lara got to see some friends, truly a great trip.

CONCLUSION

Interestingly, after doing some research last week I noted that in 2005 I ran 71:44 at the tough Colonial Half Marathon the day after I rode my bike 118 miles!  I still have that speed, it is there and needs some awakening from time to time to remind myself mentally and physically. However, if I want to go faster than my best off the bike speed, it takes a little better taper and monitoring.  I won’t admit to getting older, but my body does need more time to recover from really fast efforts before making another go at true run speed.  The best note is seeing I am still “the Kid”- at each race I was either the guy with the greatest age or second greatest age in the top 15.

I am off to USNA this week, so perhaps an update from training the Mids will be upcoming. Stay tuned!