tyWelcome to race coverage Day 5. Mike Z here - What I am doing is creating one blog entry per day with a collection of all the news out on the road from the race (mostly Merrill's updates). Coverage is 12AM - Midnight and will be updated even if there are other blog posts. Here are links to the previous day coverage:
Day1 Day2 Day3 Day412:07 AM Sunday morning - I'm in the leapfrog with Mama D. Goat and Papa D are manning the follow car. Temp is 77, humidity up slightly from the mtns, but not unbearable. Quite a few bugs in KS, you can't sit with the interior light on and the door open. That makes me nervous because of the infernal auto locking doors in this dodge caravan. Total mileage on the van is 1687. It had 7 when I got it at the airport in san Diego.
12:33 AM - We are looking to go to rosalia tonight, approx 120 miles. It is just not that exciting for the crew when the road is totally straight and there is not much to look at. We are doing full 30 min exchanges since KAL can maintain a good pace for the full 30. Lots of stars are still visible and the head wind we started with is gone. I spoke to adam briefly at the changeover and he has some problem with his speedplay not wanting to release.
1:15 AM - Well, we just shuttled Alex from the corner of NE 50th street and NE 60th Ave to the corner of NE 50th street and NE 150th Ave. I did not have to turn the steering wheel to make the trip. We did stop at one stop sign. think the county planners here are being a bit optimistic in their naming conventions. 76F at 0058 hrs on Sunday. Happy Fathers day! We have three on the team, Papa D obviously, KR, and me. - Merrill
1:37 AM - I think that Alex is bored by this stage. He is riding with the ipod, hopefully with only one earbud in conformance with raam rules. We passed Cheney state park a minute ago and a long Cheney dam. No relation as far as I can tell. KR is still running the aero position. We made some minor adjustments and he seems to be happy with it. 75F now at 0132 EDT. We are on 21st st N now and 295th west. High traffic as we have been passed by 3 cars since we stopped.
2:07 AM - We are 3 mi from TS 26 at Colwich, KS. Not much going on, really. The biggest issue I have so far is a little blister on the back of my heel. Fortunately I brought a back up pair of shoes so I am no longer in a severe state of suffering. I chose to not tell KAL about my malady. It looks like the worst saddle sores so far belong to Patt. I have no details on that other than I overheard part of an energetic discussion of chamois butter. 74F. 0207 EDT
2:33 AM - Colwich, KS. 1576 miles in the bank. 75F increasing humidity makes you just plain uncomfortable. KR says this is not the most exciting stage of his raam career. He just drank a dark choc frap and is ready to get back at it. 0232 EDT Sunday. Looks like a 100 Ft elevation change over the next 30 miles!!!
4:08 AM - Almost to El Forado, KS. 72F moist and lots of bugs in and out of the car. After the 4 hour century earlier, KAL are just looking forward to getting this one on the books. One more shift each and we will have covered 120 mi tonight.
4:14 AM - KR a little wobbly coming in, balance and senses a little off, but in good spirits. I had to show him which side of the road the car was parked on and he is mumbling about something.
4:43 AM - KR getting ready to go back out. Minor RV problem finding a site. KAL may have to extend. Full you in later I are Alex light coming. RAAM film crew was following him a minute ago.
5:04 AM - Wichita lights in the sky behind us. Chaos in front with the RV. No one was awake 10 min ago. KR on course past TS 27. He is Digging deep for a potentially long night Here's the profile for the next stage - There's a 200Ft climb over 20 miles - think they will notice?
5:08 - RV found a spot 10 miles beyond plan, so that is good news. Hopefully everyone wakes up and is ready when KAL pulls in. Better to ride forward at any speed than to stand around waiting. So its all good, KR is extending his last turn and Alex is putting in one extra. These guys will have ridden around 260 mi in less than 13 hrs. Fantastic effort. When Alex rolled in the last time I had to catch him before he could unclip so he wouldn't tip over. The dude's jersey is soaked with sweat, and his arm glistening. He completely ruined my shower from today! On a bright note, a film crew rode along next to Alex and got some good stuff. Look for him in the Princeton sports jersey.
Mama D is worried that Patt won't get enough food with the RV mixup and her out on the road. She says Patt is very sensitive to not having food on time.
6:02 AM - Roundup of the wee hours of fathers day. Tonight KAL battled headwinds and humidity after a long afternoon against 95+ temps. Keith and Alex are back to life, thinking clearly and satisfied with their effort. The crew pulled together and saved a potentially time losing situation. Patt got his pancakes and is out on the course. Several of is even got to speak with Mike z at 0245. He passed some notes of encouragement to me that I read to KAL between turns. Other notes:
We passed "sugar road" tonight. Pretty much everyone is dissing KS. I apologize if you are from KS. We did not see Dorothy or Toto and we have not encountered any tornadoes. Good night or morning or whatever it is for you. I have a sleep shift now for 6 hrs. Yipee! -Merrill
10:45 - Former GU reports: 10:45 and the RAAMsters have crossed the border into Missouri and perhaps some more interesting scenery. Hang in there everyone!
11:09 AM - Happy Fathers day again. PAD is expected to arrive here at Nevada, Missouri in 20 min. Approx 1757 from start. KAL coverage to resume then. Merrill
11:55 - KR is the first one out this am. He is sporting the AFC polka dots, and red gloves to match the handlebar tape on his surly. He has the aero helmet orechef above his game face. hahaha a little over the top description just to let you picture it. Temp is 83F,blue skieswith a couple wisps in the sky. We are riding through rolling farms that are nice and green. Looks like corn, but it is young. Either that or it is baby corn.
12:04PM - RV 142 just passed us. Some soloist? We have had good weather so far apart from the heat. No sign of building storms yet today, so we are hoping this weather holds. We are headed for lake of the ozarks for the end of this rotation.
12:30 PM - Its really hot for 85f. Alex says these rolling hills are tough in the heat. Course reminds me of the Eat a Peach ride with endless climbs and descents of 100 to 250 feet. 1777 mi. Passing through El Dorado Springs, month
12:33 PM Just passed RV bus 603. Alex is busting out the fierce pink Gatorade strawberry flavor
12:43 PM- Mama D had a strawberry rhubarb pie today. Madi got choked up by it since that is her dads fav. He died 4 years ago. My dad also loved that stuff. He passed away in 1998. I miss him. He was a papa D type guy (?) who would have done a trip like this for me.
12:45 PM- We just passed about 20 cows standing in a little water hole up to their armpits.
12:47 - c/o Rabid AFC RAAMster fan: RV 142 belongs to Solo Male Racer Daniel Rudge who is in last place in that division. (AFC) should be passing more solo racers today including the 2 solo women. The run on good weather may be coming to an end. There is a line of strong Tstms to their NW heading in the direction of their route. The is a 70% chance they'll get nailed with the possibility that the Tstms will be severe. I don't think they'll outrun the storms.
12:50 EDT - Alex bike had a flat on the rack, so KR rode an extra mile while we swapped baby suga's wheel and zoomed up to catch KR and make the swap.
1:01 PM - That's flat 1 for KAL. I think PAD have 5. Roadside highlight. Dead armadillo spotted at mile 1788.3 on raam course.
1:07 PM - Rollers are getting closer together now which means pain on the fixies. Sky is overcast. Potential for some rain this afternoon may be developing.
Sorry for the break - I had some projects to do around the house. - Mike Z
1:12 PM - We are handing up a cold water bottle once during the riders turn so they can dump it over their heads. Its cool since I'm in the passenger seat. Its like I'm at the your driving along next to the rider hanging out the window! (Mike Z can't decipher that one)
1:25 PM - Alex says the pink Gatorade is no good after 5 mins when it gets warm. Keith is out of the saddle on each little rise, then back on the aero bars on the back sides. This is a real test on the fixie since he cannot coast down the back sides.
1:30 PM - Team 618 van just passed and slowed to cheer for KR! KR is dodging pieces of downed trees in the shoulder. The van smells like icy hot again as Alex is putting it on his tired muscles.
1:42 PM - Those crazy bruta (?) painted the road for us and stood by the road cheering! I could only read "surly" something in the message. It was 4 lines of yellow spraypaint. First 2 hrs for KAL covered approx 43 miles.
2:05 PM - Correction. Our English friends are team 611 according to Madi who is driving this van. I'm just here to post to TMR. Must be how YDT feels at work!
2:15 PM - HOT. Van still claiming 85F but definitely feels hotter. Thin ceiling of clouds up high are not providing relief from the sun. Pace is slowing slightly as KAL must dig deep in these increasingly oppressive conditions. The terrain profile is not lying. There has not been even a half mile of flat the whole day so far - Here is the profile:
2:25PM - Gas price in Wheatland, MO is $3.75. Alex is pining for Kansas. "this is torture" he says. Looks like an accurate measure so far is 66 mi in 3:20.
2:47 PM - KR climing a little short steep. Out of the saddle, yanking the bars and straining to hold a 42 cadence. We slowed to let 8 cars pass, and they are all afraid to pass KR. Alex is "itching to get back on the bike". Seems to be having mood swings.
2:59 PM -THE GOAT is taking it easy today. He passed us twice, it looks like he shaved so at least the car will smell better tonight. He stopped once to break open PhillyK's big loaner camera and record some riding. There is an ominous looking cloud following us. Keith may remove the HED wheel if it starts storming. We also wants to eliminate the aero bars. I'm only happy to do that for him.
3:04 PM - Today is roadkill day. We just passed armadillo number 6. We've also seen like 20 turtles, some of whom are not yet roadkill, but are showing potential.
3:19 PM - Threatening skies behind. Headwind picking up for no good reason I can think of. Alex just opened the box of oreo double stuffs we have been transporting. I am displeased by this. Now that they are opened we may have to stop for a bottle of milk.
3:37 PM - 80 F now. Skies darkening, but no rain yet. I'm thinking PAD get poured on this afternoon. We are under 20 mi to TS 31 and we are going 14 past that to end at Osage Beach, Missouri.
3:44 PM - Word is they expect haul (hail?) at TS 31. 14 mi ahead. I'm driving now so reports will be shorter. Probably a relief to most of you. Here's a preview of the profile:
3:52 PM - Missouri people seem to have the least clue about passing cyclists of any state so far.
KR is in the car and feeling feisty, ordering me around and acting tough. Not raining yet.
3:59 PM KR is rolling his legs with a wooden rolling pin, really! We may be out riding the storm.
4:37 PM **Tornado warning** We are hunkered down with solo number 142 in some gas station. 125 is here too.
5:00 PM - Tornado abetting, KR is helping the 1 arm solo rider who is sheltering here as well.
KAL Wrap up from Sunday afternoon: We went through the time station at Camdenton, MO just as the tornado warning went off. We collected KR and sped back to the TS for shelter. I didn't realize how windy it was when I was moving "quickly" to get Keith. The door blew open violently, and as I reached for it my RAAM hat blew off. What to do? I watched it land in a vacant lot and hesitated. Oh well.
At the TS we met the one-armed Swiss RAAM racer who was in bad shape. His arm was sore. One of his team asked me if we had a doctor on our crew. I said no, but we have a PT. So Keith tried to help the guy out, but English was not a common language and the guy is suffering from something Keith called "overuse." We left him with his elbow in a bucket of ice. We also met solo #142 who looked like a zombie. We're in the RV now with a real keypad and just passed 142 at mile 1,889 on Hwy 54 toward Jefferson City, MO. Glad to see him still moving.
Anyway, after the tornado, it of course started pouring. Alex volunteered to ride the 13 miles to the RV to complete the shift. We drove to our last point on the course and my hat was still there, so now I have a bonus souvenir, a hat covered with dirt and mud. KAL were going to split the last 13, but once Alex was totally soaked, he just went for the whole thing. There was some cloud-to-cloud lightning, but it didn't really seem "unsafe" so we soldiered on, eager to handoff to PAD. Team PAD actually left the RV without Patt's bike, but since they had two vans, they were able to come back and get it without slowing the progress. The crew totally pulled together in this weather situation to keep the effort moving. Couple random notes from the day:
Before there was any rain, we got a little lightning strike about a mile away from Alex on the bike. I thought, "one more like that and we are stopping." Fortunately, at least from a mythbusters perspective, there was high ground on both sides of the road, so it seemed like we probably would not get hit by lightning. :-) Hey, it's a race, after all.
A few minutes after the lightning strike we came to a 400 foot climb of some difficulty. KR sprinted up that like a man possessed. Turns out he is acutely afraid of lightning. I know the feeling, at least the fear part, if not the ability to sprint uphill like that.
There were reports of funnel clouds touching down within a couple miles of the RV. None of us saw them.Was a day of ups and downs. Hot and tired to full of adrenaline. Next stop for RV is Marthasville, MO and TS33 Cheers! Merrill
Laura helping me fix my seat post that kept falling down.
Picture of whole crew! 
