Reports from the Race Day Six

Welcome to Race coverage Day six.
12:27 AM- Another day at the RAAM. A little mixup getting out and KR took a wrong turn less than a mile from the TS. Maybe a 2min delay, no biggie. We have had good navigation the whole way and have not lost significant time from getting lost.

12:44 AM - 1244 EDT coming up on the 2000 mark. Alex will be claiming the prize. KAL are in good shape overall. Alex has some soreness of throat left from the mountains. KR is hungry for some pizza or fast food.

12:53 AM - 2000 mile time. 0053 Monday jun 16 That is 12:53 am EDT

1:28 AM There is another detour tonight and we will be shuttling the riders down the St Louis beltway. We are going to use the time for one of the vans to make a MC D's run.
1:49 AM - Temp 71. Nice evening. Clouds have somewhat cleared and you can see the moon. We are riding on a road along the side of I 70 north of St Louis. Navigation is tricky.

3:50 AM - Goat and I tried to make a quick run for food during the detour. It was a comedy of errors. The detour was all stoplights and lousy streets along industrial parks along the interstate. Then one MacD's was closed, another place was doing inventory from 1-5 am so they were closed and had a hand written note on the speaker. When it finally ended at 34, we entered East St Louis and some scary parts of Illinois. Long night so far.

4:30 AM - Monday - Goat and I got over our sleepiness and now KAL is falling asleep mid sentence in the car. Alex crossed a very overflowing Mississippi river. Would have been cool to see in the light. The roads are really bad here from all the traffic, it is true urban cycling. Goat and I decided to try running the turns a little longer since the riders are so tired. They take a long time to wake up and then fall asleep in between shifts. So maybe they can do better riding 10 min longer and then napping. I'll let you know how it turns out. KR is doing about 11.5 mi now. They have had some very long days recently. I hope their usual resurgence tomorrow.
4:40 AM - KR came in saying he got a second wind. Maybe the strategy is working. Goat is doing pushups to get the blood flowing. Here's what the road looks like:


6:27 AM - KR took the last turn, time trialing the last 13 miles. Sorry I don't know the time. We've got some fatigue issues coming up, but the crew is trying to set it up so that the guys can get some recovery from the punishment. Keith is showing heart, but his speech is slow and he is in a daze when off the bike. Alex is so strong a rider it is nuts, but he doesn't get enough sleep and can't finish a sentence without falling asleep (at 3am). I think KAL got a tough draw with all their shifts either completely in the dark or completely in the heat of the day. Of course, I am biased from supporting all their rides. PAD are working just as hard. We are trying to adjust PAD shift times closer to the full 6 hrs to make the logistics easier and the recovery more effective. You can only salute the effort so far. Fixies across the country is a tremendous disadvantage. Its sleep time for me! Send up some good vines for Keith and Alex to get some rest.

11:33 - Hola hoosier fans. We are getting close to IU in the motorhome as we zip up in front of PAD to set up shop and launch KAL.While I was sleeping someone washed my shorts, which is awesome since that gives me 2 days of slack in the shorts plan. I may get to MD with a clean pair still in my bag! Hahaha. Alex is crashed (stop using the C word Merrill - MikeZ) in the bunk over the cab. KR is angling to get more mileage. He said "this is how the pros must feel" about the pampering he is getting. He looks a little better today, I'm sure he will out in another strong effort. Mostly flat and rural today. No real mountains until WV. Its 1133, RV should stop soon and then we start around 1230.
Mike Z sent some notes from the PSC list and I showed them to the riders and crew. Its nice to get the cheering, makes you feel good. -Merrill
Here's the upcoming profile from Sullivan, IN to Bloomington, IN:

12:57 PM - JK Says "Give major kudos to Team PAD for their efforts getting to TS37. They rocked the split! Way to tee it up for KAL who finished it off!"

1:04PM - KR started at 1240 and laid down 9 miles in 23 min. Is that possible or is my math off?
83F and feels worse. Just passed a downed tree burning in some guys front yard unsupervised. The smoke is going the same way we are. Nice little tailwind.
1:11 PM - Crossing all kinds of flooded fields. Floods were the reason for the detour last night.
1:19 PM - Feels like morning to me andthe goat, but apparently it is afternoon. There are the normal Midwest cumulus starting to fill the blue sky.
1:25 PM - Alex is climbing a little 300 foot riser out of the saddle keeping up a brisk 18 on the climb. Keith is in the car on a high from a 5 hour energy drink from a gas station. 2259 mi from the start. This morning KR ate one of those burritos from 7 11. He was disappointed it only had 500 calories.
1:55 PM - KR thinks the wind keeps changing directions. Goat thinks it is the road winding around. We are going thru green rolling farms and woods, bright orange poppies (or some kind of flower) are in little clumps.
2:31 PM -We will soon reach the highest point of the stage. 872 feet. KR will claim this prize. Still 82f. 38 mi in first 1 hr 50 min.
2:41 PM - This is a very winding road so far today andthe mini van has 4 coolers in it. So when KR asked to remove the aero handles, we had to get enough distance on Alex. Panda moniim in the van.
2:49 PM - We are weaving thru the burns around IU. Lots of turns and stops. KR is checking his watch, maybe he has an appointment. Feels a little cooler and the clouds are gone so the weather is looking good.
2:49 PM - Its just like "breaking away" KR is drafting a truck on a 4 lane hwy !
4:28 PM - Thru IU campus. And back out in the country. Still rolling hills and 83F. The RV came and handed up some lunch for us. We pulled over for the execution. KAL are recovered from last nights bonk. I heard they did the last TS faster than team cry. Goat and I are going to paint a message for 611 at our next exchange.
4:35 PM - Alex just rode 10 miles in 26 min. He told me he was going to go for it.
4:58 PM - KR has lost weight, his arms are looking like a real cycling pro. His legs are ripped! If that's a good thing, I only heard it from someone. That 5 hour energy stuff is working, he is attacking these risers. Keith said he had so much energy that he was standing going downhill! (uhh -how do you stand going downhill with a fixie? - MZ)
6:13 PM - Great effort today. We got lost briefly, had lots of traffic stops and still averaged around 20. These guys are strong and full of heart. We should be to 39 around 1845 EDT 659.2 from the finish 2356 from the start. Here's the profile they are finishing:

11:45 PM - Just spoke to adam and when we handed the baton to him at TS 39 it was close to the 730 pm local time mandatory follow time. Patt took off immediately from 39, but The AFC follow car left a little later after restocking and refueling. PAD had the leapfrog car but not the light equipped follow car. Anyway, they took advantage of the RAAM rule that allows you to ride 15 mins with another racer by mooching the 611 british teams lights. Then they proceeded to five with that 8 man team for the next 20 miles. They have left them behind and KAL is going to yet to hold them off. AFC are very strong climbers, but these geared guys bio is on the downhills. KAL is gearing up for a 0030 launch. Gotta go get ready. Its a nice cool night here in Ohio.