Adventures For The Cure captures 1st place at RAAM 2-man division

06.30.2009 – Annapolis, Md. – For most riders of the Race Across America, the 3,021-mile (4,861 km) transcontinental race is monitored by checking in at 53 time stations dotted across the country. For some riders, like Adam Driscoll, his 53rd time check didn’t come at the end in Annapolis, Md., but somewhere near Taos, N.M., where he was checking his blood sugar levels as a Type 1 diabetic between shift changes with teammate Patrick Blair.



The winning 2-man team of Adventures For The Cure riders and crew poise on the podium of Race Across America. From left to right: Crewmembers Dave O’Brien, Stacey Rohr, Greg Saylor, Ryan King (not pictured), Greg Fabella and Mike Caputi with riders Adam Driscoll and Patrick Blair. (Photo by David Harrity)

Despite this challenge and others, the Adventures For The Cure riders still captured first place in the 2-man team division at the 2009 Race Across America on Saturday. Adventures For The Cure (AFC) completed the 3,021 mile (4,861 km) trek from Oceanside, Calif., to Annapolis, Md., in 7 days, 1 hour and 38 minutes, bettering its nearest competitor, E-HUB Team, by more than 7 hours and averaging 17.82 mph, which was faster than half of the twelve 4-man teams.

The 27-year-old who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 12 said, “Competing in the 2-man [division] was extremely hard. Last year doing 4-man team, it was fun and had lots of time off the bike. This year only having two riders with a very aggressive rider schedule, it limited the amount of sleep time.” We averaged max about 3 hours of sleep per day. Pat really kept our team together that last night in the mountains as I started to fall asleep on the bike and was swerving all over the place. Pat did a huge extra shift so I could get some extra sleep.”

Competing in the Race Across America, which is dubbed as “The World’s Toughest Bike Race” is a test of human endurance, logistics and mental toughness. The team experienced one wrong-turn that may have cost them two hours, suffered five flat tires during the ride, rode through a knee injury, and incurred a 15-minute minor penalty all the while averaging less than 3 hours of sleep each day, consuming over 16,000 calories a day and drinking over 24 packets a day of CeraSport hydration drink to avert cramping; for Driscoll the drink also helps avert insulin spiking that happens with typical sports drinks.

Blair added, “There was no rest, you were always either: biking, eating, or getting ready to bike. We were always at the highest level of alertness with no down time.” Despite these issues, the support provided by the crew, friends and family was always there for the former roommates at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). The team took advantage of a variety of social networking technologies to collaborate with supporters, including providing updates via Twitter “tweets”, Facebook entries, Picasa photo galleries, its website blog, and perhaps the most entertaining technology used was its live streaming videos from a webcam mounted in the follow vehicle, which was described as nothing short of “addicting” and caused several of its fans to lose sleep just like the riders and crew.

Early in the race till about half way sleep was not an issue and the pair felt strong. Driscoll stated, “We felt amazing and had one time station where we hit close to 28 mph!”. Based on the RAAM website, it appears that only team that completed a faster split time between time stations was the record-setting 8-person Team Type 1, who is composed entirely of Type 1 diabetic riders. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic auto-immune disorder that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to properly control blood sugar levels. Adam is also a member of the Team Type 1 development team and captured that development team’s first victory at the Tour of Somerville’s Manville Madness criterium.


Blair, a Baltimore-area native, said, “Coming home to Annapolis was totally awesome! There were friends and family everywhere! When we were about 15miles out from Mt. Airy friends just started popping up all over the place to cheer us on to the finish! We got a huge second wind and picked up our pace due to all the excitement!”

Ultramarathon cycling is nothing new for this pair who competed in the 2008 RAAM as part of a 4-man team on single-speed, fixed gear bicycles; finishing in fourth place. In 2006, the pair completed a 6,500 mile journey across the United States that was chronicled in the award-winning documentary film, Adventures For The Cure: The Doc.

As a fundraising effort, AFC has a goal of raising at least $50,000 for its Extreme Weekend for Children with Diabetes camp and Kupenda for the Children. As part of its efforts, Princeton Sports donated the time trial and road bikes that AFC rode to victory and have been placed up for auction. During the ride, winning bids were placed on Blair’s 52-cm Cannondale Slice Hi-Mod 3 time-trial bike and Driscoll’s 58-cm Cannondale SIX Carbon 1 road bike; both valued at over $4,000 when sold as new. The other two bikes will soon be auctioned on eBay. Blair added, “All of the proceeds from these auctions go towards our fundraising goals.”

About Adventures For The Cure
Adventures For The Cure (AFC), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization and USA Cycling club which exists to raise awareness for diabetes, to show those diagnosed with diabetes and their families how leading a healthy and active lifestyle can move you beyond your perceived limits, and to raise funds for diabetes research. The organization also raises awareness and funds for other causes that the board of directors has selected. For more details, visit http://adventuresforthecure.com.

For More Information, Contact:
David Harrity, Media Director
Adventures For The Cure
media.adventuresforthecure@gmail.com
Phone: 410.980.1881





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Goat's Corner

Woke up flying through the air within the van to the east of Gettysburg. Currently, a few miles north of Westminster. Pat is eating pancakes in the van. That was out last sleep shift for Dave and I. It will be weird to finally wake again in the same place you fell asleep.

Adam is having some saddle sore issues. We are going to be at TS 51 in Mount Airy for 15 minutes to serve our penalty time. So, we will see whomever in Mount Airy and Annapolis.

THE GOAT

Sooooo close now!

I am here in the follow vehicle with Ryan and Weezal while following Adam on the bike. We are in Rouzervill, PA and we are about to go through TimeStation #49 (of 53). We only have about 130miles left before we finally reach Annapolis!!!

We are still holding a strong 1st place position :)

-Pat
LoveLife

Missouri hills

My favorite section of RAAM last year was again my favorite (so far) this year. The Missouri hills between Jefferson City and Washington, Missouri are like a long roller coaster. Very steep up and downs for about 50miles. It was awesome!

We have put more time on E-HUB so that we are not 3 time stations ahead of them. Interestingly Reaching Great Heights (a 50+ 2 man team) is only 3 minutes behind E-HUB... wow!

-Pat
LoveLife!

About 900 miles to go!!

Last night was another rough night, but Adam and Pat are still holding strong. Adam had some more knee pain, but fabio adjusted his cleats, and now he feels great. After a little rest, he will be ready to roll. Pat is looking really strong - downing ensures left and right :)

We are now in Illinois for a brief pass through and should be in Indiana soon. Only 900 to go - whoohoooo!! :)

weez

Still going strong

We are under 70 miles from Jefferson City, MO. Even better is that we are about 150miles from the 2/3 finished point!!

It was so hot today but then a thunderstorm came through and the temperature dropped from about 100 to 70! Now the storm is passed and it is about 80 degrees.

Our competition is still going strong. Both E-Hub and Team Reaching Great Heights are still doing well. We gotta keep pushing our pace to stay ahead!

See AFC stats page.
See all teams stats page.

Time for me to get back out on the road!

-Pat
LoveLife!

Goat's Corner

Passed thru TS 30 at ~15:40. Adam and Pat feeling a lot better today. Adam's knee still bothering him, but getting by very well.

Adam had a sidewall blowout on his rear tire a few minutes ago. The wheel were switched out and new tire and tube were mounted and the defaulted wheel. Pat was sleeping, so, I had to quietly and stealthly slip into the rear of the van and acquire a new Conti tire, and mounted it from the front passenger seat of the van.

Quickly following this was a nice cold down pour which lowered the temps back down to managable levels. Adam was very appreciative of the cold and warm spots, something which he hasn't felt in quite a while, as the last few shifts have been over at 80 at night and triple digits during the day.

Adam and Pat each did a longer pull of 45 mins to an hour and are now changing back to the 30 mins shifts now with their added rest benefits.

The storm and lightening seem to be headed to the south of us.

We are approaching Lake of the Ozarks, which was the point of the Tornado of last year. About 50 miles west yet.

Pat's Post

2 man RAAM is really hard! Last year 4 man was a blast, but this is grueling.

Our support crew is totally unstoppable. I would be dead if not for them right now :) Stacey, Fabio, Weez, Ryan, Dave O'Brien, TheGoat... thank you!

We are almost out of Kansas.... wind was almost never at our backs. It is supposed to be 105 degrees in Missouri today. I love 105.

-Pat
LoveLife!

Kansas, Hot Sun, No sleep, but AMAZING CREW

Hey everyone,

This is my first blog while on RAAM. Didnt think I was going to get a chance but finally got a second. Just some updates we are almost out of Kansas finally. Kansas did some damage to Pat and Adam. Wind was bad! My knee was not doing good but better now. Been icing alot.

But our CREW is doing amazing. Without them we wouild not be here right now. They are amazing!

Also good news still in first place so we are super happy about that!

Thanks for everyones donation and support. Especially thanks for all the blog comments.

Thanks

Adam

Fabio's Corner :)

OK, I'll correct my own blog mis-information... Good thing it's early in the morning and I have a chance to do this before anyone else!

The PDM communicates with the insulin pod and the CGM communicates with another pod whose purpose is to monitor his sugar level. Adam has an active insulin pod (he better or else he'd need to inject insulin manually!) but didn't get a chance to put on the pod that communicates with the CGM. Luckily he can do this and the calibration process can happen over the following few hours. So later this morning he should be good to go and won't be measuring his insulin manually.

OK, what do I still have wrong or what else can you add?

Seems like life was a lot more challenging for diabetics before this advent of these devices...

Fabio's Corner :)

Back again. We didn't get to sleep last night right away - dishes, tuna sandwiches, a trip to McD's & Walmart. Up from a dead sleep 10 minutes before the retiring crew arrived left us scrambling to find our belongings with half-closed eyes. After one and a quarter hours we are back in the groove, following Adam for his second night-time pull. He just offered to extend this segment an hour to give Patt an extra hour of sleep, yet another selfless gesture that these friends continue to offer one another. Another ingredient to a successful venture.

Adam didn't get a chance to put another insulin pod into service so he continues to check his sugar level manually while on his bike. I'm far from an expert on dealing with Diabetes, but I have learned a little over the past year plus. Raising awareness is part of the AFC mission, so at least locally they're reaching that goal. (We're approaching the town of Kechi.)

Adam has a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) which checks his sugar level and sounds an audible alarm if it goes out of range. This helps him decide whether to make corrections via additional insulin or consumption of sugar. He also has a Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM) which allows him to set his basal insulin rate and deliver a bolus of insulin if his sugar level spikes. His basal insulin level is the amount of insulin delivered on a continuous basis, which varies based on his level of activity (generally the more he exercises, the less insulin he needs continuously). Anyway, every so often Adam puts on a new pod, which contains insulin and is synced to the PDM. This process requires a few hours for calibration, so he couldn't do this during the day (less than 1 hour of rest between shifts). Unfortunately, since he didn't do this yet I think he may have to go all day tomorrow manually checking his sugar level (by testing a blood sample). He'll manage, but this represents another challenge weaved into this adventure. But that's what this adventure is about - to show that diabetics can deal with their condition and lead active lives.

I have to run for now (we're on highway for a bit), but I'll be back. I'm tired and probably misrepresented some of this information, so please comment and augment/correct my facts.

Ah, the importance of technology to improve the lives of many people. If you can't create such technology yourself, you can help by contributing to our cause at www.adventuresforthecure.com. We can hit our goal, but we need your help. Thanks.

Over halfway done!!

We are now over halfway home. Pat and Adam are still riding tough throughout the night in Kansas, and should be in Missouri sometime tomorrow morning. :)

weez

A little something from lastnight

Adam was being over taken by a four man team OC Quattro and the rider passing was chatting with Adam. Adam told us that the other racer said they were doing awesome and that he had seen "THE DOC."

We've heard that some members of the United 8 team has been keeping up to date with the latest RAAM and AFC action. Dave was the crew chief for United 8 last year. Keep posting guys, we love hearing from you.

Goat's Corner

Just for a little random information at the start of RAAM in Oceanside. Laird Hamilton (former professional surfer) is only a team with two other younger surfers between ages 28 and 38, and a 76 year old. Laird is stated as being 48.

Due to Laird being there and in the race his wife Gabriel Reese (former professional volleyball player and model) :).

We battled team "Surfing U.S.A." on through the Arizona desert and mountains before they were able to pull away for good. Adam trying to demonstrate how to ascent a steep climb to Laird, however, Laird was very strong and didn't lose much ground, if any at all. Proving they are both great athletes. It's not everyday you get to race against a professional athlete, especially a surfer. They have one really strong rider in Jason Wynn. Even Adam admitted, "That guy is really fast!" and "Lean."-THE GOAT

Goat's Corner

I have yet to blog on the AFC website as of yet due to the fact that I didn't know the password. Dave and I are awake for our second morning of the day. It's like second breakfast. Our first shift this morning began at 1 am and and we were still in New Mexico. Adam led us into the huge sunrise finishing up New Mexico and into Oklahoma. The crew has been sleeping pretty well with two sleep shifts of 6 hrs each. And Adam and Pat have been feeling better since they've been back on the 2.5 hr shifts at night from 8pm to 6 am. Everyone has gotten a real shower in the last 8 hrs. Kansas is hot and boring, as all knew it already was. This is the third time Adam and Pat have biked through Kansas.

Myself, after only a stroll on the beach in oceanside and no real exercise, I decided to run the highest mountain pass that we have on the entire trip. A five miler up and over La Manga Pass, just on the other side of Chama, New Mexico and in the area of Carson National Forest. The summit was at 21.3 and I first got dropped off around the 10 mile mark. I ran for a mile. I passed a tandem team (JDRF). One their crew members who was filming from their van jokingly stated that "You know you're not allowed to pass the riders, right!" I did not head his word and ran along beside them for a few hundred feet chatting before passing them. I then discovered that it would take me a long time to reach the summit by foot from here, and hoped by in the car after a mile of running. I was feeling kind of tired. 9,000 ft of elevation will do that too you. I downed 20 ounces of water in an instant. I decided that I was still going to run up the summit.

Dave dropped me off once more at 19.0 miles and I sans shirt went for the summit. I passed Alex and his RAAM Media Van in half a miles. I was going a decent clip for nearing the 10,000 ft mark. I reached the 10,250 mark (highest in RAAM). and JDRF van came up and shot my photo with the sign and asked if I had actually run up to here. I was honest stating only for the last mile or so. And they exclaimed they were still impressed. Dave arrived later and I stated that I wanted to run somemore.

He gave me another 10 mins or so. I went 2.5 miles down the mountain from the summit. It was a great run and I was fulfilled. Adam blew past me first and then later the JDRF riders. This is the first blog. others will be shorter.....maybe.-THE GOAT

RAAM Pics :)

The guys are ROLLING in Kansas. It's hot, but the winds are pretty favorable. FINALLY - here are some pics :)

Pattts a rolling!!

Adam doing his thing :)

Pattt in his Princeton Sports jersey!

Hanging out on Adam's road bike :)

Thanks to all who are following our progress - we really appreciate all of the kind words of support. GO AFC!! :)

weezal

What a difference a shift makes. Prior to a 6 hour sleep shift we saw some of the most beautiful mountain views in the country and now there are field and silos as far as the eye can see. Logistics are key with this race. There's more to do than you might think: shop for food, stock coolers, move bikes between vans, move crew, maintain bikes, sleep, cook. Riders need to track gear, stay hydrated, eat, get themselves clean every so often. Oh, and ride. Hard. How do they get back on the bike every time? Their bodies must be screaming, "No!" at times. Yes, there are many motivators, but Pat and Adam do it for the challenge. And to help other people. They have a bright outlook on life and don't let what's wrong in the world bring them down - that only strengthens their resolve. And so they pedal. Keep following us and you'll be even more inspired. This may get ugly as we move further East, but I feel deep in my heart that we will succeed.

Patt is on the bike finishing up a 1 hour stint. We just passed through Clayton, NM. Live feed is back up (first time for Fab and Stacey). Adam tried to upload a pic onto the blog but it's taking a long time (don't expect too many pix).

I'm not sure where we stand w.r.t. avg time, but Adam says that we are in first place by about 7 hours. Adam said we just received an online donation and that makes me quite happy because that's why we're all here - to raise money for several worthy causes. This is no neighborhood ride or double century. Adam and Patt are riding 1500 miles each in less than a week to raise awareness of Diabetes and raise money to help those affected by Diabetes.

They established a lofty goal of $50,000 and we're more than half way there we need your help. Contact some friends and family members and ask if they can help out with our effort. Go to www.adventuresforthecure.com and make a donation if you're able. Every donation helps.

Last night Adam ended a 2.5 hour pull and prepared for sleep. He asked me to set an alarm for 1 hour so he could check his sugar. He would have been much better off if he could have slept 2.5 hours straight, but he had to wake up because of his Diabetes. This morning he's probably dragging a bit from this. If only there was a way to improve technology so he wouldn't have to wake up in the middle of the night. That's where you come in...

Stacey's Corner

Thanks to everyone who is sending in donations we keep hearing the cash register sound which means money being donated to our cause! We left TS (time station) 22 and are headed to TS 23 Plains Kansas! We will be 1,500 miles (half way) in no time!! Adam is super excited to be biking with another team-a four man team-OC Cuatro. This keeps his spirits HIGH! We don't want him to burn out and he assures me he is not even getting to threshold. Everyone had excellent sleep last night and is feeling GREAT!! The constant texting makes me soooo happy! You can text me at 443-852-7709! We have the best RAAM team ever! We are working hard and having fun! Don't get too disappointed when the live feed goes down b/c we miss you all just as much as you miss us! It's getting HOT here today and both riders seem to prefer the night shift more than the day because its cooler and they can get good quality sleep. The set up there is AWESOME-I think Fabio has missed his true calling. He can PIMP out anything...he Mc Gyvered Pat's aero pad which was lost a few days ago by attaching a customized piece of cardboard to his bike and securing it with Pat's kerchief. Pat can't even tell the difference. Both guys are sore and Fabio man hands do the trick but I hear Dave O B gave Pat a special massage with coco butter!!! We are busy and getting ready to do our crew shift switch really soon. Go AFC :)

Gearing up for the Rockies!

Adam and Pat just passed Time Station 13 in Cortez, CO. Pattt is on the bike now, holding a pretty good pace for a longer shift. We are about to see a BEAUTIFUL sunrise come up over the mountains.

AFC has been mentioned a few times in RAAM's 2-Person blog - take a look here:
http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/blog/blogs/blog1.php

And make sure to follow us on our LIVE feed to catch the action!

Thanks for all of your support!!
weezal

12 hours in!!

We are about 12 hours into RAAM. Adam and Pat are rolling!! There was such a strong tail wind that Adam was going 45 mph on a flat - and he was hardly pedaling! On our way to time station 4!

weez

RAAM Leader Board (race stats)

If you want to know exactly how we are doing throughout the race check the RAAM Leader Board for our current stats.

Race starts at 2pm CA time which is 5pm Eastern time.

-Pat
LoveLife!

vans are ready... fun with magnets

Our 2 Follow Vehicles have passed RAAM inspection and they are ready to go. Ryan, Fabio, Goat, Stacey, Weezal, and Dave O'Brien worked hard all day long getting everything ready.

Here are some pictures of our follow vehicles along with our sponsor's magnets.

Whewww... look at those bikes!

-Pat
LoveLife!

Check out the Bling!

Check out Pat's bike all ready to "Slice" the wind and the competetion!

AFC meets the competition!

Dave O'Brien and Greg Saylor(Goat) were thinking how they could do Race Across America on this bike!!

Adventures For the Cure team meets E-HUB(slovenia 2 man team) that we will be racing against. They were super nice team and we are excited about racing them.

We are getting excited!

Get AFC RAAM Updates

We will be heavily utilizing our facebook and twitter accounts to update everyone on how we are doing during the race. If you want to get up to the minute updates on our progress please subscribe to one of both of these.

This blog will also be updated frequently, but probably not quite as frequently as facebook and twitter.

Thanks!!

ps. the race starts Saturday at 5pm EST.

AFC RAAM '09 Bike Auction

AFC is auctioning off the bikes that we are using for this year's Race Across America.

Adam and Pat both have a Time Trial and a Raod Bike that they are putting up for auction.

All the money that AFC makes on these auctions is going to our fundraising goal of raising $50k to be divided between our causes: Extreme Weekend for Children With Diabetes and Kupenda For The Children.

Bidding will end on Saturday June 27th at 8:00pm EST.

Go to our AFC RAAM '09 Bike Auction page to find out how to make your bid!!

-Pat
LoveLife!

Alec and Ben West race for AFC!

Alec West and Ben West raced in their first Triathlon as members of the AFC Juniors Team.

(Alec smokin fast on his road bike!!)

(Run Ben!!!!)

Here is a race report from their dad Mike West:

'Alec and Ben W competed in the TriAtholton race on Sunday, June 8. Alec took 5th in the 9-10 group while Ben took 6th in the 7-8's. Ben's favorite part (of his first Tri) was having numbers written on him. He had "AFC' written in Sharpie on his stomach. The cold water gave them both a surprise; Ben resorted to backstroke just keep his face out of it. :) Alec made up a bunch of places on the 2mi bike course which was his favorite part. They both want more.'

(Ben even wore 'AFC' on him for the swim!)

-Pat
LoveLife!