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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