I definitely have the easiest job on RAAM. I'm one of two drivers responsible for driving the "Racer RV" ... the place where the two racers who are not alternating 30 minute "pulls" on the course come to rest for their 8 +/- hour "off" shift. My job is to pick them up at the end of their "on" shift, and, after they've showered, been massaged and fed, hustle them up the road 150 miles or so, to allow them as much time as possible to sleep in a quiet, stopped RV. Even when we're driving it will be quiet. As my veteran driving partner, Michael Scholl, puts it, it's like driving a hearse. Nice. I always wondered what that was like.
I won't get to see a lot of racing, or at least not a lot of our racers racing ... since I'll only see them as one rides in to the "team exchange point" at the end of his shift and another rides out, refreshed and rested after 8 hours off, at the beginning of his. But I will get to see a lot of the racers ... albeit when they're sleeping! Here's what they look like when they're awake:
Now, the guys driving the "follow vehicle" and the "racer vehicle" will see a lot of racing ... maybe too much racing, especially the follow vehicle. That vehicle does just what its name suggests: it follows the racer who's on the road at any given time. Imagine driving 3,000 miles, cross-country, night and day ... at 18 miles per hour. Not only does the driver of the follow vehicle have to pay sharp attention all the time, lest he run over the racer (and about $10,000 of bicycle hardware) right in front of him, he's also charged with maintaining scrupulous adherence to the many, many, many rules that govern this race. Witness (excerpt from Section 1129 of the 47-page, single-spaced rulebook for RAAM):
"At night [which runs from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., local time, except in designated sections - see last-minute update - where it runs from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.], the retiring Racer must stop within the headlight of the stopped Support Vehicle picking the Racer up and may not ride back to the vehicle ... the New Racer must be waiting and start within the headlights of a stopped Support Vehicle."
Got it? The follow vehicle driver (along with the other follow vehicle crew members) also needs to make sure the racer stays on course and is protected from other vehicles on the road but, at the same time, take care not to impede the flow of traffic on the roadways. And any infraction of these myriad rules can result in assessment of a time penalty by race officials. In other words, an inattentive crew can cost the racers a lot of hard-earned time against their goal of breaking this record ... which is why our crew chief, Dave Eldredge (veteran of multiple RAAM campaigns), has spent a ton of time over the last several months, including today, going over and over the rules and routines that will govern our lives for the next 7 days:
And none of this is going to get any clearer or easier in the dark of night, on a windswept, desolate highway, with sleep deprivation shredding all memory of these lazy days in San Diego. Tomorrow, we begin.
I won't get to see a lot of racing, or at least not a lot of our racers racing ... since I'll only see them as one rides in to the "team exchange point" at the end of his shift and another rides out, refreshed and rested after 8 hours off, at the beginning of his. But I will get to see a lot of the racers ... albeit when they're sleeping! Here's what they look like when they're awake:
Now, the guys driving the "follow vehicle" and the "racer vehicle" will see a lot of racing ... maybe too much racing, especially the follow vehicle. That vehicle does just what its name suggests: it follows the racer who's on the road at any given time. Imagine driving 3,000 miles, cross-country, night and day ... at 18 miles per hour. Not only does the driver of the follow vehicle have to pay sharp attention all the time, lest he run over the racer (and about $10,000 of bicycle hardware) right in front of him, he's also charged with maintaining scrupulous adherence to the many, many, many rules that govern this race. Witness (excerpt from Section 1129 of the 47-page, single-spaced rulebook for RAAM):
"At night [which runs from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., local time, except in designated sections - see last-minute update - where it runs from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.], the retiring Racer must stop within the headlight of the stopped Support Vehicle picking the Racer up and may not ride back to the vehicle ... the New Racer must be waiting and start within the headlights of a stopped Support Vehicle."
Got it? The follow vehicle driver (along with the other follow vehicle crew members) also needs to make sure the racer stays on course and is protected from other vehicles on the road but, at the same time, take care not to impede the flow of traffic on the roadways. And any infraction of these myriad rules can result in assessment of a time penalty by race officials. In other words, an inattentive crew can cost the racers a lot of hard-earned time against their goal of breaking this record ... which is why our crew chief, Dave Eldredge (veteran of multiple RAAM campaigns), has spent a ton of time over the last several months, including today, going over and over the rules and routines that will govern our lives for the next 7 days:
And none of this is going to get any clearer or easier in the dark of night, on a windswept, desolate highway, with sleep deprivation shredding all memory of these lazy days in San Diego. Tomorrow, we begin.
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