Race Across America Part 2

Welcome to the Race Across America Time Station 42.

Have yourself some HOT coffee and some of Amy's Famous Cookies

known race wide. We received these shirts from the race headquarters this year for our outstanding service to the racers. There are 55 times stations across the states and we are voted one of the best. How do we know this..cause racers, crews and official tell us. The only other one that sometimes beats us out is the one in Arizona.. they have a pool. After riding in the heat and sand storms and heat they really like their pool. Clothes and all. or not. Bikers will get off the bike and flop in the pool. We are voted best because of our crowds. We always have a crowd. Now in the middle of the night from 4-7am there may be only one person but all other times we

rock our cow bells..

We have a flag for every country racing.

This is Gerhard Gulewicz's team pulling in. He came in 2nd in 2011 after Jure Robic..rip. But this year he just couldn't do it. He dropped out after passing our TS.

So racers have bare crews, some have their own media crews, doctors, massage therapist, nutrionist etc. You name it they have it. The boys waiting..

Someone must be coming cause they have moved to the sidewalk..

Other times it looks like this. Checking updates.. tweets..texts..Facebook and what great shots he got.

Now this is Alberto Blanco. He was suspended from the Tour for allegations of drug use. He cannot ride for 2 years so he decided to join the RAAM adventure.

and this is called the Shermer Neck look. Racers get to the point they cannot hold their own heads up. Soooo. their crew fabricate contraptions to do so.

Marko Baloh's (from Slovenia) crew arrives. Fun group of guys.

Gerhard Gulewicz from Austria arrives. He is the riders that requests Amy's cookies. #2-5 racers were very close so he didn't stop but we made sure his crew had is go bag for him later.

This is Marko Baloh's wife on the left. He is the

world record holder is several events.
Then on to this guy.. Matjaz..from Slovenia.

He was the crew chief for Jure Robic for the past 8 years. This year he came back as a race official. Jure died last fall training for a mountain bike race. He hit a car at approx 50mph on a mountain road in Slovenia. He was a great athelete. He will always be missed. I had made contact with Matjaz before the race and he had planned on showering and maybe getting some sleep at our house but when the time came he was given orders to chase down a rider and make sure they were not cheating..hmmm. So he stopped for gas and a hug and went on. We will see him next year and will chat on facebook when the time zones line up.

And here is Marko from Slovenia riding through. He was very good friends with Jure and had actually spoke with him the morning Jure died.

Marko's wonderful crew running along exchanging water bottles and giving him a pat on the back. Now it's time for cookies.Gerhard's crew was funny. Everytime I looked up he had his camera on me. I told him in a very stern voice they must edit me out. I haven't seen myself anywhere yet.. a trailer full of very expensive bikes.

Team bus rolling through. This rider carried his daughter stuffed animal with him. And off.. to ride through the night.

Thanks for visiting and look for part 3 to come in the next few weeks.

If you want to get involved in RAAM in your area please check out their website. www.raceacrossamerica.org. or send me a message and I will find someone for you to contact. astheworldflops at yahoo dot com

Race Across America- The Answer

The answer is

Race Across America.This is how it works.

Cyclist from all over the world race non-stop from

California to Maryland.

They have 12 days from their start time to finsih. They do not stop at the end of the day. They ride, ride, ride. The winners ususally only sleep about 1 1/2 hours a day. The most you can sleep and still finish is like 4 Hours..

There are Time Stations along the way that their crew

must call in to headquarters to report their arrival time.So for the last two years I have been at the time station or along the road taking photos of passing cyclists. I love it, I am addicted big time.

I am not a cyclist but I recently bought a bike and would love to do this race in oh say 20 years. lol
When the racers get close to Ohio we go and set up our camp. Tents, laptops, recliners, and we camp, stay or hang out at these stops and welcome riders.

In the down time we keep ourselves busy by getting hair out of the tent zippers or in my case taking pics of everything. Then we wait..wait..wait.. we stand in the road, we sit in chairs, we talk, we wait.. Then they start to arrive. Sometimes one at a time and other times we are busy beavers. The first place racer Christoph Strasser from Austria crew

comes in before him.

Each rider has a crew.

Most of them have 2 vans and a RV or bus.

(depending on how much money you have).

A team from Australia said it cost them $70.00 to get everyone over and rent or buy everything that is needed. ie.. towels, pillows, coolers, food, etc.

So then we wait. I tell everyone "where else can you hang out in the UDF/ McDonalds parking lot all night and not get in trouble." Or stand in the middle of the road and take photos. It's gives me a thrill to stand in the road. It's like going against everything you were ever taught..heeee. heee..At night this is what we see.. Usually a follow veh with his bright lights on, sometimes loud loud music or a

driver giving directions in their native language.

I learned to look for when the rider passes back/forth in front of the headlights and then I would yell "RIder!!!!!"

I am also known for being wrong, after everyone has got up, turned on cameras and ringing cow bells.

We did cheer for several NOT involved vehicles just passing through.

Maybe we made them feel special. So with Christoph, he had a 13 hour lead but did not stop, he was then trying to beat a all time record to the finish. Which he didn't get but he sure did try. Christoph is 29 years old and was busting butt when he came through. Now remind you by the time they get to Ohio they have rode like 2400 miles.. Yes, that's what I said. The total miles is 3006.. From this time station he had approx. 566 miles to go.

So after he passes the crew hangs around if they have time. So what should crew that has been on the road for 7+ days straight do.. They eat.. These are Amy's famous cookies. Everyone knows to eat cookies at our TS (time station). One rider even requests them and tried to take the whole box last year. Amy actually told him to take them but to leave the box. What we didn't know until this crew left was we were offering coffee and they took it. Then we found full coffee cups sitting around...oooopss. the new coffee maker had a timer and had timed out before they got there. They coffee was ice cold.. oopsss. lesson learned ...we watched it from then on. Sorry guys..next year. This is James. He is a race official. He follows along the route to make sure no one is cheating or to take care of reroutes if needed. June is very unpredictable. They start in California nice warm weather, they ride through Death Valley, to the mountains where sometimes it's 15 degrees and snowing. Then to the plains, which are hot, windy and very flat and then the storms. They ride through rain, storms, tornados. It's hot, It's Cold, It's Bumpy, It's Flat, It's Up, It's Down.. The race moto...

This ain't no TOUR.

Meaning in the Tour de France.. they ride and then stop, sleep and eat and then start the next day. With this race..you don't stop or you don't finish and win..

Tune in next time to As the World Flops for more race coverage.