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59 Days to
go!
There are many things to do in the next two months. The leadership
crew has been working hard at organizing resources, making contacts
and recruiting support.We need lot of volunteers to staff the
time stations.
Schedules for open time station shifts are available through
our website. To volunteer use this form. Please sign up
as soon as possible so our time station managers can determine
where spots will need to be filled in advance. Consider bringing
along a friend to work with you on your shift. You can sign up
for one hour or longer.
It is easy, great fun but you do run the risk of becoming addicted
to RAAM.
You can find more information on working a time station in the
Volunteer Information tab on the website (www.ohioraam.org)
 Working
a Time Station at Night
For a number of years, I have volunteered at RAAM
time stations working the midnight to 8:00am shift. Usually,
during the course of the race, I'm around the time stations many
more hours . However, it is the night shift that I adore. There
are a number of reasons.
- It's cooler.
- With fewer spectators, you have more chance to meet and talk
with crews, racers,
 RAAM staff and media crews.
- Solo riders often stop at time stations at night to get a
few hours of sleep. During those times you get to observe the
crews as they maintain bicycles, organize and restock their vehicles.
Teams often do their transitions at time station–poetry
in motion.
- You get to see riders at their lowest moments as well as
their best. You will see pain, exhaustion, despair, determination
and a host of other emotions.
- RAAM is typically won or lost by sleep deprivation and sleep
management.
- You meet the "night people" who often become RAAM
enthusiasts.
Join me for the very best hours of working a time station.
- Editor
New Poster Available
We have a new poster provided by the national RAAM organization
and we have added our local information. If you would like a
poster for your business, organization or for you bedroom wall,
you can download it and print it here. It is designed for
11x17, but will scale nicely to you 8½x11 printer.
We hope to have some printed for distribution as well. If you
wish a poster, contact any of the leadership team listed above.
 NEW!
A Photo and Video Contest for 2009.
Submit you photos and videos of RAAM in Ohio for our
2009 contest. At this time, we have no prizes. We can only offer
the honor of having your work selected. If you would like to
provide some prizes, contact one of the staff listed above.
The full rules will be posted in the May newsletter.
Photos will be submitted to the OHIORAAM group on twitter.com.
Accounts are free. You can sign-up and join the group here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/ohioraam/
Videos must be submitted to www.youtube.com/group/ohioraam. You ned a
free acount
If you have questions or problems enrolling, please contact the
editor (above.)
Video Reports
from the Road
Martin Dressman, our leader here in Southwest Ohio, will also
work on the race crew of Franz Preihs (Austria). Martin will
drive one of the RVs. He will be very busy and if the history
of crews hold true, get little sleep. However, he plans to make
videos of the Franz, the crew and other racers and send them
back to ohioraam.org for publication on the web site.
We look forward to these video reports to give us insight of
what happens during the course of the race. Franz has a 2009
preview video on youtube which gives good insight into RAAM.
You can see it here.
The Tortoise and the Hare, or How Much
Sleep Do Solo Riders Get?
RAAM in some ways resembles the mythic race between
the tortoise and the hare. The race is not necessarily won by
the fastest rider. The rider who can spend the most time on the
bicycle usually wins.
Sleep patterns of solo riders are not easily discovered. They
don't like their competition to know when, where or how long
they sleep. However, we've learned some things about the sleep
of Jure Robic (Slovenia) who won 4 of the last 5 RAAM. In 2004
he won the 2958.5 mile race in 8 days 09 hours 51 minutes (351.5
miles per day). It has been reported that he had 6 hours sleep
during the race.
It has also been reported that in 2007, Jure slept only 6 hours
in the first 2,000 miles. Your editor was present at about 2,400
miles when he stopped for about 3 hours. By then he was so far
ahead that he could afford the rest.
The general assumption is to win, a solo rider can afford no
more than 1½ - 2 hours of sleep per night. I have no information
on Jure's sleep during his 2008 RAAM. However, by the time he
got to Ohio he was far enough ahead to stop and visit with his
fans at the time stations.
Some riders will go to sleep in their RV about two hours before
first light. The theory: As they ride into the rising sun, their
bodies are rejuvenated. By the time a rider gets to Ohio most
theories have been tested and abandoned.
Not only are riders sleep deprived. Crews, RAAM officials and
media people often get less sleep than the solo riders. Some
of the time station staff listed above expect to little sleep
as well.
We are now a group on Facebook.
Join OHIO-RAAM here.
Follow OHIORAAM
on Twitter. |
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