RAAM went right through the heart of the June California desert. Hey, when you get over 112 degrees, it's a bit warm when riding a bike. Especially when you're 1 hour on, one off, for 3000 miles. I am NOT making this up...

THAT lady there is Janice, a doctor, a friend, and one of the planet's elite ultracyclists.She and a teammate managed to finish this cross country ride in 6days and 22 hours. Okay, so she only actually RODE 1500 miles. Wait 'til next year (that's foreshadowing...)!

Janice was shaking and NOT sweating and yeah, vomiting, I said it, hey, ultra-athletics of any type are not pretty...and I wondered if we were generally done, somewhere in the way south California almost Mexico kind of terrain. Brenda the fantastic packed her in ice and gave her water and talked to her gently, somehow coaxing a strained physiology back into whatever sort of twisted homeostasis it takes to ride your BICYCLE ACROSS AMERICA. While I dozed in an RV Janice sat bolt upright and was ready to go. "When's our next exchange?" Good god. Fueled by chocolate milk and intestinal fortitude Janice headed for the Rockies.

Yes, that is Wolf Creek Pass, I know you knew that...only 10, 857 ft up in the air. Yes, that is a trace of a smile on her face near the top. Dr. Sheufelt is like that. There oughta be a name for her attitude, an alchemy of optimism, whimsy, and sheer grit that lends itself to unquestioning support from her friends and family. I truly hope she never decides to become a dictator in Latin America. Or a U.S. Senator...

A Cat 1 hurricane on the Beaufort Scale has 10 minute sustained winds of at least 64 mph. We met that criteria in the Kansas night...

Matching skills! Here's the GPS screenshot from where Joel and Janice were trying to ride BICYCLES at the time...match the blue arrow with the storm intensity!

Great timing, no? We made the call to have the riders just sleep until the winds and rain became, oh, less than a tropical cyclone.
What an experience. It is inspirational to see the extreme physical and mental effort expended by these athletes in RAAM. And I got to see a lot of the US, albeit from behind the wheel of an Astro Van--here's the tricked out interior, via Matt the MacGyver RV wrangler, who flew Alaska Air with a reciprocating saw to modify vehicles. I am NOTmaking this up.

All one needs to ride a bike across the USA.
I also got to see Gettysburg National Military Park,  150 years after this turning point in a tragic war.

I didn't have to be in Pickett's Charge, but it was moving to be there at sunrise, especially in my Crossfit UAC "uniform."  At this point, we are nearing race's end, in Annapolis. I am exhausted, and it's tough to imagine how the riders feel. But when they crossed the finish--well, here's a pic, Janice, her husband Jim, and her daughter Megan, dipping the bike into the Atlantic Ocean.

Epilogue: Just got the email. Janice has decided to do RAAM 2014. Solo. On the bike for 3000 miles. How can any of us not be inspired?
More from the road,
CF