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Message started by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 21st, 2009, 7:07am

Title: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 21st, 2009, 7:07am

There's a "Four Man Team" blog on the RAAM website --  I'll copy the entries from it, here, as well as anything else I hear about Team RANS...

6/20 -- 09:53:02 pm, by Brandon  ,
Categories: Uncategorized
Leaders on the road
Surfin USA is pushing the pace hard from the start. All riders have rolled through a sequence of riding. at 9:13pm Don Wildman is comfortably sitting first place and riding inside the top 3 teams out there on the road. Team Type 1 (8 Person) is the leader out on the road (not time standing) and 10 minutes back is Don Wildman with another 8 person team (ViaSat). The boys from Surfin' have a sizable lead on the field behind.

The desert winds were insane. riders just enjoyed an 80 mile an hour tailwind that kept them cruising at 65km/hr.
** just in, Don wildman passed the riding over to Jason Winn and Jason put in a solid effort to close the small gap and is now riding along side team ViaSat.


Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 21st, 2009, 7:08am

6/21   12:43:34 am, by Brandon  
Categories: Uncategorized
Time Check #3
Sorry everyone, still only have news on the surfers. We are at T3 and the shirtless Tom Commerford bass guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, just rode through at roughly 12:13AM. When we last passed them they were right alongside Team Viasat... now they seem to have dropped off that pace about 3 minutes back.

Possible that the 4 surfers headed out too fast? Obviously lots and lots of racing ahead of us, its only 1:22AM


Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 21st, 2009, 7:09am

6/21   02:05:16 am, by ChrisG    
Categories: Uncategorized
The Heat Is On!
Team Surfing USA currently leading after 232 miles. They have a 37 minute advantage on Team Strong Heart. Team Rans is 9 minutes in arrears of Strong Heart with Austria Triathlon Team 15 minutes behind RANS and 7 minutes ahead of OC Quattro.

These 5 teams are seperated by just over an hour. Will be interesting to see what happens from here. Will it get closer or will it stay around the same? We are seeing a good battle whatever happens

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 21st, 2009, 7:09am

04:28:29 am, by ChrisG      
Categories: Uncategorized
A Race of Three Into The Desert
After 293 miles heading into the desert Team Surfing USA still have a handy 39 minute lead over Team Strong Heart. Team RANS are within 16 minutes of Team Strong Heart so there is a nice battle going on here.

When they go through the desert, anything can happen. We'll see if this does change things in the next 12 hours.


Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by MrOverdressed on Jun 21st, 2009, 8:48am

Lets see if Team RANS makes up the time on the Eastern flatlands.   :)

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 21st, 2009, 3:02pm

They're already making up time...  they're in second overall, having passed StrongHeart...  (3PM)

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g73/flyinglazboy/rans621a.jpg

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 22nd, 2009, 7:39am

From a BROL post from 6;30 this morning -- they're IN THE LEAD...  

TS 13 Cortez, CO

1. Team RANS! averaged 19,15mph for the time station ,21,78mph overall
2. Team Surfing USA 14 minutes behind averaged 16,89 for the time station, 21,61 overall
3. Team Strong Heart 1:07 behind Surfing USA
What is interesting is, that RANS is just 2:50 hours behind 8 person team Via Sat
and the Team Donate Life Give Hope is about 5 minutes behind them.


And from the RAAM blog:

Very Close Between Surfing USA and RANS
Heading through Cortez Team Rans are now ahead of team Surfing USA by 14 minutes. At TS12, Team Surfing USA were in the lead by 7 minutes. This is turning out to be a very good and tight battle between these two teams. How this unfolds will be very very interesting. Hopefully these two teams can keep it this close to the end and we will have an exciting race on!


And they're through TS 14, with an average speed for this segment of 16 mph, their lowest so far -- must be some TOUGH climbing going  on......  

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 22nd, 2009, 8:21am

A nice video, taken late at night near Mexican Hat...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9zxnz-rKlA



Karta comes in

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g73/flyinglazboy/RANS_Karta.jpg


Handoff

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g73/flyinglazboy/RANSHANDOFF.jpg

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 23rd, 2009, 6:55am

Note:  The RAAM website has changed to a different server, and the Leaderboard now has different tabs on it for Solo vs Team vs RAW...

And at the moment, BROL is down -- overload???

Anyway, as of this morning, Team RANS now holds a ONE HOUR LEAD through TS21 after climbing all those mountain stages through NM and Colo!!!!  Wow, are those guys doing some riding....

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g73/flyinglazboy/RANS623a.jpg

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 23rd, 2009, 12:56pm

Randy Schlitter  
'BentRider Supporter   Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 285  

Going to Meet the crew and team

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I will be leaving in a minute to chase them down as they cruz through Kansas. I ordered tailwinds, but got heat and a light breeze out of the south. Beautiful day here, other than the heat, should be a great day for crossing Kansas. To all the crew and team you are doing a wonderful job, the excitement through out the plant is intense, everyone is totally grooving on racing accross America, and very, very proud to be involved.


Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 24th, 2009, 9:41am

Randy asked me to post this for him, from yesterday's activities - photos to follow:

Team RAAM Kansas Report

I tell you this has been a 100% intense thrill to be involved with RAAM 2009. Team RANS is the realization of implementation of many things, each important and in combination making a winning effort. Intense or not, I had to meet these people, and they were passing within 85 miles of Hays! I hopped into my fastest plane and buzzed south. Before landing at Greensburg where the runway actually meets the very highway Team RANS would pass by, I searched for signs of the team. They were already past Greensburg!  That dashed my clever plan of causally standing by road at runways end, with plane standing by to wildly cheer them on. Instead I made a very low pass over the follow van and rider, which they responded in a wave. It was Tim on the bike! I could recognize him from the air! Maybe it was the green tennis balls in his ears? I wagged my wings and he waved.

I raced back to Greensburg and waited for Jerald Nichols (our dealer in Montezuma Kansas) to arrive. He was there within 2 minutes of the scheduled ETA and we bolted down the road to intercept the team, armed with camera, home made cookies, and a fresh batch of RANS T-shirts (racers always love the gift of cookies, and clean shirts!). We reached them a few miles from Pratt, right on top of a rider switch. I had a chance to meet Sandy the crew chief, Mark the mechanic who was expertly swapping a rear wheel, and Glenn relaxed and ready to do a shift. Then in an instant, off Glenn went as Tim came rolling up. Glenn was in the zone, and he is strong, and very strong on not only winning this thing but also posting a record time. The whole crew is in the zone; the two rider changes we witnessed were smooth like a choreographed dance. Sandy the crew chief is stellar, made me want to be a racer. She almost teared up at the sight of fresh clothing, such an event is not a rolling luxury hotel.

I felt part of something historic watching them work! My RAAM fever went up a few degrees beyond safe.

Tim’s shift haivng ended with Glenn back on the road, I jumped in the van to chat.  Tim was in great spirits, just like Glenn,. We talked about the bike, and he said they have not used the F-5 yet, they like the Xstream, great power transfer, comfy ride, climbs on equal with a HiRacer. Then the visit was over, Tim’s turn to ride.

They said to rush ahead and we might catch the RV at the Pratt TS. We rushed ahead but did not sight the RV. There was the unmistakable Team RANS van, with spare bikes on the roof, parked outside the TS…. which was a Wal-Mart of all things. We went inside looking for team members and netted nothing in our 10-minute search. I assumed they were doing important shopping, since keeping 4 bikers fed and a full compliment of a crew going does have challenging logistics, so we decided to break off the search and head back to Greensburg, sad we missed the RV. Instead I started hatching a plan to meet the whole crew in a couple of days. Besides we wanted to see the riders one more time before heading home. We popped out of the WM just in time to see them passing by. From the point we left them, they had to be hitting a solid 26 MPH average. Tim and I had discussed the heat and the wind, and how the southerly crosswind might actually be helping them over the DF riders, he seemed to agree, and enjoyed what little cooling effect the winds were having. I was happy that the speeds were not suffering for the lack of a tailwind. We waved to the passing Team RANS, cheering them on.  

I was so glad to get the chance to meet and talk to at least part of the crew. I feel very confident about the effort and by Friday we all should know what this great effort will net -- I am hoping for nothing short of a win.  

Some say it is about the bike, others the riders. As the designer of the bike, you would think it is all about the bike. I think it is always going to be a combination of things, because we don’t just ride with our lungs and legs -- we ride with heart, and Team RANS for RAAM 2009 has a mountain of that.

GO Team RANS!
**********************************************

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 24th, 2009, 9:42am

Here are the photos:

http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g73/flyinglazboy/RAAM%20team%20RANS%20RJS/


http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g73/flyinglazboy/RAAM%20team%20RANS%20RJS/RAAM_2009_Team_RANS_023_2.jpg

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 24th, 2009, 11:10pm

Well, as of about 6PM tonight, Team Surfing USA had to DNF...  And as of now, Team RANS has a 3-1/2 hour lead over StrongHeart.  They're still on pace to break the current 4-man 'bent record...


**********
According to a web posting from Gabrielle Reece:

RAAM Update
Spoke with Laird and apparently when Jason was riding the 'other' team's escort car side swiped him causing him to fall. He has really bad road rash and broke his ankle. The guys are doing ok, disappointed though because they were just really getting into the strategy of the race - open flat road - but glad Jason is doing ok! Did I mention they were in 1st place when they were disqualified?

[note - PB:  Obviously she means among "DF" 4 man teams...  and it must have been StrongHeart's van/car!  :(  ]


We are awaiting more info about Jason's spill - he's not going to be able to ride anymore it looks like.

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by Bud_Bent on Jun 25th, 2009, 9:03am

Wow, if that's true, I would think the team who's car did the sideswiping would be dq'd, too.

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by bikerteam on Jun 25th, 2009, 11:15am


Bud_Bent wrote:
Wow, if that's true, I would think the team who's car did the sideswiping would be dq'd, too.


Heck - the same RAAM officials are the ones who officiated the HC600, when Peggy, Steve and I crewed for JS.  They gave us a stern warning simply because we didn't pull off the road far enough during the "leap frog" portion of the race.  Then everytime we pulled off the road, the'd be close by watching our every move.  

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 25th, 2009, 3:21pm

... and assuming it WAS Strong Heart's follow vehicle that knocked out the Surfer rider, Strong Heart has not even been assessed a time penalty of any kind...  One would THINK...

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 26th, 2009, 6:41am

OK, they've made it through the toughest stages, as of about 30 minutes ago...  Average speed dropped significantly, but it may have actually been an advantage having to climb through these two sections at night, with cooler temperatures and the inability to see what were no doubt some very daunting elevations ahead of you.  Granted, it may have also forced them to reduce their speeds on the downhills...  (Don'tcha hate riding the brakes on great downhills???!!!???)

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g73/flyinglazboy/ransthrough46.jpg

Now watch the speeds pick back up!  270 miles to go!!!

And the lead over StrongHeart was over 7 hours at TS43...

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 26th, 2009, 7:48pm

Well, they won't set a new speed record, the WVa hills took too much out of their average speed.  However, they're definitely the first recumbent team to finish first among all 4-person teams competing!  They should roll in to the finish about 9PM tonight (CST).  It's been raining in the Balt/DC area, so I'm sure they're being careful, especially in Friday evening rush hour traffic!!!

Congrats to Team RANS!!!  (And our TTTT pal Sandy Earl, as Crew Chief!!!)

Greg, I guess we done good with our prototype testing, eh?   [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]   Thanks for initiating the conversation with Randy in the first place!

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 26th, 2009, 7:59pm

THEY'RE IN!

06/26/2009 20:50   20.46 mph avg

[smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]   [smiley=runover.gif] [smiley=bounce.gif]

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jun 30th, 2009, 9:32pm

A funny note about RAAM...

I was talking with Brenda Barnell tonight on our group ride, who rode as part of the JDRF 8-tandem team...  She said that she was able to get a shower on the second day, in Arizona...  but by the time they got to Ohio, she would have given almost anything to just be able to shave under her arms...

;D [smiley=lolk.gif]   [smiley=bath.gif]

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by Bud_Bent on Jun 30th, 2009, 10:28pm

TMI!

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 3rd, 2009, 11:39am

Got this from BROL, about the Team Surfin' accident that knocked them out of RAAM -- sounds like mostly the rider's fault:


First hand report on accident

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello all,
I received this report from fellow ultra racer Brett Walker. A truly nice guy and great racer. He asked if I would post his report, so here it is:


There as been a lot of speculation regarding the accident during RAAM
that involved a rider from Team Surfing USA and a Team Strong Heart
support vehicle.

Many people with NO information have formed many opinions about what
happened (for example the Bent Rider’s Forum.) So I thought I would
take a moment to give you my perspective of what happened. This is
NOT an official statement from TSH, just one rider’s perspective.

First thing, we did not hit the rider, the rider hit us. Although no
fault was found or citations issued to either side, by the police or
RAAM officials, in my opinion, the Team Surfing USA rider bares at
least half of the responsibility.

The accident occurred at the bottom of a hill, in a small town, just
before a stop sign. Our support vehicle had NOT just passed the rider,
we passed him a long ways up the road but due to the road conditions
(many corners, traffic, stops, and down hill) the cyclist had
apparently caught back up to our van.

The accident occurred just before a stop sign, the cyclist was passing
a line of cars approaching the stop sign (ours included) on the right
(I believe illegally) and at a high rate of speed. It is questionable
if he would have been able to stop for the sign. In order to conduct
a rider exchange, our driver decided to pull into a parking space,
just before the stop sign. He signaled, looked and pulled into the
parking spot. Unfortunately, at this time the cyclist collided with
the van.

To imply that we hit the rider on purpose is disgusting. We are
cyclists that take our lives into our hands every day competing with
cars for a few inches of pavement. The idea that we would hit a fellow
cyclist is not even thinkable. Why we would we intentionally hit a
rider of a team we had just spent 1800 mile chasing and caught. I
would much rather beat the great Laird Hamilton, man-to-man.

I know this won’t stop the ignorant and malicious attacks. but I
couldn’t stand by and be silent any more.

I am very disappointed that the RAAM organization has not stepped up
and done more clear the air.

Brett Walker

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 3rd, 2009, 5:03pm

...and a funny note from Glenn Druery, who is back in Australia, where it's WINTER...

(Karta Atehortua was apparently the one who convinced the team members to mostly shave their noggins before the RAAM race...)


<<  I'm off for a ride with some friends on a cold winters day and my bald head is very cold..
I'm thinking about you KARTA!

Cheers,

Glenn  >>

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by shellenefoster on Jul 6th, 2009, 8:32am

More fun RAAM stories from Brenda.

She said they were stuck with no transportation for their tandem, so they employed the recommended redneck tandem transportation method:    She held the front of the tandem out the front passenger window while her captain held the back out of the rear window.

YIKES!!!!!

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Jul 6th, 2009, 10:13am


shellenefoster wrote:
   She held the front of the tandem out the front passenger window while her captain held the back out of the rear window.


Sounds like how people transport a Stratus XP sometimes....   :D

Title: Re: Following RAAM Team RANS
Post by aikigreg on Jul 19th, 2009, 3:04pm


FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
...and a funny note from Glenn Druery, who is back in Australia, where it's WINTER...

(Karta Atehortua was apparently the one who convinced the team members to mostly shave their noggins before the RAAM race...)


<<  I'm off for a ride with some friends on a cold winters day and my bald head is very cold..
I'm thinking about you KARTA!

Cheers,

Glenn  >>


Seeing Tim Woudenberg at RAO all balded up was pretty funny too.

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