FlyingLaZBoy
Moderator
'16 ICE SprintX fs, '16 Rocket, '12 KHS Mocha
Posts: 5803
|
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! **********************************************
|