Marin Bike's Team Rider Mike Gore on the Ride Across America

Misconceptions About RAAM

From: mikegore.net

Life currently is school, RAAM, and relationships. Seeing as RAAM is by far the most interesting thing I've got on my plate in the short run (we start in 44 days,) I'm getting a ton of questions about what RAAM actually consists of. These are actual questions I've had from people.

Some are rather ridiculous. But let's see...

#1 "Will you eat food during RAAM?"

Yes. I will eat food. While there is some validity to an all liquid diet, I'll be avoiding this. Food is about more than just isolated nutrients, and the amounts of calories I'm going to be taking in is ridiculous. We're talking about burning around 5000-6800 calories per day for around 8 days. That's around 10 to 12 big mac's a day. I'll break down my nutrition when we get closer to race day.

#2 " So you stop at hotels and rest at night, right?"

Wrong. We'll be stopping for gas, food, pooping, and other sundries. We have an RV that will be our sleeping area, and will occasionally sleep in the vans. Instead of hotel beds, think car seats. Instead of showers, think baby wipes. We have to have a rider on the road at all times, so there will always be a few people out.

#3 "Can you just go whichever way is fastest?"

No. We've got to stick to a route provided to us by RAAM. It's a meticulously planned 3,008 mile labyrinth of backroads, highways, scenic routes, and neighborhoods. There are severe penalties for deviating from the set course.

#4 "So Ride Across America - Is it timed?"

First, it's Race Across America. Race, as in a competition. That's what RAAM is. We'll be friendly to other teams at the start and on the road, but we've got a job to do. RAAM has such a myriad of divisions that it's hard to pinpoint a 'winner,' but the winner of each division is recognized as a RAAM winner. The event is timed - you've got just 9 days at most to get across the country. I'm thinking our team will be within the 7 days 5 hours to 7 days 20 hours range. Thats a bit over a 17mph average pace for an entire week, no stopping.

#5 "Wow. So do you go over mountains?"

No. We have a specially constructed tunnel so we don't have to climb.

Yes, we do go over mountains. There's around 110,000 vertical feet of climbing spread throughout the course. The majority of the feet we'll be climbing comes in Colorado, but the steepest grades we'll face will be very close to the end in the hills of Maryland.

#6 "Are you riding the whole way?"

Nope. This year, our team has 4 people, and we'll be breaking up the route based on our strengths and weaknesses. This doesn't mean that we'll be going a quarter each, or a quarter at a time. In fact, my teammate Jim Gourley just emailed me a 42 page file of the plans for riders in the first third of the race. I'll probably publish it after the race, but we're taking a very tactical and realistic approach to the ride.

Let's just say I'll be riding up a lot of stuff.

#7 "Is RAAM a fundraiser?"

Yes and no. Many charities use RAAM as an event to raise awareness or funds for their cause. With Team RWB, we're doing this for both reasons. We want to raise awareness of veterans issues, as well as enhance the lives of wounded veterans through community outreach and athletics. RAAM is a great event to do that with, as it produces a lot of press. We're also raising funds to Team RWB can fund their mission.

Please, use a few bucks to support our team and this great cause. Donate Here