Tue Jun 29, 2004
We're done!
Just 7 days 18 hours and 5 minutes later we're in Atlantic City, N.J. The smell of the shore seemed to be evident almost a hundred miles out, but we couldn't smell the stench until we were quite a bit closer.
It's a sad city to end such a perfect race in, but that makes no difference. From day one through today, George and Terri rode their own race and, except for a wind storm in Kansas, stayed nearly to the minute to their projected times.
They're perseverance through the pain of the race is really an ispiration that nothing is so difficult that you can't just stick it out a little bit longer, then the pain starts to subside -- even if you brought it on yourself.
At dinner this evening, George had a sore mouth. 2,958 miles and some mouth pain? I know there's more but the toughness is no accident, these two trained hard for this race and recruited an incredible crew and it paid off. There were no crew blow-ups even if it sometimes seemed iminent and I think everyone is leaving today with friends they didn't even know a little more than a week ago.
So, thanks George and Terri for allowing us to tag along, keep a camera in your face even when I'm sure you were tired of me -- and most of all, for doing your best to forget I was even around even when the flash blasts you coming out of the covered bridge.
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Mon Jun 28, 2004
The end is near
You can almost feel it in the air. The crew is just a little bit more chipper, they can deal with a little less sleep and things that might have bugged them yesterday or Saturday are not such a big deal now.
The riders can feel it too. George said he feels better today than he has for most of the race -- and he does realize he's been riding for seven straight days, I asked.
We're all glad New Jersey is so near, but it's amazing to me how quickly the time has actually passed by, maybe it's just the lack of sleep. There won't be much tonight, either. We're going to be up and going in just an hour or two to catch the team because we don't want to miss a minute of the last few legs of the race. I think I can see the lights of Atlantic City already...
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Sun Jun 27, 2004
Catching the sunrise makes for a long day
We got up at 3:00 local time this morning to catch up to George and Terri by sunrise near Indianapolis. An early morning, but a gorgeous sunrise.
The afternoon was the most exciting of the race so far. The PAC Masters (a four-man team of guys all over 70) started to make a move on George and Terri. They were switching out riders every mile or less to try and catch up, but George just kept moving along. At one point they got to within 48 seconds of George. At first he was trying to out-run them, but finally said he decided it just wasn't that big of a deal. Oddly enough, at that point he pulled ahead of their rider and the PAC Masters fell behind two or three minutes.
The PAC Masters did finally catch George and Terri in the hills of eastern Ohio where they could make quick switches going up hill.
I just realized Saturday's entry didn't make it in, so I'll try to remember what I wrote and re-submit it now.
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Sat Jun 26, 2004
Crossing the mighty Mississip
I crossed the Mississippi river today -- four times. Three times in a car and once on foot.
In an effort to find something different to take pictures of, I decided to walk across the Clark bridge going into Alton, Ill. When I thought the riders were about a half an hour away, I started up the ramp to the bridge and reached the first part of the bridge in about 20 minutes, but the riders weren't even close yet (Jeff stayed at the base of the turn before the bridge with a radio so he could tell me when they were arriving.) So I decided to keep going and in a couple more minutes, I reached the center of the bridge.
After waiting there for another half-hour or so, Jeff and I both started to get a little nervous that we had somehow missed them. Then finally, Jeff came on the radio again and said they were coming, I saw George start to come up the bridge and it was none too soon for me. I shot George going by and wasted little time getting off the bridge. Though I found a brand new purple stuffed animal on the road and got a few nice photos, it was a pretty nerve-racking experience.
The only problem now is that jeff won't let go of the purple teddy bear.
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Fri Jun 25, 2004
Glad to be out of Kansas
Thankfully, the winds of Kansas are history and George and Terri are well into Missouri now with little to no wind to deal with right now. But it's no secret, the winds can change as fast as, well, the wind.
After battles with headwinds through Kansas for more than 14 hours, the team was finally able to get some relief early Friday afternoon.
Quite possibly the highlight of the day for me, however, was a stop at the Kansas-Missouri border where team massuse Sue Morris found a kindly older couple, Buzz and Juanita Sinn, willing to share a few gallons of water so that Terri could take a shower after her ride. Though the couple has lived within a quarter of a mile from their current home just south of U.S. Highway 54, most of their married life, they've had three different houses there. They're quick to point out they've built them all -- from foundation to shingles -- all by themselves.
They live in Missouri, but get their mail, water and newspaper from Kansas. They don't seem to mind the two-state lifestyle and apparently it runs in the family Buzz has nearly always lived there and one of their five children lives just south in Joplin in a house that stradles the state line exactly, one side of the fireplace is in Kansas and the other in Missouri. On top of all that, Juanita was getting ready to cook dinner for 75 people at their church on Saturday. It just goes to show that no matter where you are or who you meet, everyone has a story.
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Thu Jun 24, 2004
A long, windy day
I jumped in the moving van at about 2:30 a.m. local time and followed George out for a 50+ mile pull along I-40 with semi-trucks buzzing by at 75+ miles per hour -- so close it made me nervous and I was safely inside. After several dozen songs, a game of guess George's furnace creek name, an unsuccessful reading of the pets.com sock-puppet's book and a flat tire changed in under a minute, the sun finally started coming up and George was able to safely navigate off the freeway.
The light was great and nearly as soon as George's four-and-a-half hour pull was over, Terri got on and the winds picked up. I was able to switch vans and watch a great display of riding. With the aid of an tail wind, Terri increased her half-hour splits every half hour for three full hours -- while everyone else was showering and taking a sleep break.
The tail wind stayed around for most of the day -- until about 4 or 5 local time when a thunderstorm moved in and brought with it some rain and a hellish cross/head wind.
The going's still a bit slow but getting better and the weather will be much cooler tomorrow.
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Wed Jun 23, 2004
Day brings new terrain
Okay, not really, I'm sick of seing pine trees and juniper bushes. Today was a much better day for both George and Terri. The temperatures were a little lower and the hills weren't quite as steep, but more importantly, or maybe because of that, they were both in better spirits.
We're almost out of New Mexico, and I'm getting up in just a few short hours to join the crews and, hopefully, get some nice daybreak photos. I have to admit, I'm a touch worried -- things seem to be going very well and I keep waiting for the stories I've heard about to materialize.
This crew is great, though, so while I'm sure the seven days won't leave them without an argument. Everyone seems to be making things work quite well.
Better get to bed now, only a couple of hours before I have to join the crews.
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Tue Jun 22, 2004
Day two and we're still alive
I can't believe they can still get on the bikes when they know what's coming up next. George and Terri -- and the rest of the riders in this race are amazing! They continue to get on the bikes over and over despite the fact that temperatures in the 90s and hot sun and steep hills. I can't even imagine the constant pain, and it's only the second day.
Thankfully, there's not much pain on our end. Jeff's fun facts about the Arizona desert are about as painful as it gets. Did you know that the largest Pine forest in the world is in Arizona, neither did I, but now we both do -- and I've been through it now.
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Mon Jun 21, 2004
RAAM is finally under way
After a lot of anticipation and way too much waiting the race has finally started. George and Terri are doing great, and things seem to be moving along smoothly.
The exchanges have been clean and the riders are still in good spirits, so everyone's trying to ride that out as long as they can. Only a minor setback -- the generator in the motorhome blew out, right in one of the hottest parts of the race, so no a/c for those poor souls.
We're stopped in El Centro, Calif., tonight, so we have some catching up to do in the morning to reach the team. They could be as many as 120 miles away by the time we get up at 4 a.m. to set out to find them... Maybe I can sleep in the car.
It's nearly 11 p.m. now, so I don't have time for captions for the photos, hopefully in the morning.
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Sun Jun 20, 2004
A waiting game
There's nothing left to do but wait, now. We're in San Diego, the riders and crew are ready, but the race doesn't start until 2 p.m. Monday.
We sat in on George and Terri's pre-race interview this afternoon and the realities of the race hit me. We could be in New Jersey congratulating the team in seven+ days, or we could be returning home anytime between now and then. As George pointed out, despite how well-prepared everyone might be, the reality is that this is a tough race and any one problem could take the team out of the race. Or they could be lucky enough to make it through with only minor issues. But issues can and will arise.
We're lucky, our problems -- Jeff spilling grape soda and Pringles in the car, and even me forgetting my plane ticket home at home -- probably won't keep us or more importantly, the rest of the team, from finishing the race.
I'm just ready for it to start, now.
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