I should run for President

And my sole platform would be nationwide WIFI for all of America. Call me cheap, but no way am I going to buy 3G when I'm a block away from Panara, Steak and Shake, etc, etc. Well, maybe it's just RAAM's website, 'cause I'm typing this blog without a problem. Getting WIFI has again been a problem this year but it's hit n skip which is even more frustrating.
We had a great day yesterday. So great that I didn't have time to blog out. The teams were starting to come in, and Leah Goldstein, solo woman, came through, She's riding real strong but she's now lost her neck muscles and can't lift up the neck at all. Seems kind of dangerous. I lost my photographer, Sylvia or else I would've put a pic of Leah and her neck. You'll have to wait for the end of RAAM highlights.
I missed just 1 team last night at 4am. I had to go home and sleep at least 3 hours in a bed for the first time in 3 days! I was back at the tent at 5am, and we've been busy ever since. The parking lot looks like a Tom Raper RV outlet mall!
Well, now I have to work 12noon till 10pm.

naptime

We cheered on four more male soloists they were supposed to start coming in at 2:45am, but instead Marko Baloh and Alberto Blanco arrived at 4:45am. They both slept for and hour and half. Gerhard Gulewicz blew through our time station looking fancy and dapper like always with a smile on his face as he came thru at 5:30am. We'll see who establishes himself as the 2nd place holder!
Mark Pattinson was supposed to get in at 8am but it was more like 11am. Boy, is my schedule messed up!

Waiting in the darkness

After a great pizza at Mother Bears we got up at 2am to get out to the tent to await #2 to #4 who are neck and neck. That's Marko Baloh, Gerhard Gulewicz, and Alberto Blanco. Well, it's 4:23am and no one yet! There's a lot of construction here in Bloomington, but all the crew have been complaining about the terrible directions in their map book starting east of the Mississippi River. I hope our time station is a sight for sore eyes. It is in the largest city that RAAM comes through and I hope our hospitality is of Hoosier standard.

The dark horse in the afternoon

After hurrying to set up the tent for the Austrian Rabbit, Christoph Strasser, he came through at 3:30pm Tuesday while I was working at the local CVS behind the RAAM Time Station. Strasser is riding a record pace and just may break Pete Penseyre's 20 year old record.

It's Started

The SOLO RAAM has started. They are in Arizona and maybe Colorado by now. We'll be waiting for them at TS 39 come Tuesday. Baloh and Christof are looking to be the favorites, but it's still quite early. Dani Wyss has won the Race Across the West. How about Race Across the East?

New and Missing

A new RAAM graphic has been created. Maybe the new colors are more worldly as RAAM hasn't been a national phenomenon in quite a long while. 2011 will be represented by 18 countries as of February 2002. Unusual ones are India, Lichtenstein, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, and Korea!

There's five (5) solo women. WOW - women on wheels! 60 something David Jones will again cross solo! A couple crusty old Hoosiers, Steve Gerbig an Joel Sothern, are crossing, too.

Here are my favorites for solo men: (1) Marko Baloh - will take up the Slovenia slack. He just got the 24 hour record and looks to have the finances straightened out. He just has to get over those Rocky Mountains without medical problems. (2) Mark Pattinson - has had impressive finishes in the past years and always finishes strong. (3)Chris Gottwald - They say he's a rookie but I swear he rode in 2008 or 2009. From K-Zoo and works in Ft Wayne; he's as local a we can get.

And here's what will be missing.



Jure' Robic died last November hit by a car (naturally for us cyclists) while returning home from a mountain bike ride. He was the Lance Armstrong of RAAM. He will be sorely missed.

Great American Bike Race Trailer

A great trailer of yet another RAAM documentary to be released. It's on our Hoosiers 4 man 60 year old team that raced in 2010. In 2011 Joel Sothern and Steve Gerbig will be racing as Hoosiers 2!