I'm finally catching up on the Blog after a very busy week of work, training, and preparing for RAW.  Lots has happened.  The RAW/RAAM organization has all the 2019 information out, so there are updated routes, rule book, and the "Gear Book" to review.  We have scheduled the required bike, wheel, and vehicle inspections in Oceanside, and the racer and crew pictures.  The custom race and training jerseys for RAW arrived too.  Look for more on the Blog about planning and preparation, the the story behind the "Yellow Guy" kit soon.

During our observing run, Edge Integrative Wellness and Maria hosted a New Year's Resolution Party to welcome folks to her recently remodeled offices.  We had planned on updating my body composition analysis at the party.  I really wanted to make the party, even with a 27 hour day, observing to sunrise the previous night, and only 2 hours of sleep.  I also came down the mountain the following day for that spectacular ride through Arivaca AZ.  

The trip the Edge well worth it.  Cathy met me there (I was staying up at the summit of Mt. Hopkins in the dorms during the observing), and she got a free body composition analysis on the Inbody as well.  She is also pretty lean, and the Inbody even picked up on her slight asymmetry between her two legs.  It's a really impressive diagnostic tool.  See the pictures and videos below!

Finally, this week is a consolidation week in the training schedule--a time where I take a break from the back-to-back long rides, let the body consolidate the hard earned gains from over 1500 miles of riding over the last four weeks.  Overall, it was a good training block, but the realities of holidays, family visits, and observing (in real life, I'm an astronomer), created some adjustments and compromises in the training plan.  We also had an unusual dose of winter weather in Tucson, leaving snow in the foothills.  

Over these four weeks, I was hoping for three big double back-to-back rides, with the longest finally breaking the 8 hour barrier.  The progression beyond 8 hours provided difficult, not because of endurance, but time.  There is only about 10 hours of daylight right now, and an 8 hour ride takes about 9 hours on the road.  Literally, it turns rides into a sunrise to sunset endeavor. The Kitt Peak ride ended at sunset, so 7:45 was all I had time for.  The final ride of the block finally reached the 8 hour point, but an unexpected second winter storm turned the final double weekend into two back-to-back 4 hour rides at a pretty good pace, followed by the 8 hour.  I was encouraged that 8 hours was straightforward, even with the two 4 hour rides in my legs.  

Looking at the training plan and the adjustments, what I find most remarkable is how short 152 days really is (as I type, there are 152 days left to RAW 2019).  Racing starts... five racing days in five weeks.  Then there is 8 weeks of "ultra-endurance".  Then Tour of the Gila, then three weeks of final training, packing, preparing, planning, meeting with crew, then we head to California!  It's really not much time...

2018 was my 32 second year of competitive bike racing.  When I started racing, my bike had 10 gears, my shoes had nylon cleats with a slot in them for the blade of the pedal, and cool guys used double toe straps to hold their feet in.  Early adopters were experimenting with indexed shifting.  Shortly after I started riding seriously, I got my first bike computer, a Cateye.  With no decimal point after the speed, I used metric mode to get a bit more precision out of the rather primitive device.   The habit of keeping training metrics on the bike in kilometers persists to this day.  Now, my bike has GPS, complete with worldwide maps, text messages appear on my handlebars, and for RAW I'll have a bluetooth headset provide constant communication with my crew, or for that matter, anyone on the planet that cares to call while I am in cell phone coverage.  Now my bike has 22 gears, and one of my bikes has electronic shifting.  Still, 22 gears seems like an absurd number of gears, but now I never worry much about what cassette might be on a particular wheel.  

The television coverage of what was originally called the Great American Bicycle Race, and later renamed RAAM on Wide World of Sports planted a long dormant seed inside me.  RAW is a step along the way, and a prerequisite qualifier.  There are certainly easier ways to qualify for RAAM. Completing one of several 500 mile qualifiers, or a certain number of miles in a 24-hour event are alternatives.  For a route as hilly as Hoodoo, the 24 hour qualifying distance would be 360 miles.. Considering I finished Hoodoo fresh in 19 hours, it would have taken another 2.5 or 3 hours to reach 360 miles--something that I likely could have completed.  

RAW presents a challenge in itself, racing 70+ hours, over three days, 28 hours of direct follow support by my crew, two or three sleep cycles.  Completing RAW will not only qualify me for RAAM, but more importantly, give me the confidence that I belong on that starting line in Oceanside in 2020 or 2021 to attempt the full distance.  Since we live in Arizona, only a day's drive to Oceanside, RAW is relatively easy logistically for us.  Over the years, I've ridden several segments of the course.  I'm excited to roll through along these familiar roads with more miles in my legs that I previously could have imagined.  I can visualize rolling down US-160 into Durango past the train station early in the morning, where I did the Tour of the San Juans and several Iron Horse Bicycle Classics.  

Think about that.  Imaging yourself there.  You have ridden for over 10 days, crossing the entire United States.  Your crew has followed you over 3000 miles with two cars, and perhaps an RV.  Now you are going to be escorted the final four miles to the finish, with your two crew cars following.  

RAW 2019 is the first step along the way. The final few miles at RAW 2019 will descend Hesperus Hill, cross the Animas River, pass the rail yard in Durango, and head over to the finish near Fort Lewis College.  If we are on plan, it should be mid-morning on day three.  The crew will have already suspended direct follow support for the day and we should be in leapfrog support.  They will be waiting at the time check at Santa Rita Park, call race control for me, prepared to dash over to meet me at the finish just a couple miles up the road.  I'll mostly look like a ordinary solo cyclist making the right turn onto Camion Del Rio. I imagine there will be much less fanfare than being escorted into Annapolis, but I'm sure it will be special.

The turn in Durango... less than 1 mile to final time check, and the ceremonial 1.5 mile ride over to the finish of RAW.