The world’s toughest bicycle race

Gary Feldstein

“Only those who are willing to go too far can possibly find out how far one can go”

-TS Eliot

Inaugural RAAM 1982Santa Monica Pier to Empire State Building

Lon Haldeman  9 Days 20:02 12.57 MPH

John Howard  10 Days 10:59 11.83 MPH

Michael Shermer  10 Days 19:54 11.42 MPH

John Marino  12 Days 7:37 10.04 MPH

Team RAAM added in 1992 2 Person, 4 Person, 8 Person

RAAM RecordsSolo 2014

Christoph Strasser

7 Days, 15 Hours, 56 Minutes

Average Speed 16.42 MPH

8 Person 2013

Allied Forces - Team 4Mil/Strategic Lions 5 Days, 3 Hours, 45 MinutesAverage Speed 24.19 MPH

RAAM by the NumbersOver 3,000 Miles

Over 170,000 feet of climbing

507 solo finishes, 322 finishers, 900 attempts

Vs

200+ TDF finishers each year

2000+ Everest summits

RAAM Route

RAAM Climbing Profile

RAAM vs TDF

RAAM 3,020 miles vs TDF 2,100 miles

RAAM 8 days vs TDF 21 days with 2 rest days

RAAM is a single stage TTRAAM does not permit draftingRAAM continues regardless of weather or roads

RAAM clock never stops till you finish

RAAM permits IV fluids and oxygen

as long as you carry them yourself or stop

RAAM vs Mt Everest

Austrian adventurer Wolfgang Fasching has won solo RAAM three times and climbed Mt. Everest. In his opinion, - Everest is more dangerous, but RAAM is much harder.

Challenges of RAAMNutrition,Hydration, & Electrolytes

Pressure Points

Sleep Management

Schermer’s Neck

Respiratory Problems

Environmental Extremes

Total Body Exhaustion

Navigation & Mechanical

Sample RAAM Diet, 83,000 Calories vs 144,000 Expended

3,500 fluid ounces (over 27 gallons)

75 Gogurts (5250 calories)19 KFC drumsticks (2300 calories)4 McDonald’s Quarter Pounders (3000 calories)7 Milkshakes/Malts (3480 calories)8 McDonald’s Breakfast Sandwiches (4800 calories)6 Hot Pockets (3540 calories)4 Subway Tuna Sandwiches (2120 calories)8 Banana/Nutella Sandwiches (4000 calories)21 Mountain Dews (3570 calories)14 Sunkist Orange Sodas (2660 calories)11 Sprites (1540 calories)8 Cokes (1120 calories)13 Chocolate Milks (2470 calories)22 Iced Mochas (3300 calories)24 Grape Juices (3360 calories)19 Orange Juices (2090 calories)10 Cranberry Juices (1260 calories)11 Iced Teas (990 calories)5 cups blueberries2.5 cups strawberries10 bananas

Pressure PointsHandlebar – Compressive Neuropathies

Pedals – “Hot Foot”

Saddle – Saddle sores -> Abrasive Burns

Compressive Neuropathies

Hot Foot - Metatarsalgia

Saddle Sores

Saddle Sore Remedies

Symptoms of Sleep Deprivation

Short Term Memory Loss

Long Term Memory Loss

Attention Deficit

Loss of ability to plan or coordinate activities

Habits take over responses

Increased risk taking activities

Mania

Hallucinations

Falling asleep while pedaling

Schermer’s Neck

Schermer’s Neck

Shermer’s Neck

Respiratory Problems

Hypoxia – Altitude Sickness

Pneumonia

Pulmonary Edema

Inhalation of allergens or toxins

Environmental Extremes

“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”

adapted from Herodotus

Dessert Heat

Rocky MountainsWolf Creek Pass 10,800 Feet

Cold, Wind, Hypoxia

Plains StatesWind and Dust Storms

Mid-Atlantic StatesThunderstorms

Appalachian MountainsThe toughest hurdle < 500 miles from finish

Appalachian Leg Burners

Total Body Exhaustion

Navigation & Mechanical Issues

RAAM Training

Base

Speed Work

Peaking

Taper

Base

4 Months of “training to be able to train”

Longer strictly aerobic workouts

“Mildly Uncomfortable”

Typical accumulated miles 6,000-7,000

Speed Work1-2 Months

Designed to increase anaerobic threshold

One long ride/week with addition of:

Time Trials

Intervals

Hill Climbing Repeats

Peaking6 Weeks

Final push to peak fitness

Attempt to ride ½ mph faster w/o going anaerobic

Maximum load w/o bodily injury

Duration of speed work increased (100 mile TT’s)

Taper1-3 Weeks

Allows body to fully recover and regenerate

NOT REST but reduced volume

High mileage ride decreased by at least 50%

Only short-distance speed work

In 2013, I completed solo RAW in 3:19:27 in spite of Schermer’s Neck & food poisoning resulting in massive diarrhea with a 15 pound weight loss, earning the Lantern Rouge as well as the “Unstoppable Trane Award” from the Race Sponsor. Here is an excerpt from the Race Report I penned a week after RAW for my club:

“I am hobbling around on 2 swollen ankles, my fingertips are still numb, my right hand is covered in blisters and doesn't have the strength to hold a fork or turn a key, my butt feels like I just slid down a 50 foot banister covered with sandpaper and it required surgical debridement to remove large swaths of necrotic skin. To keep it simple, I'm an old fart, but I ain’t dead yet.”

RAW Finish Photo

“Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you are tired.You quit when the gorilla is tired”

-Robert Strauss

Ultra-Endurance Cycling Resources

Race Across AmericaRAAM: http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/

Randonneurs USARUSA: http://www.rusa.org/

UltraMarathon Cycling AssociationUMCA http://www.ultracycling.com/

Paris-Brest-ParisPBP http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/

The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling by Edmund Burke and Ed Pavelka