Last weekend Chris, from Podium Cycles, and I crewed for the 24 hours of RAAM.

[editor's note, by chris] Improbably, Chris from Podium Cycles is not related to yours truly. Pics and stories below!

For the past three years our club has entered a team in the RAAM 24 hour challenge. A slightly less insane version of the RAAM, this only goes to Flagstaff. This year our club was riding to support teamsam.com. You may recall the coffee special at the Podium Cafe buyers club. That was to raise money for this event.

Teams in the 24 hour challenge usually consist of an 8 person team. The riders relay from Oceanside, CA, to Flagstaff, AZ. I think the total mileage this year was 491 miles. Typically each rider takes a 15 minute shift, and then exchanges with the next rider. It seems like a short pull, but 15 minutes lets you go hard while you're out on the road. Overall, you get a faster time on the course.

While the teams usually are 8 person teams, this year we had a rider drop out late. That left us with 7. Not a big problem, it just meant that each rider would go a little longer. At least that was the plan. Very early in the race one of our riders crashed out. He hit some bad road surface, and broke his hand. Now we were down to 6.

The next 24 hours are a blur. Chris and I took turns driving the follow car, with the other navigating. We ended up with a time of just over 25 hours. We didn't make our 24 hour goal, but we did meet our goal of a panalty free race.

Here are a few pictures.

Chris (left) and I at the start. Who's Driving?

Rider Exchange

Late Night on I-10

Sunrise in Arizona

Descending

Final Climb - Arizona Divide