Stage “Nine”: TS 37-39, Effingham, IL-Bloomington, IN

This stage was another over-nighter. This was my most difficult shift of RAAM. The fatigue of riding a lot of the day in hot, humid conditions plus little sleep during a fairly short turnover had a grip on me as our shift passed through rural farm country outside Sullivan, IN and toward Bloomington. I knew how even more important calorie/electrolyte/fluid (CEF) intake would be during this segment given the fatigue that was threatening to consume me. I was using the same Spiz mixture in my bottle on the bike + Ensure off the bike. When my crew called a “pow wow” on the side of the road and said I wasn’t taking enough CEF & they were concerned about safety & could easily call back one of the other riders from the RV to replace me for the rest of this stage, I woke the F up! I got in the van, grabbed some paper & a pen and did a quick calculation demonstrating that YES indeed I had been taking in adequate CEF. There was no way in hell anyone else was going to ride even ONE MILE of my RAAM & I got a little..angry. Which was EXACTLY what I needed! All of a sudden, my focus and clarity were back and I knew what I had to do. RIDE and ride hard. So my 30 minute pull turned into an hour as I hammered up those little rollers and basically rode an hour time trial until I wasn’t so pissed off anymore 🙂

I thanked my crew afterward for teaching me something new about myself that night. The way to wake me up is to piss me off..

Stage “Ten”: east of Oxford, OH-Athens, OH

We got on shift just west of Lebanon, OH, a cute little town full of civic pride. I am from this area (Middletown; Lonni & Doug rode through there) and it was fun riding through. I knew we had a fan waiting in Chillicothe: Bruce Smith, in whose front yard two years ago, Brandon’s well-meaning attempt at an RV u-turn got us stuck 🙂

Bruce was our RAAM angel in 2011 & is now a huge RAAM and Team Crank It Up fan. As I rode into Chillicothe in the late afternoon humid heat, I got a unique surprise-a Harley-Davidson escort by Mr. Smith!

We stopped at the Time Station briefly to chat and take pictures. Bruce had all kinds of fun goodies for us: cans of silly string, bubbles, sparkling apple cider, glow-in-the-dark bracelets & a lovely hand-carved picture frame. Brandon found out Bruce doesn’t mind the ruts in his yard. Mike, David, and Bruce got to meet. For me, this was a wonderful but brief infusion of RAAM enthusiasm and fun. I left Chillicothe with a smile on my face and renewed joy in my heart.

The road to Athens held even more magic. As the sun was setting, the lush green grass next to the shoulder began lighting up in lazy pulses of green. Fireflies! What a beautiful treat. We had the pleasure of their company for at least several miles until the road widened & the grass disappeared. We rode into Athens quite late on Friday night. This is a college town and on this night, the streets were full of kids out having fun. They were incredibly supportive-cheering us on.

RAAM is not just a race. It is a journey and a metaphor for life actually, that presents so many opportunities to experience pretty much the entire spectrum of human emotion, connection & growth if one’s heart and mind are open and ready. I came to ride and I came for this.