Anatomy of a Race Across The West team training ride
As we learned during our training for the 2021 Race Across America event, rigorous training is required not only to address and prepare for the raw fitness and endurance requirements but also the mechanics of understanding and optimizing the process of the rider bike exchanges on the route. Race Across The West 2022 is a 930 mile route which includes over 50,000 feet of climbing. To optimize our speed and endurance performance, the riders will average “pulls” of ten to fifteen miles between exchanges. In our case, we have two support vehicles each with two riders and three crew members. The crew members include a driver, navigator, and a crew chief. There will be two types of exchanges: 1) a leap frog exchange which is an exchange of riders between two vehicles, or 2) a rider exchange between riders in the same vehicle. Depending upon the location and time of day on the route, the support vehicles will either be in “direct follow” mode following directly behind the rider or up to a mile in front of the rider to maintain visual sight of the approaching rider. Direct follow mode is always in place from sunset to sunrise to insure the safety of the riders. The Race Across The West organization enforces strict safety protocols for these exchanges which also include the transfer of the gps transponder that is used to track the team for these exchanges.
Rider exchange
This past weekend, the team came together to practice rider exchanges during a 150 mile training ride from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Perkins, Oklahoma. We used this opportunity to simulate the actual race conditions using route books, gps mapping, vehicle safety lights, rider safety lights, etc. to get as realistic as possible during this training session. Even the weather appeared to cooperate as we had consistent southerly winds of 20 mph gusting up to 42 mph and even had periods of drizzle during the 150 mile loop. The route included lots of short climbs as well.
During Race Across The West with the four riders in lead-frog mode, each rider will ride 10 to 15 miles ( 30 to 60 minutes) maintaining 85 to 90% of their maximum power output to the next exchange point and then have from 90 minutes to 3 hours of downtime until their next pull. During this time, the rider will focus on nutrition, hydration, and recovery. While in rider-to-rider exchange mode, each rider will only have 30 to 60 minutes of recovery time between their pulls. This creates an entirely different dynamic regarding maintaining nutrition, hydration, and recover levels. The current plan under consideration is to operate in rider-to-rider mode for six hour durations providing time for the other team car to address logistical requirements including vehicle fueling, food/hydration for the crew and riders, and rest/recovery during the six hour period as no hotels will be utilized during the race. The goal time is to reach the finish in Durango in 58 hours.
The crew members of Team Suicide Prevention are the critical link to our success. Without their amazing diligence and focus, we could not race. While the riders just have to focus on pedaling, the driver and navigator must be 100% focused on what’s going on both inside and outside the vehicle as we follow the route book instructions during those six hour periods. The crew chief in each vehicle is in charge of insuring that the riders and the driver/navigator have what they need to continue to safely move forward. During the coming weeks, we plan to have another training session, this time in the darkness of night.
It will be another fun and exciting training ride which will help prepare us for success in Race Across The West.
Race Across The West will be hard. Our goal to raise $50,000 to support our local partners will be no easy task either. This mission is worth turning ourselves inside-out as suicide continues to take our loved ones, friends, and so many people we don’t even know away from us. With your support, we can make a difference by helping raise awareness to address this epidemic of unnecessary loss. All tax deductible donations small and large are appreciated. Even if you are not able to donate, you owe it to yourself to still follow us on this epic journey.
To learn more about Race Across The West (RAW), click HERE. During the race, you will able to see real-time tracking information during the race. You and your friends can virtually cheer us on from your favorite bar and read our posts from the comforts of your space while we Race Across the West.
After all, we are just four old guys pedaling our bicycles for a good cause.
Thanks
Craig J
”If you keep pedaling, you will eventually get somewhere”
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