Wherefore art thou WiFi?

Just in case you've been wondering what happened to the Blog here... it was transferred to Beth's own Blog page. This was easier to update across the States where internet access and WiFi are not as consistent as you'd think!

Four Legs Good Log

Magic Potions

With the arrival of our ninth crew member, Zoe, on Friday 13th, the logistics of crew rotation has been simplified. We should now all be able to get sufficient sleep to give our utmost in assisting Shu.
The girl is responding well to the enormous chàllenge. She has ridden 1270 miles in exactly 5 days. 254 miles for each completed 24 hours. The route has brought her out of the peerless Rocky Mountains and led her towards the vast plains of Kansas, once the home of great herds of bison and their hunters, the noble plains Indians.
The way is flat. And straight. Here and there we pass static grain silos,  like giant robots waiting for activation. It is hot like tar. Shu presses on regardless, Matt's nutrition ànd hydration system is working a magic to sustain this massive effort. But of course, it is not magic, but the application of science.
Deep within the heart and mind of our warrior queen is a quality which no magic potion can bewitch. It's name is determination.

La Veta...RAAM.

On the fifth day of Shu's magnificent quest to complete RAAM solo, the route guided us from Araposa, time station 18, towards  giant mountains silhouetted against the skyline at the head of an open range whiçh once upon a millennium must have been a vast sea.

The conduit between this expanse of open land and the  following grand landscape is a peach of a road whiçh climbs up to a narrow pass before plumetting down to reveal an amazing vista at whose centre lies La Veta,  Sangri-la of Colorado.

Monument Valley

We are driving past Monument Valley (in the dark). Shu is coping well with the desert conditions at night. We've had our next crew change over and feedstop for Shu.

There are have even some long shifts in the follow vehicle for the paramedic, Erica, keeping an eye on Shu in the heat and Matt the nutritionist trying to keep her hydrated and fuelled.

Plenty of other riders and support vehicles out on the road close together at the moment and there is a strong sense of camaraderie. Some of the support vehicles are playing music over loud speakers attached to the roof racks so you hear the cyclists coming a way off. It's crazy to see these cyclists powering along in the dark with their support cars.

We've met lots of the other crews especially those supporting other female solos and the European solos. And everyone tries to cheer on any riders they pass.

Time station 3 is 20 miles away and then it's on to Arizona.

Through time station 2

Proper desert now, sand blowing across the road and hot. We are expecting night time temperatures in the 30's. We are doing our best to keep Shu hydrated, she will drink around 24 litres of fluid in different forms every 24 hour period, albeit not the forms below:

We are also well into our first night drive, so the night regulations say Shu has to stay in the headlights of the follow car. If the car stops, she has to stop. We have lights on the bike front and back and Shu is wearing a fluorescent vest, as are all crew if they leave a vehicle.

There is beautiful moonlight across the desert. It is too dark to see but we are also about to be the furthest south on the route and 19.5 miles from Mexico.

Shu is looking strong as we prepare for our next change over of crew and stop for Shu.

We've ticked off one extreme; the lowest elevation at -187 feet. Now we are heading towards the Colorado River valley.

You can track Shu's progress on www.tractalis.com/RAAM2014

First crew changeover and foodstop

Tremendous drive for the second support vehicle and the RV away from the route. We've been through twisty mountain roads taking the Yacqui Pass between two stunning valleys. It's all sun baked rock and tough greenery.

We met Shu and the follow vehicle at Borrego Springs for the first proper feedstop and crew handover. She's been through time station 1.

It's really hot so while the crew are enjoying the air con we are starting to monitor Shu carefully for the heat.

The crew is now running on race time - the time in Annapolis, so three hours ahead of local time. It's confusing as the regulations around night time racing start at local time so in one hour and means we have phones on local time, watches on RAAM time.

Race start

Shu is away through the start line at RAAM and we have 12 days and 21 hours to get to the other side.

The first section of the race is a parade so the racers and their follow vehicles are set off at short intervals along the beach front here at Oceanside. After a short while Shu will turn into an unsupported zone where racing will start properly at individual intervals. She'll be out of touch from the follow vehicle for around 23 miles.

The crew will be trying to post our progress here. There's a great race app to track Shu's progress across the route too.

If you'd like to support Shu she is raising money for the Herts Air Ambulance.

So, now we head East!