patrickautissier.org

SPONSORS 2006

Falmouth, July 4th, 2006

 

Dear friends,

 

 

I truly enjoyed ever minute of the RAAM 2006 adventure. In many ways I was sad for the race to end.

 

From surf-city Oceanside California to the thrilling tailwinds passing the stone giants of Utah into the heat and undulating towering climbs of Colorado into the crosswinds and flat lands of Kansas to the lush rolling terrain of Missouri, Illinois and Ohio into the dips, valleys and manure trails of Pennsylvania into the leg burning heat sweltering climbs of West Virginia to the final homestretch of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

 

Certainly the RAAM is about cycling over 3000 miles in the fastest time possible.  But I quickly learned that riding your bike fast is only 25% of the venture.  TEAM-RAAM is about teamwork  -that is what I will most take away from this trek.  The relationships, which I established over these 6 days, are ones that I know will last forever.  I am sincerely grateful to this crew that has committed their time and energy to have this mission fulfilled.  I have witnessed the lows and highs of many individuals and inadvertently triggered several of them to tears.  I would like to specifically thank Tracey for her perseverance as Crew Chief to make it work, Linda for her non-stop dedication to the mission, Chuck for his mind-reading insight on my nutritional requirements, Karen for keeping my mind and body primed for the task at hand and Ed for his sharing his remarkable enjoyment of riding a bike.

 

 

Looking forward to my next challenge.

 

Eric Jensen