patrickautissier.org

SPONSORS 2006

Boston, July 7th, 2006

 

Dear all,

 

As promised, I am going to tell you what happened during this crazy week between Oceanside, CA and Atlantic City NJ, from my perspective. The others riders and our Crew Chief, Tracey Ingle, will try to do the same. Of course, these reports can and probably will be quite different from one rider to another, but in the end, we all crossed the finish line together….. And we’re still talking to each other, which matters the most for me.

 

When we were in Oceanside, CA the days prior to the start, I was very anxious, and the more we were close to the start, the more I got anxious. I had dropped out of the RAAM last year, as a solo rider, and for this year, I really wanted to do a good race. Several months back, my goal was to be in the top 3 position. But before the start, I told my crew that I’d be satisfied if we’d just finished the race. I was simply scared of losing everything by taking too much risk. However, you’ll see in a minute that this “safe” plan just disappeared as soon as we rode the first miles of the race.

 

At the banquet ceremony the day before the start, Jim Pitre, the Race Director, introduced all the teams one by one. At that time, each team has to draw a number for ride out position (start every 30 sec). Out of the 29 teams, I draw number 25 (oops!!!), meaning that we will be starting almost after all the teams. Team Vail-Beaver Creek got number 10, and Swiss Damovo Team got number 8. These 2 teams were expected to be the best teams this year.

 

On Tuesday 13th at 5pm EST along the beach of Oceanside, CA, Team Athletes Racing for Charity started the 13 miles parade route. After 1 mile, we left Eric Jensen riding alone as he will be the one who will officially start the race. We then went to the vans waiting for us at the motel, and they drove us to mile 21 where Ralf Geiben will switch with Eric. Our strategy was to ride as fast as we could the first 100 miles in order to get most of the teams behind us and not get stuck in the traffic. From TS # 1 to TS # 7, each 4 riders will switch every 10-15 minutes. When Eric showed up at mile 21, we were all very excited because he already passed lots of teams. In fact, after 50 miles, we were technically leading the race. Team Vail was 7 minutes ahead of us, but they started 8 minutes before us. It was a real chock for me because I didn’t know what to expect, if we would be fast enough. Of course, Team Vail, comprised of professional racers and already 2-time RAAM winners, took the lead soon after and never looked back. We passed through the desert at night (good for us!), and in Prescott, AZ, after 390 miles covered, we were in 2nd place, 50 minutes behind Team Vail and just 4 minutes ahead of Swiss Damovo Team. Then, our strategy was to have 2 riders switching every 15-20 minutes for 4 hours, while the others 2 riders were driven 100 miles ahead, in order to get more rest, a shower and a good meal. Unfortunately, it took much more than 4 hours to drive to a motel, eat, shower, massage and most importantly get enough sleep. So, we ended up switching teams of 2 riders every 8 hours or so. In other words, we slowed down a little bit, but not too much. After 770 miles of race, in Cortez, CO, we were in 3rd place, only 1h20’ behind Swiss Damovo Team, and at the bottom of the big passes in Colorado. The entire team regrouped and the 4 riders would switch every 5-10 minutes for the climbs of Wolf Creek Pass (10,857 feet), La Veta (9,413 feet) and Cuchara (9,941 feet). Unfortunately for me, I had problems breathing. Basically, I went too high, too fast. So, I decided to rest more and not climb Wolf Creek Pass, to try to recover a little. Between La Veta and Cuchara, we hit a very strong cross winds, which will not stop until Missouri. At the end of the big climbs, in Trinidad, CO, after 1,100 miles ridden, we were 2h10’ behind the Swiss Team. That was a significant gap, but not insurmountable. We then switched again with 2 teams of 2 riders. When we passed through El Dorado, KS, the weather became really bad. The Time Station was blown away, there was a twister apparently just behind us, moving at 35 mph. Our Crew Chief, Tracey, decided to stop us (Eric was riding at that time), and get a shelter somewhere. The riders were not very happy about stopping, but that was Tracey’s decision and we had to respect it. When we started riding again, we were unfortunately 4h40’ behind Swiss Damovo Team. It was a little bit hard for me to refocus on the race, especially riding at that time at night under pouring rain. But eventually, we all increased the speed and started to ride very hard. The next 4 Time Stations, we gained time against Swiss Damovo Team, about 40 minutes, by riding approximately 1mph faster than them. And then, before crossing the Mississippi River, we heard the sad news that Daniel Maegerle, one of the Swiss riders had had an accident, and the entire team had decided to withdraw from the race. We were of course chocked and sad about the accident, but at the same time happy about this 2nd place. Since Team Vail was 13 hours ahead of us and the 3rd Team 7 hours behind us, we decided to ride safe the last 1,000 miles. It was not an easy ride, but knowing that we had this 7 hours cushion made the last 1/3 of RAAM more relaxed and enjoyable for the entire Team. The rolling hills in Illinois and Ohio became much steeper when we hit West Virginia. However, the Appalachians were not as hard as I would have imagined, and since the weather was now back to normal, we all enjoyed this part. I especially loved riding through the Gettysburg Battle field at sunset. This historical site was just incredible, very quiet, and I was riding very slowly in order to enjoy this special moment.

 

Finally, after 6 days 13h 06’, we crossed the finish line on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, NJ. The entire team was ecstatic, knowing that we have done a great job. I was personally very happy,….and extremely relieved that everything went well for the team. RAAM is such an extreme race, whether you do solo or as a team, and it’s not only about the bike. From getting the budget to planning all the details, and most importantly to have 14 people living together for 6 days in very stressful conditions with lack of sleep, hygiene, good food and so on, makes the toughest TV reality show like “Survivors” looking like a piece of cake.

 

I’m very proud of the Team Athletes Racing for Charity, very proud of the crew members who gave absolutely everything during this race, proud and honored to represent our sponsors, and finally proud to raise money for Partners In Health and Nashoba Learning Group.

 

This year is the Chapter 2 of Athletes Racing for Charity, and there will be a Chapter 3 next year. But before that, stay tuned for the fundraising event at the end of the year.

 

 

Have a great and active summer,

 

Patrick Autissier