Whew .... it's been tough....

Sorry for the delay in posting. The crash of the RAAM server the last two days has been a nightmare. I spent much of yesterday creating impromptu links between other time stations thru Twitter, a site for TS Managers, the phone (lots of HOURS used yesterday) and other sources just to try and keep up. The crews were especially in need of info due to lack of cel phone coverage west of the Lake. Plus living outsde in a parking lot made for HOT conditions.

The heat has realy taken a toll. It was 105-108 in Kansas Monday, the same yesterday, and then the RAAMsters hit the humidity here. Ugh!! But everyone was suffering more or less equally, and knew it, so we heard NO grumbling from anyone.

Here's a link to those who have arrived at TS31: http://74.50.27.205/raam/rcts.php?s_N_TimeStation_ID=1519&s_N_Year_ID=2

Fun to see last night was Claudio Clarindo (www.clarindo.com) of Brazil. He was here in 2007 and is just the nicest guy imagineable! He used our wading pool (pics coming) to cool off (thank you Wal-Mart) His same crew is back , so I was able to show them pics from '07. One of the crew members is William Carvalho, who speaks great English, has a great personality and knows US politics better than a native. Clarindo and crew stayed about four hours and left before dawn.

Unfortunately, this morning, we missed Dominique Briand of France, riding in the 50-59 Division.

Because of strong winds that hit us late last night Jim took down all the web equipment, so overnite there was no service at the TS. This morning I drove over to the Dairy Queen and was able to get on there and send out info to the media (THANK YOU, Denny!!!) However, while I was gone, Dominique came through. In 2006 he was part of a 2-man team, the Crazy Gones, who had their fill of the race by the time they arrived. It was reallllly hot that night and they wouldn't even sign an autograph. Oh, well. We wish Dominique the best.

However, fortunately, while driving west on 54 looking for Briand, I came across Michael Cook of CA, Solo Mens Division, 10 miles west of the TS. I have been reading his Blog for three months at least, so it was great fun to be able to meet him. They had stopped on the side of the road to take care of some health issues. The inside of his follow car looks like the inside of the space shuttle....FULL of electronic gear. Michael has in the back pocket of his cycling jersey an Altoids box-sized transmitter that is a GPS unit. Also, in the van, is a LIVE web cam so that we can see Michael on the road. I'll forward the long link when his crew chief sends it. Only six viewers at a time, though, so keep trying.

In the closest RAAM ever (in the Solo Mens Division) Jure Robic currently leads but he has one hour of penalties and Danny Wyss has none (we think). So when you look at the standings and figure the lead by Robic you must remember that penalty times are NOT included in the current race standings. Near the end of the race the rider MUST STOP at a Time Station and actually WAIT the amount of time equal to his penalties. Robic HATES to wait, so look for him to try and drop Wyss. Look at the times between time stations for the two and note the average speed between stations. Any small variation can mean minutes lost, and in a close race like this even seconds are going to count.

TS31 favorite Jim Rees of the UK stopped in and spent 20 or so minutes with us, sitting down with an ice cream treat to cool off and being his usual gracious, talkative self. How he retains his good spirits under such trying conditions is inspiring. If you have noticed on the front page of our web-page we have a link on the left to Jim's Team Inspiration website. The story of his having to use a neck brace, which was made by two of his crew members here at TS31, and then wearing the brace for 1200 miles (ugh) and finishing just EIGHT MINUTES UNDER the cut-off time is truly one of the great stories of recent RAAM lore. I keep in touch with Jim and he's always willing to answer emails. This year, we have been hearing of less experienced riders asking the "old timer" for advice. Check the Team Inspiration page for the story by Paris Golden.
I'll be back later. For you locals, stop by the Time Station at SIGNAL in Camdenton and be on our live VIDEO FEED. YOU can BE A MEDIA STAR at TS31!