It has now been most of a week since I dropped out of RAAM. The official reason was I wasn’t going to be able to make the time cut offs. The real reason was the cross winds of eastern Colorado and western Kansas. Of course I’ll never know if something else would have gone wrong with my body. It’s hard to make much progress when you have to get off the bike every 15 minutes to get stretched out because the pelvis is out of alignment. Even when I could push through the pain, I couldn’t get any power out of my left leg.
I plan to write more details but I’ll be traveling over the next week visiting relatives so I doubt I’ll have much time before I get home. I will say doing RAAM was more incredible than I had ever imagined. My wife says she’s totally behind me attempting it again next year in spite of how tough it was having me gone so much training. I’d say really the only reason I wouldn’t be back is because of money. I drained my bank account doing the race this year and there will be no way for me to afford to do it next year without major sponsorship.
I haven’t been on the bike since I dropped out but I’m really starting to want to ride. Most of the gigantic scabs have come off my butt from where my saddle sores were. Maybe I’ll get a chance for a little spin tomorrow to see how everything is working.
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For what it’s worth, Rob, you made one HELL of an effort. I was sorry to see you pull out. Take it easy for a few days, my friend and let that kiester heal up.
great job, Rob.
who is your sportsmed trainer/massage therapist? i know a good one if you need someone.
Hey Rob – I’m an avid cyclist who enjoyed following this year’s RAAM. So I was pulling for all of the riders, including you. I found it really fun to check the RAAM website multiple times a day to check on your and the other rider’s progress. So thanks for entertaining me!
So I have a question for you. You mentioned scabs from saddle sores. That’s the one area where I know I would have problems on any ride longer than a double century (which is why I’ve never tried anything longer . . . yet).
Do you have any advice regarding the saddle-buttocks contact point? What kind of saddle did you use? Did you use a gel pad? Did you change your shorts a couple of times a day? Did you use any cream or ointment?
I just can’t imagine having to keep my ass on my saddle (a Fizik Aliante Carbon with carbon rails) for more than 16 hours.
Thanks again!!!
Mike
Mike, there’s some information about what I use for saddle soreness in a post about Texas Hell Week. I also used a neoprene saddle cover to add a little more cushion without making it too soft. The only problem I’ve had with the cover is it does press up between the butt checks and makes going to the bathroom for #2 painful and even has caused bleeding. The fix for this during RAAM was to make a cut out in the cover sort of like some saddles have. I use the Flite Gel saddle. The other good thing about the cover is it covers the stitching which can cause chaffing.