The Race Across America is now into it’s 3rd day. Jure Robic and Wolfgang Fasching have been within a few minutes of each other for most of the time but Robic went through Cortez, CO 69 minutes ahead of Fasching. They are now 771 miles into the race.
Yesterday most of the racers had to deal with the heat of the desert although the leaders had made it to higher altitude before it got hot. Last year I hit the Yarnell grade early in the afternoon when it was really hot. The reward of all the climbing was cooler temperatures especially by the time I got close to Prescott, AZ.
This morning a lot of the riders were near Flagstaff, AZ. Although it can be warm during the day, the temperatures really drop at night. I think when I left there just before dawn after a sleep break last year, it was 39 degrees. It felt really cold after riding most of the day before with temperatures in the upper 90 through the desert. By afternoon it was back in the 90s as I rode through Monument Valley.
The leaders will spend today riding through the mountains of Colorado while most of the other racers will be riding through the high altitude desert of the four corners region. By evening most of them should be headed into Colorado.
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Tags: cycling, Jure Robic, RAAM, Race Across America, ultra cycling
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Yeah, last year we really hit that Yarnell Grade at the WRONG time of day. That’s a long, punishing climb as is, but for you to do it in that heat had to really blow.
Those pics brought back a lot of memories from last year!
Any idea when you might attempt it again? Of course, I don’t think my wife would let me out for two weeks to crew again – we have twins coming in September…
Ryan, check out my post from yesterday for more about attempted RAAM again. It comes down to time to train and money. The time to train could be fixed by money so it’s really all about money.