The RAOd Warriors have less of a strategy and more of a "strategery," which means we have a loose plan that has the potential to crumble to pieces in a manner not unlike the U.S. Middle East military er, um, "strategy."

The Race
RAO is about 535 miles with about 40,000' of climbing. Since we are a team of 4, the race will essentially be a 134-mile time trial for each racer, divided into approximately 30-minute chunks with a 90-minute rest in between each effort.

We originally planned on 40 minute shifts, but during a training ride we decided 30 minutes felt better. While 30-minute shifts probably might no allow enough time for the racers to get into a groove, this is a time frame that felt more psychologically palatable. At the end of an endurance race like this, 30 minutes could seem like an eternity.

Assuming we finish in 30 hours, each rider will be in the saddle for about 7.5 hours, do about 10,000' of climbing, and average just under 18 mph. This will work out to about 15 rotations per rider.

It will be tempting to ride too hard in the first hours of the race. Rather than encourage one another to ride faster, we'll need to encourage one another to ride at a pace that will leave us completely spent just as we cross the finish line.

The Competition
We are entered in the men's open category. Our competition includes Three Rivers Racing, and most of their team have a respectable set OBRA results. The open category also includes a junior team, the Aardvarks, which includes some high schoolers with race results. In our favor, we hopefully have more experience pacing ourselves at this distance compared to both of these teams.

Team Logistics
The team will be split into two vehicles that will leap-frog one another down the course. Riders #1 and #3 will be in one vehicle, and riders #2 and #4 will be in the other. There will be 3 crew in each vehicle. An exchange consists of a wheel overlap from one racer to the next. As we discovered during our training ride, this can be harder than it sounds depending on the terrain. Coordinating the support vehicles at night will add another layer of complexity that will be difficult with sleep-deprived drivers.

The race begins near the Portland Airport and with a ~10 mile neutral start. The neutral start means that the racers ride together at a mellow pace until the race officially begins. Racing opens with an intimidating hill which is sure to separate the pack. The first relay exchange will happen 10 miles later near Boring, OR, at an on-ramp to Hwy 26.

As team captain and the slowest rider on the team, I'll be the #1 racer, and will hand off to Mark Mirante. The thinking is that the neutral start would be a waste of energy for the stronger riders. Mark's riding style is especially suited to the flat and rolling terrain on the first part of Hwy 26, so he should take that leg. After that, the crew in each vehicle will be need to estimate the time and distance each racer can cover in 30 minutes and find suitable exchange locations. Mark will hand off to Vic Steuber, and Vic will hand off to Mike Stafford.

Weather
We expect extreme heat during most of the race. One of our crew, Shane Balkovetz who is an experienced randonneur (and Redmond Cycling Club president), has recommended that we bring cheap tube socks to fill with ice and drape over the rider's necks to keep them cool. Given the use of ice vests & this sort of ice sock by some of the pro teams like Garmin-Chipotle, I'm keen to try this poor-man's alternative during our race. No doubt we'll consume an ample quantity of Nuuns and Endurolytes during the race.

Fueling
Under normal circumstances none of us would worry much about hydration and nutrition for a 134 mile ride. But, since each racer's 134 miles will be spread out over a ~30 hour time period, staying properly fueled might get tricky. We plan to use a combination of sports drink, recovery drink, real food (smoked salmon and rice for me), soup, ibuprofen, and coffee. After each racer's shift, they'll take some recovery drink, eat a bit, then rest until the next shift. This will give each plenty of time to digest before the next effort. It's reasonable to expect that we'll be burning upwards of 800 calories per hour.

Tactics
Ultimately, I expect that most of this race will be in the mind of each racer, and psychological support of one another will be critical. We have discussed the finish, which is a difficult six mile climb to Timberline Lodge. All four riders are permitted to work together on this final stretch, but we are dubious that team drafting tactics will be feasible on that climb and after 529 miles of cycling. Any tactics we employ as we approach the finish will depend on how the racers and crew are feeling, and where we are in the race compared to the competition.

My personal objective is that all four racers cross the finish line together as a team, smiling, and happy that we've raced our hearts out in this strenuous event.

As of Sunday, rumors of summer in the Northwest were greatly exaggerated.

Based on recent ride reports that included scary accounts of dehydration and heat exhaustion, I showed up to Sunday's Goose Bump outing with a full hydration pack and worried that I had forgotten a sleeveless jersey at home. While I was prepared for heat, I broke the cardinal rule of adventure in the Cascades: Assume hypothermia can happen at any time, including July. Arm warmers saved the day.

After a commute to the starting point along Hwy 410, we were off and climbing. Although this was a Cascade Bicycle Club group ride, 20+ miles of uphill tends to turn things "mano a mano," as Paul Sherwen would say. Most of the day was spent alone in the mist and fog.

I'm at the tail end of an interval-based training program for the upcoming Race Across Oregon, and planned on about 4 hours in the saddle with 2 20-minute intervals at lactate threshold. I figured one interval per climb.

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To the untrained eye, Cayuse Pass may look more like an intersection than a mountain pass, especially when visibility is limited. Instead of continuing upwards toward Chinook some cyclists, whether officially or unofficially in our group, headed downhill towards Ohanapecosh. The return trip made for good RAMROD practice, no doubt.

The first climb past Cayuse Pass to Chinook Pass went splendidly. After a few warm up miles, I pushed hard for 20 minutes, then returned to cruising speed for the rest of the climb.

The Chinook descent was thrilling: Poor visibility, wet pavement, gravel, and RVs piloted by impatient drivers in hot pursuit.

The cycling menagerie at Sunrise included Randonneurs, a number of unaffiliated riders, and a neat stack of expensive hardware.

One climb down, one 12+ mile climb to go. At the White River entrance station, I found Tom Mage shivering and deliberating whether to continue to Sunrise. He eventually made the correct decision and returned to a warm car and took a nap.

I had trouble on the second climb. I felt good for the first 4+ miles, but my legs cramped, and despite trying to pedal through the cramps, my legs remained stiff and uncontrollably twitchy for the rest of the day.

Goose Bumps on a log, literally.

Leg cramps have been a recurrent problem for me this season. I had them once during a difficult ride last season, and four times now this year. I've been stretching more than usual, and dosing with an abundance of electrolytes. Although there are plenty of opinions about how to deal with cramps, the literature does not seem to have any conclusive recommendations about how to treat them beyond what I've been doing. Frustrating to say the least, and paranoia-inducing given that the Race Across Oregon is only about 10 days away.

Gosling Pete caught me about 1/2 way up the Sunrise climb, and ride leader David Roberts caught me in the last few miles pushing hard and gasping "wheel!" (as in "grab my wheel and let's ride together.") I rode with David for about a minute, but my unresponsive legs wouldn't let me hang on.

On a clear day, the view of The Mountain from Sunrise is breathtaking. Sunday's view was limited to fog-filtered daylight (note that daylight does not qualify as sunlight). In the Northwest, this is considered perfect tanning weather.

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I got lucky on the Sunrise descent and didn't encounter automobiles until Hwy 410. This was my first time cycling on any of these roads, though have heard numerous post-RAMROD horror stories about the headwinds on Hwy 410. From the cyclist's perspective, Hwy 410 looks flat but in reality trends downhill. Despite the headwinds, gravity is in the cyclist's favor on this stretch, and even handicapped with twitchy, crampy legs I maintained a 27+ mph pace on the homestretch.

Forget about watching the Tour on TV. Instead, read and view NY Times' correspondent Robert Mackey's account of his successful attempt at this year's L'Etape du Tour.

Looks like the Pacific Northwest would have been a perfect training venue for this year's event.

While it's a disappointment that team Astana won't be competing in this year's Tour de France, Seattle benefits from the opening in Johan Bruyneel 's schedule. Bruyneel is on tour promoting his new book "We Might as Well Win" and speaks at Elliott Bay Books on Friday July 11.

Bruyneel is a former pro cyclist who went on to direct the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team (which became the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) to seven Tour de France victories with Lance Armstrong, and a win last year with Alberto Contador. He's currently the team director for Astana which has been excluded from this year's Tour de France for less than transparent reasons.

I read his book during a business trip last week. I'm not a writing critic, so take my comments with a grain of salt. I found most of the writing to be ho-hum, but as a cycling fan I found the content to be compelling. The read includes personal anecdotes from Johan's childhood and cycling career, as well as insight into his management of U.S Postal and Discovery.

Johan discusses his relationship with Armstrong, and the symbiosis they achieved as coach and athlete. He briefly mentions the Ivan Basso affair. And he spends a fair bit of time singing the praises of Alberto Contador.

Since Johan will be speaking the night before STP, maybe the crowd will be relatively small?

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Incoming email brought this image of a British Columbia based Everti bicycle, maybe foretelling a trend we may see as a result of ever increasing gas prices:

Will we see a day when we see setups like this rolling down the Interstate?

Everti Titanium Bicycles

As a bit of context for upcoming posts about the Race Across Oregon (RAO), here are brief profiles of my team members, the RAOd Warriors:

Mike Stafford most resembles:
Pro rider: Patro Jimenez
Mad Max character: Mad Max's dog
Mike is the strongest climber on the team, and has a very competitive spirit. If we are in contention as we approach Timberline, Mike will be unable to restrain himself from giving his all for the team.

Mark Mirante most resembles:
Pro rider: George Hincapie
Mad Max character: "Mad" Max Rockatansky
Mark is our strongest overall rider and is at his best on flat and rolling terrain. As I mentioned in a post about the Flying Wheels Century, Mark has the ability to put the hammer down hard for extended periods of time.

Vic Steuber most resembles:
Pro rider: Viatcheslav Ekimov minus the mullet
Mad Max character: Gyro Captain
Vic, who is over 50 but won't admit his actual age, is consistently strong on hills and flats. Vic is expected to turn in the most consistent performance of the race.

David Longdon most resembles
Pro rider: Any Tour de France Lanterne Rouge "winner"
Mad Max character: Feral child
Like Vic, I'm also a "steady Eddy" type of cyclist, though I have been doing an interval-based training plan this year, which I hope will give me some extra horsepower in the final approach to Timberline.

Bummer. I would have been an interesting event.

Even with a reduced budget, the Vail Valley Foundation was unable to get the sponsorship it needed to operate the race.

Sounds like it's a byproduct of current economic conditions.

Official Press release.

VeloNews.

'Tis the season for endurance events.

71 Cyclists rolled out of Monroe at 6AM Saturday to begin an epic multi-day battle with heat, hills, headwinds, sleep deprivation, and no doubt, scary personal demons. The first finishers in this year's event are expected to complete the route in less than 70 hours. STP might be a nice cool-down ride for some of these cyclists.

Randonneurs rode in long pacelines as they headed towards Cumberland.

In randonneurring events, riders follow a prescribed course with checkpoints along the way called "controls." Riders carry a time card that gets filled out by volunteers at each control. Riders need to pass through each control within a pre-set time period and are out of the event if they arrive after a control has closed.

Incoming riders get their time cards completed by the volunteers at the control.

Although randonneuring events are timed, the emphasis is less on competition and more on efficiently completing each course in a self-sufficient manner. Seattle International Randonneurs' president Mark Thomas told me that the only reason they publish finish times is to give participants a way to see where cycling friends ended up.

The Cumberland control had so many volunteers that it (almost) offered personal attention.

1200 km events such as the SIR's Cascade 1200 are at the extreme end of the randonneuring spectrum, and attract athletes who dedicate countless hours to train and prepare.

The first control for this year's event was in Cumberland, a mere 54 miles into the ride. There were an abundance of volunteers and supporters at the first control, and riders were applauded as they arrived, then helped with water and other needs before they carried on towards Packwood.

Nutrition secrets from the randonneurs: Sweat-infused baguette.

Urs Koenig was the first to arrive at 9 AM--after 3 hours of elapsed time. Imagine maintaining that pace for 70 hours!

The second clump arrived four minutes later and included sixty-something Ken Bonner who has the legendary reputation for completing a (running) marathon while he was also doing a 1200 km randonneuring event.

Randonneuring events such as this deserve more attention given the athletic prowess and determination these athletes exhibit.

Results.

Check it out.

Never say never.

My bio for this blog clearly states:
"Events that involve sleep deprivation are also disqualified, so no Race Across Oregon or multi-day ultra-marathons (for me)."

The bio needs an update, 'cuz I'm the ringleader of a 4-man team signed up for this year's Race Across Oregon, aka the "RAO."

The Race Across Oregon, which is actually more of a Race Around Oregon, is a ~532 mile endurance event that starts near the Portland airport, loops out into the lonely hinterlands east of the Cascades, and finishes at Timberline Lodge. For solo riders, RAO is a qualifier for RAAM.

The RAOd Warriors: Mike Stafford, David Longdon, Vic Stueber, Mark Mirante. Team jerseys feature an image of a nuclear explosion and a skull and cross bones.

Interest in the RAO is a by-product of my new life as an urban cyclist, and feeling frustrated by the dim caliber of nearby cycling routes. I don't think it would be on my radar this season, or ever, if I had easy access to lonely country roads as I did in Bellingham and Eugene. Desperate situations require desperate measures.

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