Team Vampire, which consists of veteran RAAM riders Kurt Lorch, Clark Griffin and Markus Naegeli were joined this year by Markus, son Kaleb. They hit the road for their first leg in Blythe, CA after the retiring Daywalkers rolled into town. They flew off under the cloak of the dark night sky just as they planned. I mean they are vampires after all.
As you can see in the above mix of photos we ran in to a lot of unchanging terrain. We saw a lot of very dry landscape rolling through much of Arizona making it very hot for our cyclists. They persevered and match the heat with their own fire and determination!
Meeting of the minds in Hope, AZ
Congress, AZ is home to the best time station along the route. And this group was fortunate enough to get to experience it. There are 55 time stations along the route where we check in with RAAM headquarters with time of arrival.
Most of them are just instructions or landmarks, but TS 6 is a treat. They have tents, a pool, fresh produce, beverages and even the motel behind is only open for use by RAAM participants. It has been sponsored by the Bullshifters Bicycling Club for the past 10 years.
Most of them are just instructions or landmarks, but TS 6 is a treat. They have tents, a pool, fresh produce, beverages and even the motel behind is only open for use by RAAM participants. It has been sponsored by the Bullshifters Bicycling Club for the past 10 years.
Cyclists Markus Naegeli and Kaleb Naegeli talked to a German team that is competing for those suffering with a mental illness. 4 of their 8 riders has some form of mental illness. It was a nice relaxing chance for the riders to focus on something other than pedaling a bike.
Tom Corbett is helping gather each teams data for their shift. Here are his notes about Team Vampires 1st ride. Direct from the Indianapolis data center:
264.9 miles / 14 hrs / 18.92 MPH avg. / 110 F / wind 7 MPH
Tom Corbett is helping gather each teams data for their shift. Here are his notes about Team Vampires 1st ride. Direct from the Indianapolis data center:
264.9 miles / 14 hrs / 18.92 MPH avg. / 110 F / wind 7 MPH