The New Solo RAAM Enduro Division
by Danny Chew
On Super Bowl Sunday, Daniel Coyle wrote a long article on current/defending RAAM champ Jure Robic in the New York Times at:
I had to outdo the length of this article by getting many different viewpoints both for and against the new solo RAAM Enduro division. In this article, you will hear from the following 33 RAAM riders in this order: Pete Penseyres, Jonathan Boyer, Jure Robic’s crew chief Rajko Petek, Chris MacDonald, Mike Trevino, Fabio Biasiolo, David Haase, Lon Haldeman, Ben Robinson, Jim Trout, Chris Hopkinson, Marko Baloh, Patrick Autissier, Mark Metcalfe, Rob Kish, Bob Fourney, Allen Larsen, Seana Hogan, Muffy Ritz, Cassie Lowe, Susan Notorangelo, Rick Kent, Tom Buckley, John Hughes, Terry Lansdell, Perry Stone, Paul Skilbeck, Shanna Armstrong, Guy Wells, Kenny Souza, Rob Lucas, Peter Moffett, and Sandy Whittlesey. Although my article may be long, please keep in mind that it’s not nearly as long as RAAM!
In light of two deaths in the past three RAAMs, the Race Across AMerica is undergoing a major change in the solo division this year (2006). The new category Enduro, will impose 40 hours of mandatory rest/sleep stops taken at official, manned time stations spread across the country. Five of these stations (in Durango, CO, El Dorado, KS, Jefferson City, MO, Indianapolis, IN, & Parkersburg, WV) are all mandatory with minimum two hour stops required at each one. Any other stops will not count towards these 40 hours. Race organizers came up with 40 hours as their best guess of what amount of time would best suite the new division. After studying the results of the first Enduro race, the amount of mandatory sleep may be modified in future events. RAAM Media Communications Director Paul Skilbeck wanted to see even more time (6 hours per day instead of 4) off the bike. The old solo category (riders are allowed to stop as often as they want anywhere along the route) will continue to be held, and called the Traditional division. In recent months, the UltraCycling@topica.com e-mail forum has been flooded with posts for and against this change, and the long-term ramifications concerning the growth and survival of RAAM. After receiving many e-mails asking me where I stand, I have decided to write this article.
Coming from a road racing background, I was always concerned how I would handle the sleep deprivation aspect of RAAM. After winning my first RAAM qualifier back in 1988, I spent 6 years contemplating if I could finish solo RAAM before showing up on the start line in 1994. I ended up spending 48 total hours (38 hours of actual sleep) off my bike that year which was my only RAAM out of 8, which would have complied with the new 40 hour rule. Because RAAM is so long, the only time you can learn how much sleep you need for your best ride is during RAAM. This magical amount of ideal sleep times varies widely among riders, and may even change among individuals, as we get older. This is one of the major reasons it is so hard for a rookie to win RAAM. I loved having the freedom to experiment with my sleep times on RAAM until I discovered that three hours taken all at once each night (not counting the first night) was my perfect amount. Although this perfect amount of sleep may have led to my best performances, it didn’t always guarantee a win. I have lost (6) far more RAAMs than I have won (2).
Solo average speed (15.40 mph) record holder and two time solo RAAM winner Pete Penseyres seems to agree with me on sleep amounts varying so much among RAAM riders. Regarding his thoughts on the new Enduro division, he wrote the following e-mail back in September 2005.
The amount of sleep required for rider
safety varies widely. For example, I was able to ride safely on one sleep
cycle (which for me is about 1.5 hours) per night (after skipping the first
night) for the first 7 days of the '86 RAAM. I had to sleep twice during
the last night. The mandated 40 hours of sleep would have slowed my
overall time by at least 24 hours.
However, my brother required much more sleep (at least twice to 3 times
that much). His response to sleep deprivation was to ride very slowly,
sometimes at walking pace, while thinking he was riding well. He never
fell or rode unsafely because of lack of sleep, so when we forced him to sleep
it was generally to get his riding speed back up again. I believe he
would have finished just as quickly with the proposed 40 hour mandated sleep
schedule. Two brothers--three solo
RAAMs each. One would definitely finish faster with self-scheduled,
non-mandated sleep breaks, and the other would perhaps finish just as quickly
with mandated 40 hours of sleep.
Based on the above, I agree with Lon that a new mandated sleep division be
added to RAAM. It should not be based on some perceived increase in rider
safety, since it will still be necessary for sleep division crews to monitor
their riders and perhaps require additional sleep breaks for rider safety.
Of the 22 over 14 mph solo transcontinental crossings made by 10 men, perhaps Jonathan Boyer and I were the only two who slept more than 20 total hours the entire race. A rider must be very fast and confident to know that he can go over 14 mph despite sleeping so much. {All RAAM speeds are averages over the entire distance including all stops.} 4 time solo RAAM finisher Pat Ward once told me, “Every minute off the bike makes you faster on the bike.” Sleep more than 4 hours per night, and you can’t make up the lost time. Sleep less than one hour per night, and you end up crawling along in a zombie like trance too slow to catch anybody. So although RAAM can be ridden fast on more sleep, this method seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Boyer and I only have three of the over 14 mph crossings out of 22.
The most talented cyclist to ever race RAAM, Jonathan (Jock) Boyer was a pioneer in American bike racing. Long before Armstrong and LeMond, Boyer was the first America to ever race the Tour de France – finishing as high as 12th place on GC. He won the Coors Classic stage race in Colorado, and placed 5th in the 1980 professional World Road Race. Before LeMond and Armstrong won the Worlds, this result was the best ever by an American. In 1985 (Rob Kish’s first of 20 RAAMs), Boyer became the only “rookie” ever to win solo RAAM, setting the 14.31 mph rookie average speed record which still stands today. All of this done on a bicycle without aerodynamic handlebars or the super lightweight aero wheels of today. Taken for granted and used by nearly every racer today, these two innovations can knock up to a full day off RAAM finishing times.
After crewing for his former professional 7-Eleven teammate Eric Heiden’s Team Donate Life in last years 8 person Corporate Team RAAM, Boyer has caught RAAM fever again, and plans to race Enduro this year at age 50! If it were anybody other than Boyer, I would doubt his ability to win at age 50. After all, 50 is when you are considered “old” in RAAM since the oldest solo winner was 43 year old Pete Penseyres in 1986 when he set the 15.40 mph speed record which still stands today! Boyer will most likely beat Bob Breedlove’s 12.26 mph 50+ transcontinental record, but can technology (a faster bike) help Boyer ride as fast (14.31 mph) as he did on his RAAM victory 21 years ago? He may not need to go quite that fast as last years winner Robic “only” averaged 13.58 mph.
The only rider ever in the rare position to compare the Tour de France with RAAM, Boyer will not go there. In a recent e-mail to me, he did offer insight into the new Enduro division, and looks forward to getting more sleep in it than he got in his only other (traditional) RAAM back in 1985.
The new Enduro class will put a new
face on the RAAM and I think that as more “racer” type riders compete in the
new Enduro RAAM, it will become more and more difficult for the traditional
“ultra marathon” rider to place. It is
easier for a racing cyclist to lengthen his rides, sleep less and maintain a
higher speed than for an “ultra marathon” rider to up his speed by just
sleeping more. One rider is trained to
ride fast; the other is maxed at one slow speed that he or she can maintain
with very little sleep.
Some
have tried to compare the Enduro RAAM to the Tour de France which to me is
ludicrous, there is no comparison. They
are two very very different races and the level of “difficulty” is so different
they are worlds apart.
I
think that it will be interesting to see what happens in this first Enduro
RAAM. Riders and their crews will
actually have to make a strategy for the race instead of just “winging” it,
sleeping when one can where one likes.
I wonder where the Traditional riders will be as the race
progresses. Riders will probably be
closer together for a longer period of time, which will make it more
competitive and animated. Now if the
organizers put a $100,000 prize list for the Enduro, you will see it really
attracting lots of new riders and the competition would be fierce.
We
shall see how long the old record stands under this new format. It is possible that the old way really slows
faster riders down too much, and the new way will keep the speeds up by
allowing more recovery. {Even though on-the-bike speeds
will be faster in Enduro RAAM, the full 40 hours can’t all be made back up. A rider’s on-the-bike average speed would
have to be 1.68 mph faster to make up this difference over a 3,033 mile
route. Pete Penseyres says his
Traditional finishing time would be at least 24 hours faster than his Enduro
time, but I think it would be more like 12-18 hours faster. The only way I see an Enduro time beating
Pete’s record is if an athlete superior to Boyer in his prime (such as
Armstrong) would race.}
In any case, I am not going to worry about if I will miss
the old format or if I could go faster in the Traditional RAAM. The Enduro is what it is, and I am adjusting
my riding to it looking forward to the additional sleep.
The more common way to ride over 14 mph or win RAAM is to average two or less hours of sleep per night. Current RAAM champion Jure Roboc of Slovenia has really pushed the envelope for being able to get by on very little sleep. He won in 2004 on just 12 total hours of sleep, and again in 2005 on 14 total hours. He is one of the few solo RAAM riders I know whom actually trains for sleep deprivation. He practices by staying awake for 48 straight hours several times before RAAM. Robic is against the new Enduro division because it takes away his advantage to get by on such little sleep. In a recent e-mail, Robic’s crew chief Rajko Petek gave me Jure’s 2004 RAAM sleep data, and his thoughts on Enduro:
I
can give you only data for Jure’s second RAAM (2004). In his first RAAM (2003), I was not there. Last year, I didn't have any time to collect
evidence about sleeping, but I used the same tactic that we used in previous
RAAM (2004). So because in 2005 Jure
spent one more day to ride across America, I can say that he didn't sleep more
then 15 hours.
So,
here is data for Jure’s second RAAM where I make an evidence about all things
you can imagination (for example, Jure take a pee 58 times when riding his
bike: 39 times he stopped and 19 times he pee whithout a stop. I didn't count pee he made when he was on
shower cabin). After the race I use all data for my study about RAAM.
|
Sleep |
RAAM 2004 |
|
|
|
|
1. after 37 hours and 30 minutes of riding |
0:00 - 2:30; 2 hour and 30 minutes |
|
2. after 24 hours and 15 minutes of riding |
2:55 - 4:00; 1 hour and 5 minutes |
|
3. after 16 hours and 50 minutes of riding |
23:05 - 0:00; 55 minutes |
|
4. after 25 hours and 30 minutes of riding |
1:50 - 4:05; 2 hour and 15 minutes |
|
5. after 21 hours and 15 minutes of riding |
1:30 - 2:30; 1 hour |
|
6. after 23 hours and 5 minutes of riding |
1:50 - 3:30; 1 hour and 40 minutes |
|
7. after 19 hours and 50 minutes of riding |
0:35 - 2:15; 1 hour and 40 minutes |
|
Total SLEEP in
Motorhome |
11 hour and 5
minutes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
POWER SLEEP (near
the road) |
|
|
|
|
|
1. 23.06.2004 at 16 hour |
10 minutes |
|
2. 25.06.2004 at 13:55 hour |
15 minutes |
|
3. 26.06.2004 at 16 hour |
10 minutes |
|
4. 27.06.2004 at 23 hour and 25
minutes |
15 minutes |
|
5. 28.06.2004 at 7 hour and 45
minutes |
10 minutes |
|
6. 28.06.2004 at 18 hour and 4 minute |
12 minutes |
|
Total POWER SLEEP |
1 hour and 12
minutes |
|
|
|
|
ALL SLEEP |
12 hours and 17 minutes |
I must
say that that the second year (2004) everything went very well. We didn't have any rain and Jure was hungry
for the win. So I thought that we
couldn't finish with less than 12 hours of sleep.
This
year, I think that Jure can make it to Atlantic City in 10 days (if the weather
is something like last year - hot, hot and hot). You have a lot experience about RAAM, so I don't want to talk
about that. If someone could go in the
battle with Jure, we will see AC before ten days. That all depends - but my opinion is that everyone else is in
better shape with the new rules, except Jure.
Less sleep was the biggest Jure advantage. In that moment, I say only that we will look at what the others
will do. Everything depends of that in
what state and condition will be Jure.
If Jure has the same desire like in 2004, he will definitely win.
About
Enduro Division: I think that that is
not RAAM anymore. It’s a normal race, a
little bit longer than the others – I’m over reacting with these words, but for
me RAAM is dead!! That what the organizers
said about safety and more exciting race is bullshit.
I can’t help but somehow get this feeling that Robic and other little sleep RAAM riders such as three-time winner Wolfgang Fasching of Austria and 2004 rookie-of-the-year/2nd place finisher Mike Trevino seem to think that because solo RAAM is the toughest race in the world, you are supposed to suffer big time and accept riding along in a sleep-deprived, zombie-like trance with hallucinations and crashes being the norm.
Perhaps this persona is partly the reason why RAAM has been perceived as a freaky, cult-like event by the ‘normal’ non-ultra cycling population for so many years. Although they can’t be proven to have been caused by sleep deprivation, two deaths in the past three RAAMs have verified this image of RAAM. If the new Enduro division can finally shake this perception of RAAM, I can see the race drawing in a whole new crop of cyclists who previously ignored it. Perhaps this will also bring major sponsors and much more media exposure. In favor of the new Enduro division, 2005 RAAM rookie-of-the-year/2nd place finisher Chris MacDonald sent me e-mail this month:
I do not think the race will immediately change who the leaders are. I think that Robic will dominate this year even with the mandatory sleep breaks. I think we will see riders closer together, but the first year or two we will not see a big change in the "leaders". What I do think will happen is that the new rules will draw in new blood and talent into RAAM. I think we will soon see some very talented cyclists that otherwise would write RAAM off as "EXTREMISM" and "nothing to do with bike racing". This will be exciting. I would love to see 150 people at the start of the solo race in the future. I am proud of the way MacDonald rode his first RAAM last year. Similar to my first RAAM in 1994, he slept a total of 37 hours, and finished 17 hours behind winner Robic. He said some very interesting things in his Post-RAAM interview with me last year:DC: CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN THE BENEFITS OF GETTING SO MUCH SLEEP IN RAAM?CM: The benefits are two-fold. Number one is that you can ride safely! You have a clear head, good judgment and basically never run the risk of losing control of your bike. At no point during the race did I experience anything close to a hallucination. I have heard all the stories about mailboxes becoming people and all kids of other things. I have never taken drugs in my life, because I like being in control of my body and my mind, as the two things go hand and hand, so I had no and still have no desire to experience hallucinations brought on by sleep deprivation. The second advantage is that when you ride, you can ride strong. I had a lot of team riders struggle to get through me when I was on the bike and had a lot of them commenting on my speed. I love to race bikes, so when I am on the bike I prefer to go fast. DC: WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU? WILL YOU COME BACK TO WIN?CM: I am not sure if I will come back, depends on a lot of factors. I have to admit that it think the race is dangerous in its current format. I think the race has become more a demonstration of who is best at handling sleep deprivation with the least disaster, than a demonstration of the fastest and strongest cyclist. Yes this is endurance cycling, and it is a unique breed of cycling, but in my opinion there are limits. I think the death of Bob Breedlove should be a major wake up call to us all, and I do think that RAAM could be modernized to include a blackout period each day (maybe 2-3 hours) and still be the hardest bike race in the World. I think that safety has to come first, but that is just my take on it. DC: DO YOU THINK YOU WILL HAVE TO CUT BACK ON YOUR SLEEP TO WIN? CM: No. I do not think I would have to cut back on my sleep to win, but I would have to cut down on my off bike time. Too many sit down dinners and breakfasts, too many massages, too many long showers, too much talking, but you know what, all those things are great memories! If I cut down on the many hours off the bike where I did not sleep, I think I would have been close enough to at least scare Robic a bit, smile. DC: HOW MANY HOURS PER NIGHT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN AVERAGE AND STILL WIN? I DID IT ON 3 PER NIGHT WITH BOTH OF MY WINS. CM: I agree 100%! Again, a reason that I think one could easily have a 3-4 hour black out period and still have records, and likely even better and more tight racing, and most importantly a much safer race! MacDonald’s wish will come true this year, but riders can still choose to ride the old style or Traditional division. I was able to win twice - sleeping three hours per night. This is good enough for the 5th (14.72 mph) and 10th (14.58 mph) fastest crossings. On his one hour of sleep per night regime, Robic had the 8th (14.66 mph) fastest crossing on his 2004 victory. Averaging about 90 minutes of sleep per night, Fasching has the 6th (14.70 mph) and 9th (14.63 mph) fastest crossings. I came to realize that my three hours of sleep per night would prevent me from ever breaking Pete’s amazing 20 year old 15.40 mph record. To break this record, you have to be able to ride very fast on less than two hours of sleep per night – an extremely difficult combination. It is very enjoyable to beat a rider when you are sleeping more than them. This happened in both my victories in 1996 against Kish and in 1999 against Fasching. A pattern set up where I would wake up about an hour behind them, catch/pass them in the afternoon or evening, and then give up my lead by going down for a longer sleep than they took. Luckily for me, both races finished in the evening – giving me enough time to catch/pass them again for the last time. There are some benefits to sleeping 3 hours per night compared with only one. Shermerneck (a condition where your neck muscles fatigue so badly that it becomes extremely painful to hold your head up) is less of a problem. The extra two hours of sleep allow your saddle sores and rashes to heal up. Also, your sore/swollen feet, shoulders, and back get time to rest. You get more time to totally escape from the pressures/stress of the race by dreaming that you are not in it. Finally, you get the mental advantage that comes from riding faster from being more rested. One good thing I see happening from the new Enduro division is that the little sleepers like Robic and 2003 winner Allen Larsen will be forced to discover the above benefits. Larsen may actually be able to ride the second half of RAAM without having to wear his uncomfortable neck brace which he calls his Medieval Torture Device. In 2003, I happened to be with Larsen on his worst RAAM night ever. He wanted to get thru a bad traffic area in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, and on to Jefferson City before the morning rush hour. Miserably sleep deprived, Larsen was weaving down the road and even crashed clutching the guardrail. It was extremely nerve wracking for his crew (I was in his follow support minivan) who wanted him to go down for a sleep, but he kept refusing. Oddly enough, he was still able to average 14 mph over the hilly/rolling terrain. I call this state of riding sleepriding, and two-time RAAM winner Australian Gerry Tatrai was extremely good at it. After being Slovenian Marko Baloh’s crew chief last year, Larsen told me he will be a lot easier on his crew if he ever races again. I think the 40 hours of mandatory rest/sleep should be included in the rider’s official finishing time. 19 year RAAM official Mike Roark agrees with me. He thinks the Enduro will create a new set of finishing times with this year as the base line. This will work as long as the 40 hours aren’t tweaked in future years. In 1999, my official finishing time was 8 Days, 7 Hours, 34 Minutes. Subtracting my 29 total hours off the bike would yield an on the bike time of 7:02:34, yet there is no mention of this time in the race results. All riders will end up being off their bikes for well over 40 hours from stops (such as bathroom, clothing changes, bike adjustments, flat tires, massages, sunscreen & ointment applications, putting on lights for night riding, getting a neck brace on for Shermerneck, etc…) not made at the official, manned time stations. Riders must try to keep these stops to a minimum. Crews will want to maximize the sleep time their rider gets out of the 40 hours. 36 hours of actual sleep would be a good target to shoot for. Crews carefully planning their riders’ sleep stops around the five mandatory two hour time stations will be crucial. A rider doesn’t want to arrive at one of these stations unless they are extremely tired and sleepy. If I were to ride solo RAAM again, I would probably choose the Enduro division. I have found that I could sleep better and longer the more fatigued I got in the later stages of the race. As much as I wanted to win, I still had to give my body the extra sleep that it craved at the end of the 1995 RAAM. On the last night, I got within 12 minutes of leader Rob Kish who just awoken from a two-hour sleep break. My crew chief was my brother Tom who pumped me full of stimulants and shouted for me to catch Kish, but I was beyond caffeine, and had to over-ride my brother. I had to head for my RV and 45 minutes of sleep. After just 9 sleepriding miles, I had to go down for another 90 minutes of sleep. Trying to get every last bit of energy out of me so that I could beat my finishing time from the previous year, my crew pushed me into another meltdown. Only 25 miles from the finish, I collapsed and had to sleep three more hours. I awoke a new man, and hammered all the way to a 2nd place finish in Savannah, GA. The following is how I would distribute my 40 hours of sleep in the Enduro race. To not wake myself out of a deep sleep cycle, I would plan all of my sleep stops to be multiples of 90 minutes. Not being tired enough on the first night; I would skip sleep, and then try to take all my sleep at night, waking up about an hour before sunrise. This may be difficult to do because an official, manned time station may not be around when you want to sleep, or a mandatory two hour time station may pop up when you don’t want to sleep. I find that one long sleep every 24 hours in better than two or three shorter ones more often. With one stop, you only have to lose that wasted time before and after you sleep once. After zero hours of sleep my first night, I would take 3 hours on my 2nd & 3rd nights, 4.5 hours on my 4th-7th nights, and 6 hours on my final two nights. This would be a total of 36 hours of sleep (averaging 4.5 hours per night) on the last 8 nights of a 9 day crossing. The extra 4 hours (to make 40) will be accumulated as 30 minutes per day – the before and after time for each of the 8 sleep stops. Add another 4 hours off the bike time taken for all stops which don’t officially count towards the 40, and I have a total off the bike time of 44 hours. Using the 2006 RAAM route distance of 3,033 miles, my official finishing time would be 9 days flat with an average speed of 14.04 mph including all stops. My on the bike time would be 7:04:00 with an on the bike average speed of 17.63 mph. If I wasted another 4 hours off the bike – making my total off the bike time 48 hours, my on the bike average speed would have to be 18.05 mph for a 9 day crossing. These times and speeds reflect what I was capable of doing in the prime of my solo RAAM career in the 1990’s. The amount of time an Enduro rider has officially logged towards their 40 hours will be frequently updated on the RAAM website. Crews will have to carefully monitor this information for strategies. A rider could be leading by many hours, but if he got that lead by logging few sleep hours, is it really a valid lead? A rider who sleeps more towards the end (like my plan) will be able to finish strong/fast, but could still lose to a rider who finishes slow because they don’t have to sleep the final 24 hours since they already logged their 40 sleep hours. What if a rider ends up with too many (8-10) sleep hours to be logged in the last 24 hours? He could lose many places as he is sleeping at the last officially manned time station. I do like how these exciting scenarios could make the race ending much closer than the huge time gaps commonly found in the traditional solo division. The same riders who win and do well in the traditional division should also carry over in the Enduro division. If the reason why Jure Robic wins is because he is fitter than anybody else, then he has faster/better recovery than the other riders. Whether he sleeps one or four hours per night, his body can rejuvenate more quickly. The top riders’ finishing times will be about 18 hours slower than their old traditional division times. Last year, Chris Macdonald (had well over 40 hours off his bike) finished 17 Hours, 13 Minutes behind winner Robic who slept just 9 hours. Had Robic raced under the new Enduro rules, his victory wouldn’t have been certain, but I think he still wound have won because he had such a relaxed finish last year. Either way, a much more exciting, closer finish would have delighted RAAM fans. Unlike MacDonald, 2004 RAAM rookie-of-the-year/2nd place finisher Mike Trevino is against the new division. An ultra marathon runner turned ultracyclist, Trevino prefers sleeping just 15-90 minutes at once and estimates he slept around 10-15 hours total in the 2004 race. Last year, a crash in Indiana separated his shoulder causing him to drop out. A few months, he wrote me this e-mail:
I was going to send you a note to ask about your thoughts on the
rules changes. Before I get into it let me just say that as a competitor I
appreciate what has gone into the RAAM to make it such a special event. I know
it’s hard organizing such an enormous race and it’s probably even harder trying
to keep it safe and please all interested parties.
With that said I disagree with the new rules. Part of the RAAM’s
allure has always been that it was the longest, hardest single stage race on
the planet. Success in the event depends on a number of different variables
such as ability, training/preparation, nutrition, hydration, sleep, logistical
preparation, crew dynamics, navigation, etc. Changing the rules in such an
arbitrary fashion in an attempt to control one or more of these variables
dilutes the true intent of the race.
If I do it again I will do it in the Traditional Division. My
sponsors have also made it clear that they would prefer that I compete in the
Traditional. Not that I've ever let sponsors dictate my actions, but I believe
it reinforces my belief about the perceptions of the event - they want to be
associated with the toughest, most grueling aspect of the race. I think the
rules were changed to make it safer and more appealing to spectators. The new
category will be confusing for spectators. What will happen when the leading
rider is several hundred miles ahead of the nearest competitor, but 'losing'
the race because he hasn't taken his allotted time off the bike? In terms of
giving spectators access to the riders around the control points, the last
thing a rider is going to want to do is interact with spectators. I'd instruct
my crew to find the quietest spot possible in an official, manned time station
and sleep as much as possible.
In terms of safety, I can function on about 90 minutes of sleep a
day. I've actually tried sleeping more, but this has meant that sleep cycles
were disrupted and I wake up disoriented and less lucid than if I had slept
less. Everyone is different however so implementing minimum times off the bike
is deceiving because people might perceive the event to be safer, but in my
opinion it would be no safer. The only way to make it safer for everyone is to
have nightly 'black out' periods where riders and crew are not allowed to be on
the road from 10 pm to 4 am, or something like that. But what would happen if a
rider was hit around sundown or sunrise (the periods of the day with the worst
visibility)? Would the race rules then expand the time off the bike to include
these times too? I guess my point is that it's a slippery slope trying to
satisfy everyone or tightly control one of the variables mentioned above.
If there’s competition in the Traditional division I will do it
this year. If not I will move on to other, perhaps multi-discipline events. One
last, very subjective comment: with the new rules I believe the race is no
longer the ‘hardest’ in the world.
Fabio Biasiolo has the most solo starts (9) without a win. His finishing times range from 8:23:07 to 10:08:14. He has 5 DNFs. Finishing his 4th RAAM in 3rd place last year, Biasiolo thinks his Enduro finishing time will be similar to his Traditional finishing time because of the afternoon stops he has to make to combat the heat. He explained in a recent e-mail to me:
In RAAM 2005, I slept a total
of 12.5 hours (including 2.5 hours the last night). I lost 4 hours the first afternoon because of the heat (normally
in every single RAAM I’ve ridden, I’ve lost 4-9 hours because of hot weather),
and another hour because I started to slow dawn compared to the other
bikers. I spent a total of 3 more
hours off the bike for little (5-10 minutes) naps, and a couple of
showers. Total hours off the bike: 20.5
I
do not think the new Enduro division will let me finish slower compared to the
old (Traditional division) one, because if I consider that MacDonald slept more
than 30 hours, and you used to sleep more than 30 hours too, and still I
finished pretty close to you and McDonald. {Fabio finished 6 Hours, 13
Minutes behind MacDonald in last years RAAM.
I only slept more than 30 hours on my first RAAM in 1994 when Fabio
didn’t ride. Fabio finished 2 Hours, 26
Minutes behind me in the 2000 RAAM on which I slept 25 Hours, 27 Minutes.}
So
first: The time I normally lost the
first day (from the top bikers) will be eliminated. Now I can stop 1-2 or 3 hours during the hottest part of the day
{only if there
is an official, manned time station nearby.} without any time lost,
pushing my fast pace after that, saving one, two hours a day or more
(depending on the daily temperatures) to sleep during the night (the same
amount of sleep I would normally need).
Second: My average on the bike pace will for sure be
faster because I will be more rested the entire race. Bikers who used to stop a lot less than me (like Rob Kish) will
not have the same advantage.
Third: Bikers stronger than me like Robic, for sure
will have the same advantage, but because the heat doesn’t affect them as much,
I can finish closer to them.
Finally, I think I will have
a better chance to win now then in the past.
I originally signed up for the Traditional division, but I changed over
to the Enduro division to see what difference sleeping 4 hours a day and not
1-1.5 will have on me.
You
know better than me that all I said now is just when I'm writing in front of my
computer, well rested and without any physical problem, so we have to consider
that during the race all the considerations I said may not be followed the same
way right?
The race with the new rule will be a completely different race. I think that in the future RAAM will lose the specific and peculiar characteristic of being the toughest race in the world, and will also lose importance and greatness. RAAM will no longer be a unique race, but a race for everybody. I'm sad because I preferred the old style. Also, I think it was more difficult for me to finish in the top 3-5 bikers in the old (Traditional) race.
RAAM
was born with the no sleep system, and I think that one was one of the real
challenges of the entire race. I agreed
with you that the race will still be very tough, but no longer the same.
Finishing
his first RAAM in 4th place last year, David Haase studied my RAAM
sleep/off the bike time stats, and thinks 30 hours (instead of 40) of mandatory
stop time would be better for the Enduro division. He slept about 18 hours total last year, but didn’t keep track of
his total off the bike time. He wrote
me a recent e-mail:
I
like some of the concepts of the new Enduro category. I think you will
find stats to back up being off the bike for more time than a rider really
thinks. I am not sure if 40 hours is too much however. Based on
your numbers for the races you did, I would like to see that time be 30
hours. I think that is safe, yet still tests the endurance of a
person. Some of what RAAM race director Jim Pitre and Lon Haldeman are
saying is very accurate as far drawing a larger field, but I think it is way
more than that to do this race. The race to me is easy compared to
finding time to train, raising money, and being gone from work for two
weeks. The race part of everything although painful and challenging, is
the easier part of the whole equation because I am riding my bike. That
is what I like to do.
In an attempt do draw better riders and more new talent into the Enduro Division; it will have a bigger prize list. The flat time limit of 12 Days, 2 Hours will still apply for official finisher status in the Enduro race. The old 48 hour cut off rule will come back in the Traditional Division – for official finisher status, riders will have to finish within two days of the winner, unless the winner takes longer than 10 Days, 2 Hours to finish, in which case the flat time limit will apply.
The 48 hour cut off rule applied to all RAAMs from 1983 up to and including 1999. Solo men and women had to finish within two days of the winners to be official finishers. Riders over 50 got an extra day (72 hours), and riders over 60 got an extra two days (96 hours) to finish. Because official finisher status depended on the winners’ time, tail enders sometimes cursed fast winners like myself in 1996 & 1999 (both 8 Day, 7 Hour crossings). When Lon Haldeman & wife Susan took over as race directors in 2000, they implemented a new flat time limit of 12 Days, 2 Hours, which was no longer dependent on the winners’ time. This rule has held ever since, but official finishes became less difficult because the slowest winning time since 2000 was Robic’s 9:08:48 last year – riders had over 17 hours more time to finish using the flat time limit compared to the old 48 hour rule. In fact, the last 5 finishers in the 2005 race (including women’s winner Cat Berge) were more than two days behind Robic.
What I don’t like about the new category is that I won’t be able to declare an overall winner in the solo RAAM because it won’t be fair to compare/contrast the two divisions, though the statistician in me may still try to crunch numbers.
RAAM head official and co-owner Lon Haldeman won the first two transcontinental bike races in 1982 & 1983, and with his wife Susan was RAAM race director from 2000-2002. He says the new Enduro division (which he helped create) will be easier to finish, but the competition will make it tougher to win. In a recent e-mail, Haldeman threw me a compliment:
The Enduro Division would have been perfect for a rider like you
who has good speed and still has endurance. Could you imagine if you
could have slept 4 hours per night and still had time for a one hour nap in the
afternoon. Your on the bike speed would have been 1-2 mph faster.
The concept of the Enduro Division might take a few years to catch on but
I hope many fast endurance riders will want to try it. I expect it will
become a very competitive division and tough race to win in a few years.
Considered a pioneer for transcontinental bike racing, Haldeman learned a lot about what his body could handle on his pre-RAAM transcontinental crossings and early RAAMs. In another recent e-mail, he wrote:
For my sleep breaks I know I slept more in my early years. For example on my Double Transcontinental in 1981 I didn't ride in the dark several nights. I was off the bike for 8 hours at a time many nights but I still was very tired at times. As I learned more about myself and riding across the country I got by on shorter stops and less sleep. Even in the 1982 Great American Bike Race (renamed RAAM the next year), I took many 3 and 4 hours rest stops. I am sure my off the bike time was about 36 hours and my sleep was 24 hours. In the 1983 RAAM, I was more efficient and stopped less and slept less. My goal was to stop less than 24 hours total during the race. I probably only slept 15 hours. I know my speed was slower from lack of sleep. I remember riding through many nights with a low heart rate just trying to get down the road and stay awake. My legs were strong enough to ride faster but I couldn't force myself to pick up the pace. I know several other riders felt the same way because after the race we joked about how much we would have paid for a one hour sleep break some nights. I think $1,000 was considered a good deal even though we didn't have the money.When Pete and I did the 1987 Tandem Record (Lon & Pete Penseyres smoked across the country in a non-RAAM effort in 7:14:55 [15.97 mph] {still the fastest crossing where each rider rides the entire distance}) we were off the bike 15 hours and slept for 9 hours. We were extremely efficient that year but we still wasted 6 hours off the bike somewhere. I know on all my other years I had to waste at least 8-10 hours off the bike. The off the bike time seems to add up and slip away without being used for good sleep and rest. After I had raced across the country 10 times I became more of a sleep deprivation expert then in my first races. I could get by on a lot less sleep when I was 32 years old than when I was 22 years old. I could ride faster when I was 25 years and trained by doing many sub 9 hour double centuries. But I couldn't stay awake night after night so my cross country times were slow those years.
There is nothing magic about the 40 hour off the bike time. Some riders will still need more rest than 40 hours and they are encouraged to stop and rest more if they need it. Some riders could be fine with 24 hours off the bike. Some riders might need 50 hours. The 40 hour time off the bike should give the fastest riders an extra 16 to 24 hours of actual sleep time. After the race we will evaluate all the Pros and Cons of the Enduro division. The 40 hour mark is just a starting point as a standard in the Enduro Division. Much like hanging the peach basket for the first basketball game we will need to see how the game is played. We have done a lot of calculations on rider speed and recovery and we hope the 40 hour mark is a good starting point. I disagree with Trevino calling RAAM a single stage race. Until solo RAAM can be done on no sleep whatsoever (I doubt this will ever happen), it remains a multi-stage race. Actually I call RAAM a variable stage race with the stages being determined by each rider’s sleep stops. For example, on my 1999 RAAM, I took 7 three hour sleep stops, so my race that year was 8 stages with the first one being the longest since I didn’t sleep the first night. Similarly, Guus Moonen calling his 2,500 mile Le Tour Direct the Tour de France in one stage is misleading because nobody can finish it without sleeping either. The new Enduro division makes RAAM more like the Tour de France, but RAAMs stages will be much longer for those riders choosing to take one long 3-5 hour sleep break roughly every 24 hours. Even for the average ultracyclist, riding 18-20 hours per day for 9-11 consecutive days is still bloody FAR! For the back of the packers (over 11 day finishers), the new Enduro division may not affect their total off the bike or sleep times, but they will still have to get used to taking most of their sleep stops at official, manned time stations to be credited towards their 40 hours. This may be a big change for those riders used to stopping often where ever they wanted for short sleep breaks. Enduro may actually help these riders keep from wasting too much time at rest breaks with no sleep. It will force them to better plan their rest/sleep stops. Ben Robinson placed 9th in last year’s men’s race with a time of 11:17:35. His total off the bike time was 61 hours of which he slept 44. He gave me his opinion on Enduro in this recent e-mail:I think it will actually increase the average speeds. I think many racers would actually be faster with more rest. This being the first year of the new rules, I imagine they will evolve over time. The problem I would have with my own style is that I prefer to have a set schedule. For RAAM, I would ride every day until midnight and sleep until 3am. Forcing myself to sleep on an artificially imposed schedule would throw me off. I would prefer if they just mandated 40 hours off the bike rather than at specific points. Overall, I applaud them for having the courage to change things up and see what impacts it has.Jim Trout placed 10th in last year’s men’s race with a time of 11:21:13. His total off the bike time was 104 hours of which he only slept 30. That’s 74 hours of wasted (off the bike, but not sleeping) time. He explained his off the bike routine in this recent e-mail:
My
usual "stop for sleep" time was up to 4 hours; get off bike, shower,
eat meal, get rub down, talk, relax, SLEEP, get up, prep body (lube, etc),
dress, eat, on bike. Only 2-3 hours of actual sleep time. Sometimes
I put my head down but couldn't fall asleep for 30 min or so (due to high
emotions running around my brain). Other times of the day I'd stop for
10-15 min for short catnaps or a break from the heat. Any prize money out
there if somebody officially finishes RAAM with more time OFF the bike than
ON? I'd go for that record...
Guess
you could say my time off bike without sleep was pretty atrocious, but then
again, I had a great time stopping and taking in USA inch by inch. I'd
also say the reason I did NOT DNF was due to taking frequent breaks and not
putting too much pressure on myself to ride outside of my capabilities. I
did have a goal of sub-10 days, but that quickly evaporated on day 2 as my body
fell apart in the desert heat near Congress. Never really worried about
cut-offs and just plugged along at my own pace. I'd like to do RAAM again
someday and break 10 days.
Feelings on the
new Enduro rules: something needed to be done to make this race safer and
to bring it in to the real cycling world. I still can't believe most of
the local bike shops in Seattle, of all places, have not heard of RAAM.
It's like the Tour de France of ultracycling, but everyone is clueless to this
sector of the sport. Already we have two professionals entered into RAAM
2006. It sure puts more emphasis on the speed on the bike and athleticism
rather than who can stay awake the longest (the latter just sounds stupid and
not athletic at all). RAAM is still THE most difficult race and test of
endurance on the planet.
One worry: if a contestant is very sleepy/tired,
he/she might push beyond safety just to make it to the mandatory sleep station
or next checkpoint, for if they stop before and take a nap, it's
"wasted" time. However, I applaud Jim Pitre and Co. and agree
with all their points on the rule changes. I do think there will be
hiccups with these rules and they will be tweaked over the next few
years. Although Enduro probably won't affect me on my future RAAM
endeavors, perhaps it will make my crossing more efficient and force me to
whittle down the appalling 71% wasted time stat. I am crewing for pro
mountain biker and two time Olympian David Tinker Juarez this summer and hope
to see you all there!!
By making the top riders’ finishing times about 18 hours slower, Enduro will tighten up the time range between the winner and last official finisher. Last year there was a 2 Day, 14 Hour time gap between winner Robic and last place finisher Chris Hopkinson. Becoming the first British rider to finish solo RAAM, Hopkinson’s finishing time was 11:23:05. Even though he spent well over 40 hours off the bike, he is still against Enduro RAAM. He sent me this recent e-mail: My opinion on the new Enduro division is unfortunately not a favorable one! The description 'making RAAM more accessible to everyone' is politicians speak for making it easier!! RAAM is not meant to be easy.It is billed as the toughest race on the planet for good reason and I feel it will lose its status with this move. I am just about to take on the position of Chair for Northern Europe for the UMCA and feel that this will make my job all the more difficult trying to sell RAAM to people over here when they can do Randonnees of equivalent distances in Europe.I feel that this takes the RACE out of Race Across AMerica and it will become the Ride Across AMerica!!! Are they going to change the name appropriately?!?! My time off bike for RAAM 2005 was about 60 hours of which 40 were actual sleep. If this time had been 'refunded' at the end, my finishing time would have been 10:07:05.
Enduro may be a welcomed change for Marko Baloh who is fast/strong enough to hang with Robic in ‘short’ ultra races requiring no sleep, but falls back when sleep deprivation takes over in longer events. Baloh won the windiest Furnace Creek 508 mile RAAM qualifier in 2004, and finished 3rd in Le Tour Direct last year. After dropping out of the 2003 & 2005 RAAMs, Enduro has him excited about finishing his first RAAM this year. Paul Skilbeck asked Baloh about his RAAM DNFs, if more sleep in Enduro may help him to finish, and how much he slept in Le Tour Direct. In a recent e-mail to Skilbeck, Baloh answers these questions, responds to Pete Penseyres’ viewpoint on Enduro in a shorter, earlier version of my article, and tries to take the spotlight off of himself as a leading contender this year:
My feeling is that my DNFs had nothing
to do with sleep. As am asthmatic, my
lungs are more susceptible to the temperature changes and the dry heat of the
desert. As you know both times the
reason for my DNF was lung related (the first time blood clot in my lungs, the
second the pneumonia). I pray I will
get lucky and my health will hold out through the entire race this year.
As far as your second question, I never
really thought about until I read Chew's article about RAAM riders' opinion on
Enduro RAAM. I hope you read it, if you
did, you will know what I am talking about.
What got my attention was Pete Penseyres’ description of his brother
Jim, and his inability of handling sleep deprivation (in which his brother Pete
excelled). It was like reading about
myself - I never had a problem riding as fast as Jure for a day or two, but
after a less than sufficient sleep, I never was able to get my speed up again.
In Le Tour Direct, I slept zero the
first night and then for 2.5 - 3 hours a night and almost nothing on the last
two nights (an experiment of sorts, to see if I could finish fast). That one didn't come out too well, as I
almost crawled to a stand still the last night of the race.
And now let's talk about you thinking of me
as a contender. I certainly don't feel
as a contender this year. I will explain
why. First there was two or three
months rest after LTD, because I was sure I wasn't going to race RAAM in 2006
(and for LTD I could as well start preparing in March). Then came the New Year and the news of the
new Enduro RAAM, which got me excited and I decided to go for it. Lots of indoor training since then, but the
winter was really long this year, plus I had lots of work and family
commitments, so right now I have only covered 4,300 km on the road compared to
12,700km (!!!) at the same date last year.
And even with last year's mileage, I couldn't match a professional
cyclist like Jure is. So, maybe you can
leave me out of the contender’s list, and state that I am a guy who is coming
to finish off what he has started 3 years ago, and that is to FINISH RAAM!
So, reaching Atlantic City is my only
priority this year, if anything more comes out of it, I will be more surprised
than anyone else. I am really curious
what I can do with such a low mileage base.
We'll have to wait and see...
Plus, there
was a financial side to my deciding for Enduro - I am doing it on a bare bones
approach, without RV and with 6 person crew (maximum). I hope we are going to have fun anyway. See you in Oceanside.
In a follow up e-mail to me, Marko estimated his
2003 & 2005 RAAM sleep times:
The reason why I didn't respond to your previous mail (about how much I slept in my RAAMs) is that my crews were not really efficient in writing down the sleep time or off the bike time, so I have nothing to tell you in that area.Maybe an approximation? That's it, as well as I remember:2003:The first night: it was 0 (no sleep)The second night: 1 hour, 10 minutes sleepAll other nights (or days): 2.5 - 3 hours sleep2005:The first night: it was 0 (no sleep)The second night: 2 hours of off the bike time with NO sleep (I couldn't get to sleep)The next afternoon: 1 hour sleepThe third night (on top of Wolf Creek Pass): 2 hours sleepThe fourth night: 1 hour, 10 minutes sleepThe fifth night: 3 hours sleepNo more...
I don't think Enduro will make it any easier for
me to finish.
Patrick Autissier who dropped out of his rookie RAAM last year, posted his own sleep strategy on the UltraCycling@topica.com e-mail forum in January.
Last year, when I was preparing for RAAM, I'd been contacting, like Bob Breedlove, John Delia, and Claudio Stampi, a world known sleep specialist. As a scientist, and because I had absolutely no clue where I was going into, I wanted to approach RAAM in a rationale way. John, Bob and I (+ John Kurscinsky) did a sleep seminar with Claudio to try to come up with a strategy, in order to reduce the sleep deprivation effect and be safer on the road, and also be as efficient as we could on the bike. Claudio told us that probably the best sleep management was 1 long sleep at night (~ 2am-5am), one 1h sleep around 1-2pm (siesta) and one powernap around 9-10pm. It's a total of 4-5 hours a day and we had to start this schedule the first day of the race. I guess Bob had the same schedule too.For me, it was a disaster! And I don't blame Claudio, just myself. I've tried to put numbers and logic into the preparation of this race, but RAAM is not logical and cannot be rationalized and scheduled. I NEVER slept well during the whole race. I was totally exhausted and very low after day 4 each morning. And it puzzles me that Bob's accident happened at 10am. Don't get me wrong! I'm not saying that he felt asleep on his bike. As far as I know, nobody knows what exactly happened to Bob (mechanical problem, stroke, etc...). But it would be interesting to know from Bob's crew how Bob was doing in term of sleep management. Of course, I'd totally understand and respect their decision of not jumping into this discussion, if they don't want to.Also, I'd love to hear from Claudio himself what he thinks about this mandatory 40 hours of stop. I understand that there will be more control points at the end of the race, than at the beginning. And that this new rule is not completely rigid. At first look, you could think that the riders will be more rested. But 40 hours of STOP doesn't mean 40 hours of SLEEP. There is nothing more devastating to your body than trying to sleep when it's not the good time. And a rider who has to stop at one of the 5 mandatory control points and can't find the sleep will start riding again very upset, and much more tired. Stress as we all know induce fatigue, and this rule will in fact induce fatigue and anxiety to all the riders. In other words, and as several people has already written, there is a real risk that this rule will make the race more dangerous.Starting last years RAAM at 220 pounds, Texas good ole boy and Randonneur, Mark Metcalfe represented all the “average ultracyclists” out there who were living vicariously through his heroic effort. He was the last rider to drop out last year (with just 150 miles to go) when his average speed fell below the 10.52 mph minimum needed for official finisher status. Even though he slept about 40 hours last year, he is still against the new Enduro division. He would prefer to ride Traditional, but has entered Enduro this year because he has a better chance of finishing it. He gave me his views on Enduro in this e-mail:
I
am sad to see the change to Enduro RAAM, but think I can understand the reasons
for it. This being the year of my second RAAM, I wanted to use my
experiences to improve in the race as it was. I have not analyzed the
exact amount of sleep I had last year, but think it was in the area of about 40
hours. It is not the sleep time that is my issue, but how complex it will
be to need sleep and get sleep at just the right time where you can get the
credit for it. I think we are all prone to miscalculate and try to make
the next time station when we should have stopped. When this happens most
of us RAAM racer types will ride on to make the time station when in the past
we would have stopped for a power nap. I think this will add a new
element of danger to the race instead of helping it. I do not personally
think that lack of sleep had much if any contribution to the 2 deaths during
recent RAAM’s.
All
of the past RAAM racers I have talked to like the race as it was when they
first did it. Most old time RAAM racers hate that the 48-hour rule was
changed some time back. Changes are inevitable and must be accepted
although they make direct year to year comparisons into guesswork. What I
really don’t like the most is that the race will be split (this is not a decisive
change). I want to race the entire field, I want to race the best of the
best and have a direct comparison of the results. If I finish 12 hours
off of the lead and in 8th place then that’s what it is (not so with
a split race). Make it one race for all solo riders or RAAM will suffer
from it.
This
year I will race Enduro RAAM due to the rule changes, which discourage entering
the traditional race. I expect that I
will be several hours closer to the max cutoff time due to the 40-hour rule
(just guesswork). This year sleep management will be more stressful than
in my rookie year. Last year I could sleep where, when, and how long I
needed to. This year it will be dictated by points on a map that you have
to make your sleep fit into. For me the
Enduro RAAM division creates more tension/anxiety. It also causes
confusion for my supporters and I have to explain my race choice (we shouldn’t
have to do that). Wish I had the magic solution, which would make
everyone happy (it does not exist). It is a certain group of racers to
which RAAM as it was appealed to them. This new format will appeal to a
new group.
After I asked him for his views on Enduro, Metcalfe changed to Traditional, and explains why in this e-mail:
After putting my thoughts in writing I have decided to switch to
Traditional "RAAM". That is what we all have trained for and
what we had in mind when we entered. I think that some riders just
haven't come to the conclusion yet.
I think three time winner and 19 time finisher RAAM legend Rob Kish would much prefer the Traditional over the Enduro division. His finishing times have ranged from the solo RAAM record of 8:03:11 to an unofficial finish of 11:12:19 his first race back in 1985. Known for averaging about 2 hours of sleep per 24 hours, Kish is the master for staying on the bike when he is not sleeping. He has beaten many less experienced riders (including myself) who waste too much time off the bike, but not sleeping. For a 9 day Traditional crossing, skipping sleep the first night, he may sleep a total of 16 hours, and have his total off the bike time be less than 19 hours. Enduro would take his advantage away. In this manner, Enduro will sort of level the playing field so that rookies will have a better chance to beat veterans. I slept a total of 38 hours my rookie RAAM in 1994, and placed 4th. Had the three people (winner Kish, 2nd place Bob Breedlove, & 3rd place Pat Ward) who beat me been forced to sleep as much as I did, I think I would have had a much better chance at winning. This should attract more talented road/mountain bike racers who have a better chance at wining their rookie year. The event will be seen less as a sleep deprivation contest, and more of a speed race. I could never beat Kish if I finished RAAM in the morning. He was much better at staying awake that entire last night – something I was never able to do. The only words I could get out of Kish about Enduro came in the following short e-mail: The time for wordy opinions on the new solo RAAM divisions has passed. It’s time to pick a solo division and race it, or just pick neither division and stay at home. Two time solo winner, two time 4 Man HPV Team RAAM winner, and all time speed (24.02 mph) record holder {along with HPV team-mates Pete & Jim Penseyres, and Michael Coles in the first ever Team RAAM in 1989} Bob Fourney is one of the few ‘old time’ RAAMers in favor of Enduro. I received this recent e-mail from him:I think it is time that RAAM as we knew it changed into the Enduro format. I had recommended mandatory sleep breaks after seeing them for the dogs in Iditarod. The animal rights people pressured and imposed mandatory rests for the dogs of Iditarod long ago................the riders of RAAM were not treated as humanely. I think this is a great format to run the race, and that traditional RAAM should be a thing of the past...it is not humane...not safe.........I am sure that the if Department of Transportation knew that you were running a sleep deprivation contest on the public highways of this country endangering the contestants and the general public, RAAM would be shut down. One of the biggest improvements in safety will come from the crews being allowed to rest. I have witnessed too many near misses over the years, and thank God that there was never a tragedy for myself or any of my dear crew members.I think that the winner of RAAM Enduro will be only 8-12 hours behind the solo Traditional RAAM winner. I will guess that the average RAAM rider spends 20 hours in total time off the bike, and maintains about a 15 mph average while on the bike. Given 40 hours of stops, a good rider should pick up average speed of 1-2 mph while on the bike. I think it is time for this change to be made, the highways of America are not the same low traffic serene places they were when Lon Haldeman and John Marino started doing transcontinental records over 25 years ago. Yet even they had the good sense to get 4 hours sleep every day.Americans in ever greater numbers drive the roads more often paying less attention, kids have cars and make numerous unnecessary trips everyday, the roads of this country are no place for very tired riders and crews. RAAM riders will be so much more alert, focused and faster than ever before...........I think these riders who we all love and admire be treated with the dignity of an Iditarod sled dog!In a follow up e-mail, Fourney wrote:Yes my 90 minute sleep breaks were the goal, sometimes with a good lead I would take 3 hours and I would be faster with more sleep, none the less I suspect I worked around 20 hours off the bike in the whole race, if that. I always slept the first night even for a short break - it always paid off, which is why I suspect the Enduro riders will be within 8-12 hours of the solo Traditional riders.2003 winner Allen Larsen is coming back for another victory this year. He is the only person to ever beat Robic in RAAM in 2003. Although Larsen criticizes Enduro, he offers an insightful look at how to get RAAM into mainstream America in this long e-mail: First off let me make it clear that RAAM is Jim Pitre’s race, and I understand and respect his decisions to do what he wants for the good of the race. It's his decision not mine. My opinion however is mine.I don't care for or agree with the direction RAAM is headed. I've heard a number of the arguments both for and against. I see this as another whack at a piñata that has yet to produce any candy. I've heard the argument that RAAM is "Repulsive to the American people". I have no idea where that came from. Since I've been a rider I've got nothing but respect and amazement.I've had a number of news stories done on regular evening news and even a feature that's run a few times during the ratings period on King 5's Evening Magazine. They've run it during the ratings period due to its incredible human interest content. Repulsive? Come on!With this category addition, RAAM is also making the race even more confusing to an American culture that does not understand the first thing about cycling. We're going to need a "RAAM for Dummies" book to have any hope of explaining it. I believe that RAAM's desire to embrace the race, as a sporting event to the American people won't work. American's have never grasped cycling. We can only hope that someday that will change. We need to go human interest and let America see something like the '85 ABC story.I'll include a blurb that I wrote a couple of months back, more for me than anyone. I just wanted to sort out my thoughts. I never did anything with it though.Now for the Race aspect, if there is a race left (in the Traditional division). It's appearing that RAAM is winning the battle by attrition. There really does not appear to be many of us left willing to go Traditional. It's really reduced my interest in the race as a whole. In fact, I am currently in the process of deciding if my neck has another RAAM in it. After a discussion with my doctor just last night, he's informed me that the chances are good that I'm looking at surgery if I continue to abuse my neck like I have in two RAAMs. This fact + Enduro + sponsorship is casting a bleak picture of my future in ultra-cycling.As for sleep in my previous races, though I tried, our records were not as impeccable as yours. In 2002, I slept inconsistently for a total of about 20 hours as best as we calculated. What really killed me in '02 was all the off bike time for the problems of neck and rear side. No good figures exist for this but it was an incredible amount of time. It's amazing I held on to third place. In 2003, the first half of the race went great. I slept for 4:10 in the first half of the race. After another afternoon break of 1:15 just shy of Missouri, my neck failed and I lost a lot of motivation, which slowed my progress. I actually pretty much gave up. I had a big enough lead that I just kept moving, but sleep increased to the point that I had about 19 hours by the end. Who knows again how much time was lost to neck and saddle adjustments.Here is the stuff I wrote back when the Enduro story broke. As I laid awake last night pondering the questions raised in the past few weeks concerning RAAM, some questions and thoughts of my own began to come forward. First off, I think there have been a lot of good points on the Topica threads both for and against the new sleep rule. However, I'm left puzzled as to how all this discussion and the rule alterations in the real world we live in, are going to produce any changes to the size, popularity, acceptability or just plain success of the race. Let’s agree that we all have the same desire, to see RAAM prosper and grow into a sustainable event that does not bleed the organizers/owners dry. To do this we need some press and interest from the American people in order to generate sponsorship right? - Do we all agree on this point? I should hope so. The question becomes one of how? A number of efforts and people wiser than I have tried to do this over the years or as a friend of mine put it, “taken whacks at it.” The way I see this newest change to RAAM, it's nothing more than another whack at a piñata that has yet to produce any candy. I would really like to know just how this new rule change is suppose to generate the growth the organizers and media personnel are expecting. As it stands now, it looks like the vast majority of us who are actually riding the solo race and even serious potential future RAAM racers are opposed to this change. It undermines the very nature of what drew us to RAAM in the first place. The rich history of legendary individuals such as Lon, Pete, Michael Shermer, Danny, Rob, and several others... who pioneered an event proving what is possible with desire, dedication, perseverance, integrity, passion and many other characteristics required in each participant who attempts, finishes and even wins this life changing event.