 
With a fair share of weekday riding we're also training about 8 hours or more (4+4) on the weekends and building in more and more hills as we get closer to the race. This past weekend we headed out into Maryland- one of our usual routes- and kept a good steady effort for most of the ride. Knowing you have two full days back to back means you can't leave yourself totally spent on day one- so there's some pacing involved although I think we all have a hard time "saving" any for the next day. But I was excited to see that coming back on the second day I felt stronger and energized- slowly raising our average speed throughout the ride and coming in at over 21 mph when we made it back into town (first day was 20mph+). Racing and training are always a bit different. Right now we're doing some shorter more intense workouts during the week (1.5 hours at about 23mph) and then longer endurance rides on the weekend (4 hours at 20mph). This gives a good mix of saddle time and speed work. How that translates to race week is that we'll be using our speed in 30 minute efforts, switching between two riders every half hour for about 5 hours. And obviously needing the long term endurance as our muscles go into multiple 5 hour sets every day for a week- non stop. Ideally we'd go into the race with a predetermined race pace that we can keep consistently without going too hard up front and then dying off. At the same time we'll be fighting for every minute to go as fast as we can within those limits. Next up on the weekend training schedule - two 100+ mile days of wonderful Skyline Drive. Nothing about that ride is flat and pacing will be everything.
I remember starting this journey about 16 months ago and a few people mentioned that the training would be the easy part. Training to race cross country in 6 days would be the easy part? You bet. I would try to explain the complexity of the logistix but I wouldn't even come close. The idea is simple- keep a group of 18 people moving at a steady 20+mph for a week. Everything else is the minutia that takes months to work out in order to have a solid plan- and then that's just the plan- the real deal has to be flexible beyond your imagination so you don't dig yourself into a hole. What do you mean the light bulb burnt out? Guess what- there ain't no Radio Shack in the middle of the desert (although one is coming soon I'm sure). Well, duct tape that flashlight to the rider. To throw some insight into the workings of Plan A- there are 3 vehicles, all with drivers and navigators round the clock, rotations for all those people, transitions every 20-30 minutes for the riders with time zones and 54 time stations to clock in to, over 300 meals to coordinate and nutrition to fuel the engine (riders), 8 bikes, 20+ wheels, 50 spare tubes and boxes of parts, insurance, budgets, and a bunch of opinions. Then there's the little things like toothbrushes, laundry, petty cash, contact lenses, washing, GPS coordinates, a 200 page rule book with penalties to match, contracts and waivers, gear and promotions, media, dating (refer to date auction entry), and meeting on about every single aspect to keep everyone on track. Who's doing what? That's Plan A. Don't ask about Plan B. No wonder the training is the easiest part- it's the part that requires the least amount of thought! I mean we all know how to ride a bike- so go ride. So with that in mind each weekend is filled with 150 miles of riding, and about 8 hours of mental rest! Even so it's an amazing opportunity and an exciting venture, with much more than even the well prepared thought would be involved.
While we we think we have the sexiest crew doing RAAM the training is not always as exciting as you'd think. We're aiming to get in about 150 miles of hills and more rugged terrain every weekend from now until race week but our weekday workouts are not as interesting. We live on Capitol Hill and getting our hill workouts in before work can be challenging- Hains Point and other rides provide plenty of time trial and flat courses. So to mix it up at times, like this morning, we'll do hill repeats around the Capitol. That means going up the roughly 75 foot hill over and over and over again- actually over 25 times this morning. While it's not super exciting it's nearby, gets our heart rate up, and we get to pump through about 2,000 feet of climbing in an interval format ("on" going up and "off" going down). Sexy? Not all that much but it gets the job done.
In some ways it felt like we had just left, I thought as we returned to Eric and Christal’s 26.5 hours after we had all assembled to start this excursion. Almost like playing a tape backwards, we unloaded the cars, putting all of the gear on the curb into piles and groups the same as we had done when loading the cars on Friday night. The difference was, all of the gear was now 300+ miles more worn and 26 hours more used, as was my body. In other ways it felt like too long to have not slept, or showered. I wasn’t overly tired having snatched a modicum of sleep and a better amount of “active rest”, a term I heard bandied about during the night. I did however feel as if I had done a good days work. I likened it to a long workday of digging ditches, without the blisters. The two days blended together and the difference between day and night was nearly indistinguishable as we slept during the day and drove at night, not exclusively but in rotation so as to get some of each. Our 4 hr. shifts, oscillated like a well oiled well-pump (well… maybe an old rusty one). Yet the pump kept pumping and with a little lubrication will be as efficient of a machine with well fitting parts as anyone could hope to assemble. With this past 24hr training exercise we have again exposed some glitches in our plan and the execution of it. Some we were able to fix on the fly, others will require some rethinking and implementation of new procedures. This outing was particularly useful as we put together more sub-team rotations than in any other exercise and did so in as close to race simulation as we could. In the days leading up to our last 24hr training opportunity we will be gathering intel from all 4 of our trainers to package up a final game plan in hopes of refining our plan to perfection. For the riders the trip was useful in giving them a preview of the actual course, straining their physical and emotional limits in a situation not previously attempted. It also provided a training opportunity that they perhaps could not have recreated outside of this type of exercise and this type of terrain. I’m told that the Appalachian portion of the course is more difficult than the Rockies because of its proximity to the end of the race and the inescapable, steep grades. This weekends exercise brings us yet another step closer to knowing how and what to expect during that 3008 mile x-country odyssey we call RAAM…stay tuned.
As Eric and Phil said, what a great training simulation it was! After our last 12hr exercise we knew were we needed to work and were better prepared to tackle the last 315 miles of the race course.
Andrea and Phil started and took on the monster WV hills (= STEEP - see profile below) at night and then Eric and Patrick got to ride on the surreal, misty and foggy Cumberland, MD to Pennsylvania. On the second shift, A + P had the beautiful scenic farmland in Pennsylvania and the historical Gettysburg while E + P had rolling Maryland towards their way to the ocean and the finishline in Annapolis. From a crew perspective, it was great to see all the team work among the Team A sub-group and the mutual support within each single crew member and riders! We functioned like a well oiled machine :-) The chase vehicle were giving us (leapfrog car) live feedback to the riders on things they could improve and tweak as well as directions and things to look for, and MOTIVATION to the riders! "Attack, Attack, Attack"... "Vamos TORITO!"... "Faster, faster, harder, harder". The riders felt very safe and happy the way it worked. On the leapfrog car front, driver and navigator dealt well with motivating the rider (to eat, rest, feed us with their aches and pains as well as moods during their shifts), navigating the race course, dealing with minor issues such as getting lost 2 times, communicating with chase car and resting van, among other things. Thanks Erica (Julie's friend) for volunteering her day/night to drive the resting van, it was great help! Thanks everyone for amazing job, each of you contributed to a great training day! Lots of lessons learned that will help us move forward and be more efficient come race week! I'm pumped to tackle RAAM! GO XTREME 4!!! Here's a few shots of yesterday's adventure... 
As you can see on Phil's map we decided to simulate the last 315 miles or so of the actual race course. This would give us some insight into what we would be up against in the home stretch but also give a real view of how to follow race maps/directions and see what type of roads and conditions we would face. So even though it was a long ways out to the start it more than worth it. Of course this was "just" training so the two cars and one MINI van were hardly the amount of space we'll get from 3 full size vans... and so it was a bit more challenging to sleep, organize our gear and move in and out easily. For a 24 hour exercise it was fine but having all those things in place will be critical race week. I took my first nap out on the road- literally. Sleeping on the pavement in a pull-off on the protected side of the minivan- even then the truckers hauling through was enough to keep me on edge wondering if I was going to be squirrel meat. But the rolling brook and starry cool night was enough to get me almost asleep between drive bys. We learned a ton and now that we've had 4 training events we're really excited about putting all that to work on our last 24 hour race simulation in May. Everything from rider/chase car communications, food prep, sleep rotations, fuel and potty breaks, group a/x transitions, night rotations, rider logging, navigation systems, vehicle signs and lights, flat tire changes, toothbrush accessibility, riding with a helmet, and the list goes on. But having gone through these events we feel we have a great handle on what needs to happen next and what will allow us to have a smooth race. There's always going to be an X factor- our plan and equipment will need to be flexible but with a strong backbone to structure we should be able to handle those other items with ease. We each pulled two group rotations (4-5 hours each) and split that up between two riders. When we were ON we would divide that 5 hour section into 20-30 minutes on/off between two riders. So it allowed us to keep our intensity up without totally wearing us into the ground. Actually, even though I was feeling it I was ready to keep going at the end. We also switched off more rapidly during the climbs and took longer pulls during the flatter sections. We even simulated the time stations and penalty station to go through all the motions. Nearing the end of the route the Saturday afternoon traffic going into Annapolis was a feat in itself, but the enthusiasm (even on a training event) to get to the finish line was a huge boost. I could go on and on- it was a great experience and I think we all came together as a team to move ahead as quickly and safely as we could. I'm totally pumped about going out again and can't wait for race week. 
We're gearing up for our first 24-hour training event. We'll be heading out to Grafton, WV tonight and riding the actual RAAM route all the way in to Annapolis. It's gonna be hilly. Should be doing four shifts total for about 20 hours of riding and 4 hours driving out there. It's gonna be tough. It's gonna be rough. It's gonna be a blast.
Here's the route, roughly: UPDATE: Part of the team finished up their portion of the 24 hours at 3 p.m. this afternoon. The others will be done in the early evening. The course was great--hilly and remote. It's gonna be a great race and this is the last portion. We'll be digging deep to get through these hills of WV, Western MD, and Pennsylvania. Our plans for logistics worked out well. We were in the right place at the right time, well fed (not totally well-rested, but hey it's race simulation) and we felt safe riding at all times.
The much anticipated date auction was a huge success - the place was packed - and everyone had a great time with bids coming in from every corner. Christal and Patrick did a great job of auctioning off our single crew and riders all for a good cause while we even got some bidders from our own team! It was so successful in fact that we had more volunteers from the crowd being auctioned right there on the spot. Of course the entire team couldn't be more pleased with how much fun everyone had last night at the Hawk and Dove. Big thanks to Erica for organizing this smashing event and all the partners that provided tickets and dinners for the dates.
I have to admit, I was a little nervous about our 12-hour training session this past weekend. Our last night ride ended with a pretty scary crash, and I definitely had some reservations about trying again—for even longer this time, and with both crew and riders tired after working all day Friday.
We all sat down earlier in the week to talk about our plan for the ride and—most importantly—how to be as safe as possible. There are some things, like 55mph wind gusts and herds of deer running out into the road (which Phil as the rider and Paul driving the chase car handled very well, by the way—even at 3am or whatever it was at that point) that we can’t control, either in practice or during RAAM. However, we as a team (and especially the crew) owe it to ourselves, and especially to the riders, to be as prepared as possible. So we headed out Friday night armed with “Caution-- Bike” signs, flashing lights, and some serious determination. While I don’t think anyone would call the simulation “flawless,” it definitely assuaged many of my fears. The riders all looked so great (watching Andrea climb a really tough ascent in the middle of the night was totally inspiring—especially since I’m still intimidated by Capitol Hill!) and despite minimal sleep, everyone was really upbeat and worked well together. I don’t know about other people, but the 12-hour simulation definitely gave me more confidence going into the 24-hour ride this coming weekend. In other Xtreme news, we’re holding a fundraiser tomorrow (6-9pm) at Hawk ‘n Dove—happy hour plus a VERY exciting date auction. For those of you in DC, come join us for a celebratory cocktail, and the chance to bid on fun dates (baseball game, dinner, theater, etc) with Phil, Paul, Kip, Erik, Laurel, or me. We’re at about 50% of our fundraising goal for the race, which is fantastic (and wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of so many of you), but we still have a long way to go, so if you’ve been thinking about contributing but haven’t done so yet, this is a great opportunity to come support Xtreme4.
With a few days under my belt to recover, the 12 hour training event/race simulation is looking better and better. As you've seen from previous posts, we drove out to Marshall, VA, and rode a series of shifts all through the night. When we were off we tried to sleep at a base camp we had set up in a parking lot there. Average number of hours of sleep was probably around two, so we were some tired folks when the event ended at 8 a.m. I'd say the way to describe our mood after the event was exhausted and excited.
Marshall is at the foot of the mountains, so all the riding we did was on hills. You were either going up one or coming down one. It took its toll on our legs by the end, but it was great training for RAAM. As we looked at the actual route in preparation for our next training event (24 hours) I realized that the way we will be coming through WV and western Maryland is gonna be pretty brutal. I did the bike portion of a triathlon called Savageman out there (actually one valley over from the RAAM route) last summer and those hills are steep and deep. We learned a lot--both riders and crew--that is going to help us refine our strategies and procedures. One thing became very clear to me--sleep is going to be PRECIOUS. Nutrition and communication will be vital too. These are things we knew, but this event really helped cement the idea. Next up, a 24-hour race simulation on the actual course. Stay tuned...
Yesterday we had a solid 12hr exercise to train our riders' rotation, team transitions, crew positions among other things, in Marshall, VA (on the Mt Weather and Piedmont routes). All went pretty smooth and it was great to see everyone excited and involved! We learned a lot from the experience and realized a few things that need to change going into our 24hr simulation next weekend. More to come soon... 
Congrats to our coach, Olaf Sabatschus, for winning the inaugural Ironman China under extreme heat conditions (104F and humid) from what we heard on ironman.com!
He had the fastest run and bike of the day. At the beginning of the run he was 2 minutes behind the lead, but he was able to catch up to him and win 21mins ahead of the second place! ALL OUT Olaf! As he always says: train haird, rest harder and race hardest! We are very happy and proud of you! Way to go! Now Ironman Brazil is waiting for you in 5 weeks. 
Good morning. FINALLY the weather is taking a turn for the better! Supposed to be in the 80s today - no kidding. And just in time for our first 12 hour training ride tonight. However, I'm not going to get into that at the moment. This posting is more about a green "experience" I had yesterday with a friend of mine.Our friend Guillermo had me stop by his office for lunch yesterday. He's all gung-ho green! It's great. He is totally supportive of our endeavors, and has committed himself to being as green as possible. He rides to work on a bike every day and takes public transportation or bikes when he travels around town for anything else. He makes sure to turn off his office lights when he goes out (and confessed to turning off anyone else's office lights if they are not in their office when he passes by - so watch out!). As of Sunday he "doesn't eat meat" which, if you are aware of how much of an environmental impact eating one hamburger makes, it's pretty crazy (the impact of what it takes to make one hamburger, not not eating meat). He was telling me how he is purchasing 98% corn-made biodegradable bags to carry his groceries etc. in. His office cafeteria serves food on real plates and dishes and offers metal utensils. The carry-away boxes are biodegradable. Soup containers are made of recycled material. There are separate trash and recycle bins. Recently he has been reading up on other cultures and practices (i.e. Buddhism, yoga, etc...) and has integrated the environmental preservation aspects of these into his daily life. As a result, he personally feels good about himself - both because of his efforts of making as minimal of a detrimental impact on the environment as possible, as well as the physiological well-being his body is receiving. It's great to hear from people about the impact that they are making as a consequence of Xtreme4's efforts to race across the country promoting awareness of what little things we individuals can do to make a big difference overall. Thanks Guille, and thanks to all those that have and will continue to make an effort to "Go Green"!
Ironman Arizona was down right brutal. The heat and windy bike course made for a much longer day than most had anticipated. Andrea, Mariana and myself took part in this sufferfest along with over 2000 others on the hottest day of the year. Thanks to all the wonderful friends that cheered me on from afar and let me tell you it made a huge difference getting all your well wishes and encouragement. Never before have I contemplated dropping out of a race, until Sunday. It took me only two miles on the run (or about one and a half) to reconsider and question my options, and think about my long term plans for RAAM. And I did that every mile until mile 21. It was a TOUGH day. Suffice to say I had issues I never thought I would have-- and then some. But everyone did. I didn't talk to a single person that didn't get beat up on the course and even come close to their goal. In the midst of all that I did reach into my vault of support from you all to keep on going. More to come in my race report... including changing 808 flats in the desert, passing pros on the walk, and how sun burn can hurt more than cramps. I promise not to make you wait months for this one. I need to write this one up and get it out of my system. 
With help from our sponsor dpmsports.com and its owner Ed Uribe, I pieced together a new all carbon fiber TT bike. It's a Dolan Aria, which is handbuilt by an English framebuilder with a sterling reputation. They say the Aria TT is "the ultimate time trial machine" with "12k weave monocoque carbon frame with horizontal dropouts for optimum aero rear wheel positioning and an Alpina integrated headset."
As the frame sat there in my house, while I waited for parts to come in, I got more and more excited about it. It looked super sleek. Finally all the parts, components and random assorted crap came in. Lee from Capitol Hill Bikes (and xtreme4's trusty mechanic) put it together over the past couple weeks in his spare time. The weather was not great so after taking delivery, I rode it a little on the trainer early this week and it felt great there. But who cares what it felt like stationary! I needed to get out on the open road. Thursday morning my chance came. I rode down to Hain's Point with the regular DCTriClub gang and let her rip. HOLY CRAP. It's like riding a motorcycle (with pedals). Another rider came by and said "that thing looks like an airplane." It feels like it. What a great bike. This is going to be my primary bike for RAAM and I'm really pleased with how it came out. See the attached picture for a view of the steed. Finally, a HUGE THANKS to sponsor dpmsports.com and Ed Uribe. This is a sweet sweet bike and all the credit is due to him. 
n. Pecha Kucha - "chit chat" in Japanese.
Last night Dave, Jen, Erica, Andrea, Laurel, and I attended a DC Pecha Kucha event that centered around the "green" movement. The presenters were all environmentally friendly and sustainable organizations and groups. In fact, the space that we had the event in - Lofts 11 - is one of the few completely environmentally designed living spaces in Washington, DC. A very appropriate location. Upon entering the Lofts we signed in and were directed to the 8th floor where the presentations were to be held. There were two living spaces that housed the presenters and attendees. Each had unique environmentally conscious characterstics such as cabinets made of wheatboard and bamboo, countertops made from recycled glass, and tinted windows to reduce heat in summer, as some basic examples. We mingled, discussed the building with the architects, met the coordinators of the event - ita-design, and finally moved into the presentation area where they had some nice fruit and cheese plates and wine and a DJ going until the presentations started. It ended up that we were to present last, which turned out to be a good thing. We followed Honi's presentation of her company Derma Hair Care - she is so aware of how to incorporate "green" into every aspect of her company, from the products that she promotes and uses, to the energy that allows her business to run, to the print materials for all brochures she has. Pretty amazing. And then came Xtreme4's presentation, which, of course, was by far the most intriguing. The Real Hey Dave and I (mostly Dave) worked on composing the video itself while Erica and Jen presented to the audience. It started with a captivating intro with intense music and Xtreme4 scrolling across the page to catch everyone's interest. Erica and Jen had the timing down perfectly with the images that were on the screen and really kept everyone engaged. Dave said he heard some great comments about how hardcore and crazy we were - but in a good way! People were very interested - and that's good! - because we are racing for a good cause, and it was appreciated by everyone there last night. All in all we were happy with our presentation and glad we had the opportunity to meet more green-minded individuals. We are definitely even more psyched about the race and our cause just from the excitement that other people outside of Xtreme4 exuded last night! P.S. The video will be up soon!
It's been a while since the last time I checked in. This coming Saturday will be 4 weeks after my accident and I'm finally feeling like my old self again!
I've been training at full mode now (with 2 workouts a day) and feeling stronger by the day. The first week back was slow, I was taking it easy and listening to my body. Mostly doing 1 day ON and 1 day OFF on the bike, just for 1h30 each time and mostly at aerobic base. This past week I started running and swimming as well and cycling every day (1h30-2h). My body still gets pretty sore from running (all the pounding) and from swimming (stretching my back) but I know it's a question of patience. I've been feeling great on the bike! Still haven't ridden outdoors, and I'm looking forward to getting to sunny Arizona this coming Saturday and riding A LOT in the 80s weather! The cold/wet/windy weather in DC hasn't motivated me to go outside, so I've been on my trainer the past 2 weeks. I've been seeing Raquel every week after the accident and she has been helping me a great deal with my recovery! She is amazing and has MAGIC hands! Olaf has also helped me stay sane and positive. He is such an encouranging person/coach, always knows what to say to make you feel good and see the positive/best side of things. I'm still going to play by ear with Ironman Arizona. It's been a very bumpy 2+months with the bike accidents, but I'm going to see how I feel this week and I might just do it for fun and celebrate that I'm healthy and can exercise again (not for any PRs). Really looking forward to seeing our Xtreme 4 rider, Eric, kick butt in IMAZ as well as Mariana. And also catching up with friends from Portugal and Boulder that are coming to do the race and cheer, Sedi, Helder, Hugo, Sergio and Joni (our sherpa)! It will be A LOT OF FUN!!! More updates to come from sunny Arizona! Andrea PS: Thanks for all your good wishes, emails and calls, I really appreciated it! 
First time in a while that I actually rode outside. I couldn't help it what with it being 70 degrees! Phil desperately wanted to get a ride in - nice and light just spin out everything left in his muscles from the weekend marathon (congrats Phil!). Was great to see him strong at the finish. Pam also qualified for Boston! What an amazing weekend.Back to today - a few of us headed down to HP to ride around a bit. It was pretty windy, but the temperature was great. There was a lot of traffic cause of the cherry blossoms being in full bloom. It was nice to have the scenery but you had to be very aware of all of the vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Still, just good to get out and stretch those riding legs. Hopefully many more days like this to come - soon! 
All of us on the xtreme4 team are triathletes--meaning besides our bike training we're running and swimming too. The cross-training is very valuable-and keeps us sane.
I've been wanting to do a marathon for quite some time, and decided to do one this spring. On Saturday, with many xtreme4 teammates cheering me on, I ran the National Marathon here in DC. I had a sense that I could probably shoot for a sub-3:10 time (and thereby qualify for next year's Boston Marathon). So I wrote the splits that I would need for that on my arm and hoped for the best. The morning was perfect--cool and overcast, but not too cold. I felt good and had to hold myself back for the first few miles (didn't want to blow out the legs too early). Along I trotted, snapping off miles in the high 6 minute range--on track for my goal. Fast forward a few hours and I was realizing that I was ahead of a 3:10 marathon. Ahead of a 3:05. I was ahead of a 3:00 hour marathon. I kept feeling great through mile 24.5--and then hit a series of hills. I suffered some cramping in the calves for the last couple miles through these hills, but had some company for the last mile--Paul rode alongside me on his bike. Final time: 2:58:17! All I can say is that Olaf's program WORKS. The intensive base training and cross training has built my aerobic capacity up significantly. And I'm going to Boston next year! 
It's still cold outside! 30 degrees this AM!? Spring technically arrived last week. The trees are starting to bud. And we're all ready to be riding outside consistently. Fortunately it looks as though after today it will be in the mid to upper sixties through the rest of this week.Last night we had a meeting with the largest majority of our team members to date - including Raquel and Lee. It was good to see them there and have them active in our discussion. We spoke mainly about fund-raising opportunities and the next training event - 12 hours overnight the weekend of April 19th - where everyone that was present last night can commit to! That was good to hear and having such a large majority of crew members there supporting the riders will definitely aid in our preparation for the real thing down the road.
With 3 weeks to go until Ironman Arizona training is in high gear with a big mix of swim, bike and run. And even the shorter workouts (1.5 hours) are packed with higher intensity work. 40 minute intervals on the bike that push you mentally and physically. I could really feel the fatigue by the time Thursday rolled around when I had to push out a 16+ mile run. But somehow by yesterday- after having been cranking the pedals almost every day this week- I felt stronger. I could have been a dozen different things like nutrition, bike fit, not drinking, more sleep, etc but whatever it was it came at the right time! The next two weeks aren't that much easier- in fact my runs will get longer as will my bike rides.Looking ahead I plan to pull way back on my running. Essentially taking some good time off between IM Arizona and three weeks later racing St Croix IM 70.3. That will officially be my last hard run from then through RAAM. So after IM Arizona my focus will be solidly on biking. While right now I'm at about 200 miles a week on the bike, that should easily go up to 300 miles a week. Plus we have a few exciting 12 and 24 hour training sessions to throw into the mix. That also means I'll be spending more time on hills (on my road bike) to build strength - probably about 50/50 between road and TT bikes. Whereas lately, since about a week ago, as I get ready to race Arizona I've been spending close to all my time on the TT bike.
So on top of all of the cool things we're doing to get ready for this race, like doing the training rides and talking to some amazing people about the race, I get to do some of my favorite things. I'm looking into outfitting the chase vehicles with the communication and other electronics we need for the race. And one of the things I am excited about are the flexible solar panels that were recently donated to the team. The vehicles have a number of added electronics that will need to be powered off of the car battery and the electricity produced from the car alternator decreases the efficiency of the engine by about 5-10 horsepower. These solar panels should be able to produce up to 64 Watts of power which will help to keep the batteries charged. We will probably put one solar pannel on each of the two lead vehicles, although we could put more panels on the vehicles if more were donated (in the pictures we have both panels on one car). I think it is so cool that we can incorporate the solar panels on the vehicles and use some readily available green energy and I'm excited to continue to gather everything we need for the vehicles. 
Yesterday we were interviewed by Channel 9 for a spot that will air about our team, our goals, and some details about RAAM. They also caught us in action as we rolled around Hains Point on our home turf- the place we log in the most miles during the week. We had a good time but it also re-energized me about getting the word out about what we're doing. The way they asked us questions about the race and using alternate modes of transportation really showed me that we have a lot of work to do. Most people still don't have a sense of what carbon neutral is or what it means. And those that do, we need to do a better job of reaching out to them. So our push to get more of the public to understand what our free pledge is about and how easy it is needs to be promoted more. And explained more. It's only a week- and as we always say, if we can race across 3000+ miles in a week maybe those 5 miles to work won't seem that far. But it extends beyond that week- that's just an example of what we can do together. Imagine then, if everyone did that just one day a week for the entire year. That's a 20% reduction in carbon output! What about two days a week? 40%!! Ideally that's the goal I'd like to see us reach- show those who pledge and the people they interact with that if it's that easy for a week what it could mean to integrate that into their everyday life. 
I visited with Andrea yesterday. Her spirits are high and all she wants to do is to get back on the bike. Mariana's been taking good care of her. More than anything she's in a good bit of physical pain, but once she's all healed up she'll be out there on the road again. There's no holding that girl back!Today will be her first day back on the trainer and she's psyched to just get back on a bike. The other riders are glad that the weather is getting more tolerable. Mid 50s is definitely a step up from mid 30s - it's nice to be outside riding again. We have a little downtime before our next training session, which will allow us all to focus more on general race strategy, communicating with other teams in RAAM, fund-raising, and overall preparation for June. It's just around the corner.
Over the past two months I've been anxious to get my new bike in order to spend as much time as I could on it before Ironman Arizona which is just 4 weeks away. Today, thanks to some help from Denise at Capitol Hill Bikes, it came in and I went in to the shop to get fit. The set up on this bike is quite different from my road bike so the more time I can get on it to get accustomed in that riding position the better. At this point I'm looking at spending at least 5 or 6 days a week on the bike- even if some of those days are not "quality" workouts but rather more time in the aero position. That way when I get to Arizona and I have my 112 mile bike segment it'll be easier for my body to stay relaxed. But Arizona is just the first step- the obvious goal is RAAM and being in the aero position over the 3000+ miles will convert to a ton of saved energy and a faster pace. 
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