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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.

Anyway, back to the 12 hour training event. Each sub-team (Eric/Patrick and Andrea/Phil) did two shifts. Eric and Patrick led off, riding from approximately 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. covering around 60 miles. Then Andrea and I did the same route from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Then it was back to Patrick and Eric for round two and then back to me and Andrea.

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...

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