The 27 remaining solo cyclists in the Race Across America are all going strong, although they're spread out over 1,000 miles of blacktop.
The men's leader and former champion, Jure Robic, was the first to pass through Marthasville, Missouri, while female cyclist Patty Riddle just passed through Durango, Colorado, earlier on Friday.
In spite of the distance separating them, they all share a desire to overcome rain, wind, heat, terrain, sleep deprivation and just plain exhaustion so they can ride into Atlantic City, 3,000 miles from the start.
Robic, the leader from Slovenia, has slept about 6 hours since Sunday, the beginning of the race in Oceanside, California, according to reports at the RAAM website. That's allowed him to maintain an average 15.56 mph speed and put him 5 hours ahead of second place Wolfgang Fasching.
Robic won in 2004 and 2005, while Austrian Fasching won in 2002. Robic's best time was 8 days and 9 hours.
The last place rider among the men is Lou Lamoureux of Herndon, Virginia. He's also the only rider with a kidney transplant and has been tooling along at better than 200 miles per day, 8.6 mph. He's still in Colorado.
A rider just ahead of Lamoureaux is Philip Baker. This cyclist from Baton Rouge is averaging just over 9 mph, not bad for 66 years old.
Another rider near the rear of the peloton is John Spurgeon; consider the fact that he's riding a single-speed bicycle and he's just crossed the Rockies and is currently trying to make up some time in Kansas. He's averaging 10.6 mph.
While Robic is destroying the men's field, the top three women are within 100 miles of each other, and two are only 15 minutes apart. Kerry White was the first woman to pass through Springfield, Colorado, but Caroline van den Bulk and Lauren Fithian are close enough to make this a race.
Only three cyclists have dropped out so far. Walter Blaettler was treated and released from a hospital after a vehicle accident and Fabio Biasiolo dropped out for a medical reason, explained as confusion and miscommunication. Hana Ebertova, the 37-year-old from Prague who saved 10 years to make this trip, dropped out due to exhaustion.
Recent Comments