Go East, Young Men | Annapolis Sports
By Andrew Keatts
[The Race Across America is considered by many professional cyclists to be the most grueling endurance race in the world, traversing 3,000-plus miles from Oceanside, Calif. to Annapolis, MD.]
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.
—Ernest Hemingway
Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.
—Mark Twain
With the whole of America at Canadian cyclist Peter Oyler’s back, the culmination of more than eight months of training was in sight, a carrot hanging from the end of a stick. Behind him lay the Appalachian Mountains, the unending fields of the country’s core, peaks of the Rockies, desolate deserts of the southwest, and the body-strewn beaches of southern California. Casinos and hotels in the distance, Oyler would soon retire from the grueling 300-plus-miles-a-day pace that had taken him through 14 states between California and New Jersey in just over a week. He’d soon complete “cycling’s Everest,” the Race Across America (RAAM).
Two years later, RAAM’s finish line is getting comfortable in its new Annapolis home. City Dock became the proverbial “end of America last year,” taking the place of Atlantic City’s boardwalk, and for three days this month, it once again serves as a checkered flag to a field of contestants ranging from world-class cyclists to everyday enthusiasts looking to complete the ultimate challenge.
Unlike other distance cycling races, RAAM occurs in only one stage. That is, when racers depart from Oceanside, CA, the stopwatch starts and doesn’t stop until they cross the finish line at City Dock in downtown Annapolis. There are no rest days, and racers aren’t allowed to draft or take shelter from the wind. In comparison to the Tour de France, RAAM is 30 percent longer and solo racers finish in roughly half the time. Categories for the racers include solo, and two-, four-, and eight-person teams, which are further subdivided in categories for age, gender, and bicycle type. Because there are no rest days, RAAM is essentially an extended time trial in which racers compete exclusively against the clock (rather than against one another). To cyclists, this is known as a race of truth.
[The starting line in Oceanside, Calif. sees 200 racers start their trek across the nation.]
George Nellis was the first man to cross the country on a bicycle. In 1887 he made the coast-to-coast trip on a 45-pound iron high-wheel. He finished in 80 days. John Marino became preoccupied with the concept of transcontinental cycling in 1976, eventually setting the world record two years later. In 1982, he and a group of riders organized a head-to-head race from Santa Monica, Calif. to New York City, calling it “the Great American Bike Race,” now regarded as the first official RAAM. The race has occurred every year since. Four racers competed that first year. This year’s race will include approximately 200 racers.
Finish Line: Annapolis
Now preparing for his second RAAM, Oyler remembers the sensation of reaching the finish line that first time. “It was a bit surreal,” he says. “There weren’t many spectators there, just the event team and my crew. It was very anticlimactic; you expect and hope for much more excitement when you finally make it.”
Experiences like Oyler’s spurred RAAM to rethink the placement of its finish line. In its 27 years, RAAM has concluded in New York City, Savannah, Ga., Atlantic City, N.J., and now Annapolis. Feeling overshadowed by the size of Atlantic City and forgotten by its transient crowd, race organizers looked for a smaller town that would still allow the race to culminate near water. After discovering City Dock, Perry Stone, VP Media Development for the race, says he knew they had found a fitting end for the racers’ journeys. “When you come to City Dock, there’s a familiarity, like you’ve been there before.”
In its first year as host to RAAM’s finish line, Annapolis didn’t disappoint. Crowds filled City Dock each time the finish crew prepared for an arriving racer over the three-day finishing period. Stone stresses the importance of increased participation from downtown businesses for this year, but says it’s clear to those involved that Annapolis provides the infrastructure and attractions for which the race is looking. The city’s complement of shopping and dining options benefit the race twofold. In addition to providing the racers, their crews, and the RAAM staff with necessary amenities, it also produces a constant flow of foot traffic to the finish line and its stage for ad hoc press conferences when racers arrive. The event’s time-trial nature dictates that contestants arrive at all hours of the morning and night, therefore making it unavoidable for some contestants to reach the finish line without the pomp and circumstance they would prefer.
[Four-time RAAM Champion Jure Robic a Slovenian soldier, crosses the finish line at Susan C. Campbell Park at Annapolis' City Dock.]
Race organizers have decided to start the race in Oceanside, Calif. a few days earlier this year, allowing most of the racers to reach City Dock on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, further increasing the size of finish-line crowds.
“The finish line should be heralded,” Stone says. “It’s all about creating a full experience for our racers.”
Mayor Ellen Moyer, among the crowd for multiple finishes last year, welcomes RAAM’s return. “Annapolis is really becoming recognized as a sports city,” she says. “No longer just for sailing, but for all the leisure and challenging professional sports that we have here.”
The Race of Truth
While the culmination of Oyler’s maiden RAAM voyage two years ago was—as he describes it—surreal, the sum of his trip was nothing but positive. “The ability to accomplish absolutely anything you desire has become very dominant in my mind,” he says. “This year, I’ve been able to set-up and operate a new business at the same time I’ve been training for the race, for instance.”
The desire to conquer something insurmountable is an expected motivation for completing such a race. Personal circumstances weigh heavily, too, as in the case of 2009 rookie rider Scott Luikart from Ohio. After qualifying for the event during a different cross country event in 2007, Luikart felt no desire to subject himself to RAAM. When his brother, who had originally introduced him to cycling, was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease, Luikart’s plans changed.
“I wanted to do something memorable with him, and I knew it couldn’t be riding anymore,” he says. “So, now he is my crew chief.”
Every rider is aided throughout their ride by a crew that follows them in an automobile, usually a van or RV. In the short-lived instances that a rider decides to treat himself to a few hours sleep—with the clock still ticking, remember—they do so in the van. The crew deals with any issues that arise during the race, whether logistical issues with the weather or course, mechanical issues with the bike, or minor medical issues with the rider.
Luikart, whose older-brother-led crew has taken care of all preparation for his race while he works a full-time job, says it’s impossible to achieve your best time without a first-rate crew. Working with his brother and crew in preparation, he says, has been exactly what he intended: an unforgettable experience.” For me, I don’t know how I could even consider competing without my crew.”
[Team ViaSat finished 3rd overall in the eight-person team class.]
Charles Engle competed on a four-person, co-ed RAAM team in 2005. Training in Greensboro, North Carolina to race alone this year, he says stuffing four riders and six crew members into an RV for the duration of the race made for a party-like atmosphere. “We were all having fun, we were tired, but we loved having this experience crossing the country together.”
Indeed, the romantic experience of crossing the country holds considerable appeal for many Americans. From the manifest destiny of the 19th century to the dissatisfied wanderlust of the Beats in the 1950s, the notion of setting out across the country, soaking in a landscape as diverse as its people, has become part of the our collective unconscious. RAAM competitors are no different.
Engle says the mere idea of crossing the country is spectacular, let alone doing it on a bike in only eight days.
“Even when I’m riding as fast as I can, the terrain is passing much slower than in a car,” he says. “The opportunity to experience what I’m riding through is so much greater.”
A beautiful distraction, the American landscape—along with the camaraderie of the riders’ crews—can’t totally mask the physically punishing aspects of the race. After winning the race’s solo heat last year for the fourth time (2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008), former Slovenian soldier Jure Robic told a City Dock crowd “now I just want to see my little boy. That’s the most important thing.”
Moments later, he lightened the mood when asked if he thought he could take on former Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
“Is Lance Armstrong going to race RAAM?” he asked. “You ask him, then tell me."
Editors’
Note: Races will be finishing at the City Dock beginning June 26th - June 30th around the clock. In addition to supporting these riders and the downtown business community, you may also volunteer at the finish line. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Ken Shuart at ken.shuart@raceacrossamerica.org.
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