Kevin,
Congratulations to you and Chris. What a neat experience. Both of you
continue to be my heros.

Todd Harmanson


>From: "Kevin Kaiser" <kkaiser23@...>
>Reply-To: "Kevin Kaiser" <kkaiser23@...>
>To: <garandon@yahoogroups.com>
>Subject: [garandon] PAC
>Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:36:29 -0400
>
> Just a few highlights from our tour, as many others have written much
>better stories than I can tell. We started the prologue of our 17 day ride
>in San Diego with a short 6 mile ride to dip our back wheel in the Pacific
>Ocean. Day one was meant to be a short introduction to the tour, but the
>127 miles included 7,500 feet of climbing and the last 30 miles would be in
>the afternoon heat of the desert. We tried to take it easy, knowing that
>day two would be 191 miles and there would be no break from the heat. Day
>two was predicted to have only moderate temperatures, but a headwind and
>106 degree afternoon spelled doom for 40% of the riders, including myself.
>I lost 10-12 pounds before I sagged in at 155 miles. I was devastated and
>looked for ways to abandon the tour. All I could think of was that it was
>an extemely cheap way to find out that I could never handle RAAM.
>
> Susan Notorangelo sat me down at about 10pm that night and I told her
>about all the weight I lost. She looked a little distraught, but told me
>that for the rest of the tour I needed to "stop drinking water." I was
>shocked, because I thought I was down at least a gallon of water and needed
>to keep drinking more. She reasoned that water dilutes absolutely, and
>what I really needed to do was drink Gatorade, Coke, or any other soda that
>I thought I could handle. I struggled as well on day 3 because I only had
>a few hours to recover before the ride started again, and with Ed Pavelka's
>accident keeping the support crews busy, I believe I only rode 55 miles.
>
> Day four was about 150 miles that included 11,000 feet of climbing,
>and it was on this day that I rode myself back into the tour. I likened it
>to the 1st 150 miles of the Georgia 400k, and it seemed like I was more at
>home in the mountains. It was the start of 14 consecutive days of riding
>every mile to complete the tour. Other tough days included day 9, which
>would be 206 miles in Oklahoma and included a 20-30mph wind that we
>stair-stepped directly into the entire day. Early in the ride two riders
>directly ahead of me touched wheels and went down. Bernie Comeau fell
>sideways in front of me, and I had no option but to ride directly over him.
> It is a miracle of nature that I didn't get seriously injured because I'm
>not a great bike handler. The first rider dislocated his knee and broke
>his knee cap in two places. I waited with them for the support crews to
>arrive, and then I spent the rest of the day chasing the peloton. The next
>day was also difficult, with 10,100 feet of climbing through 176 miles in
>Arkansas. The last 50 miles had 8,000 feet of climbing on the scenic
>Talimena Parkway, which is very much like a tough Cheaha ride.
>
> I was worried about the heat of the south when we got closer to home,
>but 90-98 degree afternoons never seemed to slow me down after Arizona. I
>never drank an ounce of straight water after day two in the desert. I
>ended up riding 2,673 miles out of a possible 2,800. Throughout the trip,
>we saw a lot of different landscapes. I saw sand dunes, a rattlesnake,
>tarantulas, buffalo, VLAs (Very Large Arrays - the satellite dishes they
>use to observe space - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Large_Array), and
>many other sites you might expect when touring the USA.
>
> The typical Elite Tour day would start with waking up at 5:00am,
>breakfast at 6am, and riding for 12 hours each day starting at 6:30. This
>would mean that typically we would have 2 hours after the ride to shower,
>clean our bike, eat, and get ready for the next day before it was time to
>hit the mattress. It was absolutely mandatory that we keep a minimum pace
>of 14mph including breaks or we would be sagged in. We had a crew of about
>10 people including Lon Haldeman and Susan Notorangelo. Their attention to
>detail meant that we would have food and snacks without fail every 25-35
>miles along the course. It is a top flight organization, and in retrospect
>the $3,000 I spent to take this tour was worth every penny.
>
>
>Kevin Kaiser

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