Race Across America

The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra marathon bicycle race across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. RAAM is among the best-known and longest annual endurance events in the world. RAAM is open to almost anyone. However, all entrants must be members of the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association, or UMCA, and then prove their abilities by competing in any of several qualifying events, completing a course within a specified time period. RAAM is sanctioned by the UMCA.^[1]

RAAM is the American answer to Europe's Tour de France, yet the races differ. Both races' courses have varied over their history. However, in the Race Across America the direction has always been from the West Coast to the East Coast of the United States, approximately 3,000 miles (4800 km) in about a week, making it a transcontinental event. A typical course might be from Oceanside, California, to Atlantic City, New Jersey. In contrast, the Tour de France is about 2,300 miles and takes about 3 weeks because it covers shorter distances each day.

How RAAM works

Unlike most multi-day bicycle races such as the Tour de France, RAAM has no stages. There is no specified distance to travel each day. Until recently, there were no designated rest periods for food and sleep (sleep was optional). The clock runs continuously from start to finish as in a Time Trial. The final overall finish time includes rest periods. The winner is he or she who can ride the fastest while also making fewer and shorter stops. The winner usually finishes in eight to nine days, after riding approximately 22 hours per day through the varied terrain of the US. The recent addition of the team division has enabled finish times in the realm of six to seven days.^{[citation needed]} Each racer has a support crew that follows in vehicles to provide food, water, mechanical repairs and medical aid. During the night, a vehicle with flashing lights is required to follow the rider to ensure safety.

Having to ride continuously for days with little to no sleep puts this event in the ultramarathon category. The continuous physical output places considerable strain on the competitors as well as their support crews. As many as 50% of solo participants drop due to exhaustion or for medical reasons. In addition, the race takes place on open roads, forcing participants to deal with sometimes dangerous traffic conditions.

Fatalities

There have been two fatalities in the race's history. In 2003, team rider Brett Malin was killed when he was hit by an 18-wheel tractor-trailer outside Pie Town, New Mexico.^[2] In 2005, solo participant Bob Breedlove was killed in a collision with an oncoming vehicle near Trinidad, Colorado. Details are sketchy because he was by himself (his support crew was a few miles behind) and the only witnesses were in the vehicle that collided with him. Outside magazine investigated the crash in its November 2006 issue.^[3]

Changes

In 1989 the race added a four-man team division^[4] in which they could choose to ride together or take turns, thus enabling faster speeds with longer rest periods. In 2006 the race format changed with the addition of a Solo Enduro division in which riders rest off the bike for a total of 40 hours at specified points across the country. The 40 hours are deducted from a rider's total time at the end of the race. These changes were made to improve safety and shift the emphasis to long-distance riding speed and away from the capacity to endure sleep deprivation. The Enduro Division no longer exists, though. The Solo Traditional division still measures lowest elapsed time from west coast to east coast. The official winner is the one in the Solo.

The solo division of the 2009 race began on June 17 in Oceanside, California. Teams start on June 20. The finish line was once again in Annapolis, Maryland.

2007 RAAM Start in Oceanside, CA. Photo: Kayvon Beykpour

The race is held in several divisions. In 2008 those were:

• RAAM: Solo Female
• RAAM: Solo Male
• RAAM: Solo Male (50–59)
• RAAM: Solo Male (60–69)
• RAAM: Solo Male - Recumbent (50–59)
• RAAM: Two-Person Male
• RAAM: Two-Person Male (50–59)
• RAAM: Two-Person Mixed
• RAAM: Four Person Male
• RAAM: Four Person Male (50–59)
• RAAM: Four Person Male (60–69)
• RAAM: Four Person Female
• RAAM: Four Person Female (50–59)
• RAAM: Four Person Mixed
• RAAM: Four Person Mixed (50–59)
• RAAM: Eight Person
• Race Across the West: Solo Male
• Race Across the West: Solo Male (50–59)
• Race Across the West: Solo Female
• Race Across the West: Two-Person Mixed (50–59)
• Race Across the West: Four-Person Male
• 24 Hour: Four-Person Female
• 24 Hour: Eight Person

Great American Bike Race

Michael Shermer

The Great American Bike Race was originally organized by John Marino in 1982. There were four competitors, John Marino, John Howard, Michael Shermer, and Lon Haldeman. The concept caught on and the event grew bigger every year. The name would change and riders from around the world would compete. In 1989 a team division was added in which HPVs and faired bikes were allowed and records were shattered. The original course started in Santa Monica, California and finished at the Empire State Building in New York City. Haldeman won. The race was televised on ABC's Wide World of Sports through 1986.

1982 race:

Finish	Winner	Home	Time	Average Speed
1	Lon Haldeman	Harvard, IL	9d 20h 02m	12.57 mph
2	John Howard	Houston, TX	10d 10h 59m	11.83 mph
3	Michael Shermer	Tustin, CA	10d 19h 54m	11.42 mph
4	John Marino	Irvine, CA	12d 07h 37m	10.04 mph

Records

Because the course has varied, performances are not comparable. Records are usually recorded in average speed, not total time, to account in part for the different course lengths. The fastest men's speed was by Pete Penseyres in 1986, when he rode 3107 miles (5000 km) at 15.40mph (24.8 km/h) in 8 days, 9 hours, and 47 minutes.^[5] The fastest woman was Seana Hogan in 1995, who averaged 13.23mph (21.3 km/h) to finish 2912 miles (4686 km) in 9 days, 4 hours, 2 minutes. The fastest eight-person team – and quickest overall crossing – was established by Team Type 1 in 2009. The squad of riders who all have type 1 diabetes completed 3,021 miles in 5 days, 9 hours and 5 minutes. The shortest elapsed time for a crossing was outside an official RAAM, by Michael Secrest in 1990, in 7 days 23 hours.

Traditionally RAAM is a solo competitor event – a non-stop individual time trial. In 1989 for the first time, teams were allowed to enter in a new HPV (Human Powered Vehicle) category.^[4] Race organizers called it the Human Powered Vehicle Race Across America. HPV RAAM was slated as a platform for technology advancement in cycling aerodynamics and human powered propulsion, but it also paved the way for team competition thereafter. Favored to win, Team Gold Rush led most of the way but did not finish. First, second and third places went to Team Lightning, Team Cronos and Team Strawberry respectively.^[6] In later years team members could ride together to take advantage of drafting, so times improved, but in the 1989 race there could only be one rider on the bike at a time.

List of overall winners

This is an all-time list of winners of Race Across America in Men's Solo category.^[5]

Year	Winner	Nationality	Route	Miles	Time	Average speed, mph (km/h)
1982	Lon Haldeman	United States	Santa Monica Pier, CA to Empire State Building, NY	2968	9 days 20 h 02 min	12.6 (20.2)
1983	Lon Haldeman	United States	Santa Monica Pier, CA to Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ	3170	10 days 16 h 29 min	12.4 (19.9)
1984	Pete Penseyres	United States	Huntington Beach, CA to Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ	3047	9 days 13 h 13 min	13.3
1985	Jonathan Boyer	United States	Huntington Beach, CA to Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ	3120	9 days 02 h 06 min	14.3
1986	Pete Penseyres	United States	Huntington Beach, CA to Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ	3107	8 days 09 h 47 min	15.4
1987	Michael Secrest	United States	San Francisco, CA to Washington Monument, DC	3127	9 days 11 h 35 min	13.7
1988	Franz Spilauer	Austria	San Francisco, CA to Washington Monument, DC	3073	9 days 07 h 09 min	13.8
1989	Paul Solon	United States	Fairgrounds, Irvine, CA to Battery Park, NY City, NY	2911	8 days 08 h 45 min	14.5
1990	Bob Fourney	United States	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	2930	8 days 11 h 26 min	14.4
1991	Bob Fourney	United States	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	2930	8 days 16 h 44 min	14.0
1992	Rob Kish	United States	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	2911	8 days 03 h 11 min	14.9 (24.0)
1993	Gerry Tatrai	Australia	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	2910	8 days 20 h 19 min	13.7
1994	Rob Kish	United States	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	2901	8 days 14 h 25 min	14.1
1995	Rob Kish	United States	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	2912	8 days 19 h 59 min	13.7
1996	Daniel Chew	United States	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	2905	8 days 07 h 14 min	14.6
1997	Wolfgang Fasching	Austria	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	3025	9 days 04 h 50 min	13.7
1998	Gerry Tatrai	Australia	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	2906	8 days 11 h 22 min	14.3
1999	Danny Chew	United States	Holiday Inn, Irvine, CA to Rousakis Plaza, Savannah, GA	2938	8 days 7 h 34 min	14.7
2000	Wolfgang Fasching	Austria	Portland, Oregon to Pensacola Beach, Florida	2975.1	8 days 10 h 19 min	14.7
2001	Andrea Clavadetscher	Liechtenstein	Portland, Oregon to Pensacola Beach, Florida	2983.2	9 days 00 h 17 min	13.8
2002	Wolfgang Fasching	Austria	Portland, Oregon to Pensacola Beach, Florida	2991.9	9 days 03 h 38 min	13.6
2003	Allen Larsen	United States	San Diego, CA to Atlantic City, NJ	2921.7	8 days 23 h 36 min	13.6
2004	Jure Robič	Slovenia	San Diego, CA to Atlantic City, NJ	2958.5	8 days 09 h 51 min	14.7
2005	Jure Robič	Slovenia	San Diego, CA to Atlantic City, NJ	3051.7	9 days 8 h 48 min	13.6
2006	Daniel Wyss	Switzerland	Oceanside, CA to Atlantic City, NJ	3042.8	9 days 11 h 50 min	13.4
2007	Jure Robič	Slovenia	Oceanside, CA to Atlantic City, NJ	3042.8	8 days 19 h 33 min	14.4
2008	Jure Robič	Slovenia	Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD	3014.4	8 days 23 h 33 min	14.0
2009	Daniel Wyss	Switzerland	Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD	3021.3	8 days 5 h 45 min	15.28

References

External links

• Race Across America
• Race Across America records
• "Bicycle Dreams", a 2009 documentary on the race