Steve Petty  Bacchetta Forums
RAW crewing experience - 6/14/2010 11:32:54 AM

Peggy & I are back from crewing for Mark Metcalfe at RAW. Mark won his division (50-59yrs olds) & placed 2nd overall for RAW solo riders. His time was 66hrs-16 mins  for the 860 miles. The emotional  highs & lows were amazing.  It was great experience for Peggy & I.  We had never witnessed RAAM/RAW, so when we were asked by Mark several months ago, we jumped at the chance. Mark has competed in solo RAAM in 2005, & team RAAM in 2007.   I don't know if this was an omen for not, but at time station #1-Lake Henshaw,CA, crews were warned by RAAM officials that there were swarms of locust.  I'm thinking this is a scene out of the Ten commandments.  The Glass elevator descent into Borrego Springs greeted the riders with howling tailwinds, which made descending incredibly tricky.   Mark had a few cramping issues outside of Blythe,CA. He took a few minutes to rest & rehydrate.  Day 2 was much better for him.  The heat was on in the AZ dessert.  We had one flat between Parker & Salome.  A quick wheel change & we were off.   The 2010 version of RAW/RAAM included some new routes, from Parker to  Salome,AZ, & from Salome to Congress,AZ. Once you arrive at Congress, Yarnell pass awaits, then the route organizers threw in constant climbs to Kirkland ,Skull Valley Iron Spring (did I mention ,constant climbing ) to Prescott to a time station.  Then more climbing on a new route to Sedona for more climbing.   We arrived at Monument Valley Utah at approx. 5:30pm.  The views were unbelievable & Mark averaged 19 mph from Kayenta, AZ time station to Mexican Hat, UT.

In the distant sky, we say a beautiful lightening storm ,that would later become on/off cold showers from Cortez,CO to Durango, Co. The temps in Durango were mid 30's. Sleep deprivation & on/off showers slowed Mark's progress from Cortez to Durango. Descending some of those climbs on wet roads at night while mentally & physically exhausted were scary to witness from the follow van.  We briefly saw Dan Fallon at one of the RAW meetings, & prior to the RAW start.   Congratulations Dan taking on this beast of a course. You're a better man than I.  The route is downright scary.

I had a chance to meet another DF RAAM solo rider-Kevin Kaiser at diner in Oceanside one night. A very humble & cool guy. A brief story about Kevin & his crew. Another competitor was in route to Oceanside when both bikes that he was carrying on his bike rack, came loose & were run over on the 405. Kevin's crew stepped up, & lined up a contact at Mossy bikes & helped assembly 2 new "fixie" bikes for this guy to ride for RAW the day before the event. Go Kevin.
I saw & cheered for Tim W on the course.  I didn't see Kent Polk, but team Carbent is rolling right along.  Pedal, pedal,pedal Kent.
Our crew did a great job.  Zero penalties. We had one goal, to get Mark across the finish safely.  Mark did the rest, we were just along for the ride.   What a ride it was!
There's so much more to tell, but my brain is fried from the journey. I think I covered the highlights.
Congratulations to all RAW cyclists/crew. Good luck & god speed to all RAAM cyclists that battled hail, brutal headwinds, cold, & dust storms yesterday.  This is an event that all cyclists should witness.

From Steve Petty, Rbent Forum

Peggy & I could not have been more proud of Mark. He finished 1st in his division, 2nd overall for solo RAW-860 miles. His time was 66+hrs. We were honored to be asked to crew.  Way to go Mark.  Thanks for allowing us to be part of this event.  The RAW division had a 27% DNF rate.
 
This event is one that I cannot describe adequately in words.  The course is absolutely scary in every way.  The climbing is relentless, the weather is extreme from desert heat, to freezing mountain temps.
 
The emotional highs & lows from were incredible.  Mark had some heat/cramping issues in the beginning,then throw in some sleep deprivation & the event was testing Mark.  Mark rode through the issues, & from Monument Valley to the next time station (Montezuma Creek, UT) , he averaged close to 19 mph-700+ miles into the event.  The RAAM organizers went out of their way to find every mountain pass they could.  
 
Mark slept for a total of approx. 4 hours.  The last 100 miles were brutal.  Relentless climbs, & then on/off rain showers from Cortez,Co to Durango, Co.,& near freezing temps on a tired body would zap the strength out of anyone.  
 
As I stated earlier, this route is also shared by RAAM riders.  The RAW route is the toughest part of the RAAM.  Yesterday, RAAM riders were fighting heavy rain, hail, wind & sand storms in Kansas yesterday.  These guys/gals are unbelievable.  Very humbling.  So the next time I feel down during a ride, I will always come back to incredible athletes I witnessed for 3 days.  
 
Good luck & god speed to all RAAM riders/cyclists currently riding.