Ride Report By Dan Driscoll
The Course: Located just west of Cleburne, Texas. The 20.1-mile looped course proved to be probably the most challenging of all 24-hour RAAM qualifiers. The course has 2 right turns and one stop sign. In the old ãIron Butt? tradition the 20.1-mile venue allowed riders to easily crew themselves each lap. The course offered several scenic descents.
Race Day Weather: The 7:00 p.m. Friday start temperature was about 80 degrees, but cooled quickly as the sunset during the second lap of the 24-hour race. The 10 to 20 miles per hour winds also died down to nothing after sunset.? Shortly after sunset riders were treated to an awesome display of lightning off on the eastern horizon, although we never had a drop of rain on the course.? The race was planned to take advantage of the full moon, which was bright, with cloudless skies.? Saturday brought slowly warming temperature that eventually toped out into the upper 80âs.
Support: The start/finish was located at New Hope Baptist Church. The church graciously opened their door to each and every rider, crewmember, and volunteer.? On Saturday morning the church treated everyone to a pancake and sausage breakfast with coffee as well a serving dinner at the awards ceremony in their large out door pavilion. SAG support drove the course at a minimum of once per hour traveling in the opposite direction of riders, offering water, wheels, or a lift back to the start finish if required.? Bicycles Inc. supplied Brian Buell, our full-time mechanic for the entire 24-hours.
Volunteers: In addition to the church volunteers and bike mechanic we had 2 officials on hand: Frank Bouchard and Jamie Connally, two event organizers, Mike Berry and Dan Driscoll, 4 time keepers, Adam Daneke, Lindsay Ferguson, Donna and Dennis Beasley. In addition Mike and Gay Morris did every other thing imaginable including handing out water bottles for riders. Bill Fox donated his time for our web-site.? Some of these people spent weeks working on this project.
Sponsors: Bicycles Inc. supplied race numbers, coffee cups, and T-shirts for all racers, volunteers, and sponsors.? New Hope Baptist Church supplied the start/finish location, breakfast, and dinner.? Hammer Gel supplied 4 sample packets of Hammer Gel for each rider packet, as well as extra Hammer Gel.? Accelerade/ R4 supplied samples packets for all racers as well as the Acclerade sport drink for the entire race.? CiCiâs Pizza of Cleburne, TX donated 15 giant pizzas, which came real handy.? Quick Sign of Arlington, TX donated the Banner.? United Site Services donated the Porta-Potyies.? Texas drinking water of Joshua, TX donated all the Ice and water for the event.? Chris Kostman of Adventure Tours donated the race rules.? DH sports donated use of the time clocks and John Hughes helped out with RAAM qualifying status, as well as advertising.? Please support our sponsors, they support us.? We hope to have all sponsors and links to the sponsorâs web-sites on our web-site soon.? Thank you for all your time, effort, and help.
The 24-Hour Race: We started the race at 7:00 p.m., May 16, 2003.? 11 racers pre registered for the 24-hour race. The youngest was 16 year old Corey Meeks and the oldest was 66 year old Robin Fredel.? Reed Finfrock showed up to the race site first, having driven from California, he planned to crew himself.? Sam Baugh and his well-oiled crew showed up next with their slogan ã good crew is hard to find, but we can always find a good rider?. Soon most entrants had arrived, including Rani Freeman, the only female racer.? The first lap was fast, drafting was allowed for the first 10 miles up the only stop sign on the route.? Mark Medcalf and Mike Winfrey ãCrash? flew by the start/finish, on the first lap with an impressive 20 + mph average, followed by Sam Baugh.? By lap 3 Sam had established the lead, which he was able to maintain until lap 13 when Finfrock, despite flats and crewing for himself passed Baugh.? Finfrock looked very strong, until Reedâs last lap his splits did not very more then 17 minutes and I am sure that was due to flat tires.? We had all wagered weather it was possible for anyone to achieve the magic 425 RAAM qualifier miles on this course, and it looked like Reed just might have pulled it off.? But after lap 18 Frinfrock happily got off his soft ride and walked to his van proclaiming he was done.? Sam Baugh was 29 miles down at that point.? Then Sam completed one full lap and a partial lap to become the winner of the 24-hour race.? Unlike the rest of us Sam has the ability to come back at the end of a race after feeling bad and he looked very fresh at the awards ceremony.? Jeff Capp a complete new comer to 24-hour racing also completed 18 laps to acquire 360.18 miles, Jeff would have taken 2nd place, but due to heat and dehydration could not complete his final lap.? There were no teams, tandems or recombents entered in the 24-hour race.
The 12-Hour Race: This race started at 7:00 a.m., May 17, 2003. Jim Deming led at the end of the first lap and every lap after that. ÊThere were two male/male teams, one female/female team, one mixed tandem team, and one female solo rider entered in the 12-hour race.
The 6-Hour Race: This race started at 1:00 p.m., May 17, 2003.? Brain Hosenbauer (X-Pro Tri-Athlete) won the 6-hour with an average of over 20-MPH for this tough course.? 2nd place belonged to Jack Weiss at 57 years old, most of us only wish we could ride that fast. Lori Donavan won the female 6-hour with an impressive 5 laps. We had one mixed tandem team and two recombents in the 6-hour event.
Awards: Each and every 24-hour entrant that competed will receive a custom medal with their name, date and mileage engraved on the back.? All 6 and 12-hour racers at the awards ceremony received a custom finishers medal.? Their were 16 trophies given out at the awards ceremony for 1st place male and female in the 6, 12, and 24-hour races, as well as 1st place teams, tandems, and recombent divisions. One rider commented ãthat was by far the nicest trophy I have ever received and I have a bunch of them.äÊ There were 21, 1st and 2nd place age group medals awarded.? Approximately $400 of cash was awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers in the 6, 12, and 24-hour events, as well as the winners of primes in the 12 and 24-hour events.
Next Year: We had 50 racers this year, based on the approval rating we have received from all of our racers, we hope and plan on a bigger and better event next year, maybe 100 riders.? But we will need the help of all our volunteers and sponsors to make it happen.? Please take the time to help me thank them, it will not happen without them!
Race Day Pictures: Pictures of the race taken by New Hope Baptist church can be located on the web at http://www.arkwebshost.com/churches/newhope/special3.shtml. We will also post some of our own pictures to the web-site soon.
Happy Trails,
Dan Driscoll
The Texas Time Trials - by John Hughes & Dan Driscoll
A new RAAM qualifier debuted May 16, 2003 at 7 p.m. in Freeland, Texas.? Fifty racers pre-registered with eleven of the fifty signing up for the 24-hour event. The 24-hour field included RAAM veteran Reed Finfrock, Sam Baugh with his well-oiled crew and their slogan "a good crew is hard to find, but we can always find a good rider".? Other riders included Ed Mulheren, a current JMC leader, Corey Meeks, the youngest rider at age 16, Rani Freeman, the only female 24-hour racer, and several very fit local racers.? Located just west of Cleburne, Texas, the challenging 20.01-mile looped course started with a steady climb of about eight miles into a quartering headwind.? After that racers then turned right and enjoyed a gentle down hill and tailwind for about two miles, before making the only other turn on the course.? This was followed by a series of climbing and fairly strong rollers while they gradually gained altitude until the final bomb down to the bottom of the river valley and finishing up at the start-finish line.? Baugh said: "Texas, hot, windy and flat!? I was sure wrong about it being flat, a very challenging course."? The first lap was fast, drafting was allowed for the first 10 miles, only up to the only stop sign on the course. Mark Metcalfe and Mike Winfrey flew by the start-finish on the first lap with an impressive 20 + mph average, they were closely followed by Baugh.? By lap three,
Baugh had established a slight but growing lead, which he was able to maintain until lap 13 when Finfrock, despite flats and crewing for himself, passed Baugh.? Finfrock looked extremely strong and comfortable, until his last lap his splits did not vary more then 17 minutes and this was undoubtedly due to flat tires. ÊOfficials wagered whether it was possible for anyone to achieve the magical 425 RAAM qualifier miles on this particular course, and it looked like Finfrock just might have pulled it off.? This was the case until after lap 18, Finfrock happily got off his ãSoft Ride? and walked to his van proclaiming he was done.? At this point in the race Baugh was only 19 minutes down, he completed one full lap and a partial lap to win the 24-hour race with 397.52 miles.? Baugh has an amazing ability to come back strong at the end of a race after feeling bad, he even looked very fresh at the awards ceremony.? Afterwards, Baugh commented "It was the best night of riding I have ever had. The sky was clear, the moon was full, the wind died down, and the temperature was perfect. There was an awesome lightning display that lasted for hours."? Other finisher for the 24-hour race included Finfrock in second with 360.18 miles, Jeff Capps, a complete newcomer to 24-hour racing came in third and also completed 18 laps and 360.18 miles.? He would have taken second place, but due to heat and dehydration
could not complete his final lap.? Freeman won the womenâs race with 240 miles.
SIDEBAR BY: Jeff Capps: "From a rookie who's never ridden my bicycle all through the night, I've never experienced anything so enchanted!? As I settled into my race, my rhythm, I started to enjoy the sun going down, the temperature cooling, and what I thought would be darkness setting in.? However, the full moon cast just enough light to stave off loneliness and the feeling of claustrophobia, but it was still dim enough to let me concentrate on the road just ahead, conquering just this one hill without having to worry about the big picture.? How wonderful it was to share the night with a big turtle as he made his way across the road, an opossum who found it fun to streak through my headlight glow ten feet in front of me, the confused rooster who seemed convinced it was sun-up every time I passed him, and last but not least, the bobbing, blinking tail-lights of a fellow rider."
At the start of the 24-hour race the temperature was about 80 degrees, but cooled quickly as the sun set during the second lap.? Saturday morning was cool, but warmed into the upper 80's as the 6-hour race started.? The 12-hour race started at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.? Jim Deming led at the end of the first lap and every lap there after, to win the men's 12-hour race with 200.2 miles.? David Carpenter took second with 180.1 miles and Fred Zickrick was third, also completing 180.1 miles.? Ronnie Rutledge and RAAM veteran Debbie Breaud raced their tandem 180.1 miles, which gave them first place in the mixed tandem category.? There were three, two person teams also competing in the 12-hour event, two male/male and one female/female.
The 6-hour race started at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.? From the beginning of this race it belonged to the Triathletes.? Brian Hosenbauer, a former pro triathlete, won the 6-hour with an impressive average of over 20-m.p.h. on this tough course. Jack Weiss, age 57 took second with 115.75 miles.? Many of us can only wish to average 19.3 mph on a course like this!? For the female racers, Lori Donavan won completing five laps.? Even the recumbent race was neck in neck to the finish, with Mark Milam wining out.
The start-finish was located at the New Hope Baptist Church. The church graciously opened their door to each and every rider, crewmember, and volunteer.? On Saturday morning the church treated everyone to a pancake and sausage breakfast with coffee, as well a serving dinner at the awards ceremony which was held in their large outdoor pavilion.? SAG support drove the course every hour traveling in the opposite direction of riders, offering water, wheels, or a lift back to the start-finish as required.? Bicycles Inc., our primary sponsor, supplied mechanic Brian Buell for the entire 24 hours.? Volunteers and support staff included USCF officials Frank Bouchard and Jamie Connally, timekeepers Adam Daneke, Lindsay Ferguson, Donna Beasley and Dennis Beasley all counted and timed every lap.? Event organizers Mike Berry and Dan Driscoll did everything possible to insure fun and safety for all.? Mike and Gay Morris handed up water bottles to crewless racers and performed countless cheerleading stunts for entertainment and enthusiasm of racers.? As for the awards ceremony, age group awards were plentiful, 16 trophies were given to divisional first place winners and every rider received a custom finishers medal.? The unique trophies were a male cyclist colored in gold and silver.? One rider commented "That was by far the nicest trophy I have ever received and I have a bunch of them."
Approximately $400 cash was awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers in the 6, 12, and 24-hour events, as well as the winners of primes in the 12 and 24-hour events.? Breaud said afterwards: "The race was great!? Dan did a wonderful job with the organization, support was excellent, and I would recommend it to others next year."
A complete list of results including splits is located at www.tt24tt.com
Rider Comments and Complements:
Jeff Capps:
From a rookie who's never ridden my bicycle all through the night, I've never experienced anything so enchanted! As I settled into my race, my rhythm, I started to enjoy the sun going down, the temperature cooling, and what I thought would be darkness setting in. However, the full moon cast just enough light to stave off loneliness and the feeling of claustrophobia, but it was still dim enough to let me concentrate on the road just ahead, conquering just this one hill without having to worry about the big picture.? How wonderful it was to share the night with a big turtle as he made his way across the road, an opossum who found it fun to streak through my headlight glow ten feet in front of me, the confused rooster who seemed convinced it was sun-up every time I passed him, and last but not least, the bobbing, blinking tail-lights of a fellow rider. Thank you so much for organizing and putting on this race. All of the officials and volunteers were very friendly, helpful, and attentive.
Dan -
Thanks for the friendly, caring waves as you passed me out on the course and for the phone calls to the hospital! Mike - thanks for the encouraging words in the pit stop and for your visit to see me in the hospital! I'm feeling great today after arriving home Sunday evening and then taking the day off of work Monday to just sit around, relax and drink Gatorade. I'm very interested to see the splits for the people in the 24-hour race, but if you don't have them all electronically, please send me my personal splits. You may see me next year (but don't tell my wife that yet!)
Tom Herrin:
You did a GREAT job with the event this past weekend. The support group did a GREAT job. It must have been an incredibly long and difficult job but it came off absolutely first class.? Thank you for your time and effort. Thanks to the support group for their time and effort. I hope the event was rewarding for all of you.
Ed Mulheren:
Thanks again for putting on the 24 hour TT. I think it was well run and appreciate everyone's efforts.
David Hyland:
Thanks for putting on a great race. All your hard work is appreciated.
Rani Freeman:
Thanks for a job well done, I had a great time on the ride.
Brad McClew:
Guys, thanks again for a wonderful experience. Please send me an email reminder next year. Perhaps I'll try it again. And Dan, if you need any assistance with your logo, web-site or entry forms, please keep me in mind.
Mark Milam:
Thanks for a great Race, I like knowing there is a place to ride without having to go to Iowa or Ohio, I hope ya'll have it again next year. We'll try to get some of the other recumbents from the Dallas area and Houston to come. Now if I could just find some hills to practice on...
Debbie Breaud:
I'm just in from El Paso. Great race you put on. That tandem beat me up though. 100 miles as a stoker is long enough. That race has big growth potential.
Ronnie Rutledge:
Thanks to each and everyone one of you for the excellent job you did with the time trial. I can look at Mike, Mike, Gay, and Dan and think of something special each of you provided with this. I think the next item of purchase we need to get Gay a cheerleading outfit from the way she is always cheering someone on.
Vicki Missar:
Thanks for coordinating such a great ride. We are already talking about doing it again next year.
Best Regards,
Rani Freeman:
This was my first 24-hour event. The course was very nice. It had a good mixture of hills and flats and beautiful scenery. The race planners picked a full moon night, which turned out to be incredible. The night was cool, but not too cold, and in the eastern sky we could watch a lightning show that was going on 100 or so miles away. My lowest time on the event was during the middle of the night. I was by myself and not feeling real safe (there were a lot of dogs on the course, so I sat it out with my crew from 1am to 5:30am then resumed my ride. It was a shame, because the night was so perfect and I was so wide-awake! I would say the most interesting thing that happened was the three or so foot rattle snake that I came upon early on Saturday morning. It was sitting in the opposite lane as I carefully passed. A few miles down the road I saw a coyote cross the road about four feet in front of me. That's Texas! All in all, I'd call this a pretty good event. The verdict is still out on the method of lap tracking, as I was shorted one lap. We were to call out our numbers at the control each time we passed. I did call out each time, but some how was overlooked by one lap. I have emailed Dan to try for some resolve. Thank you for your interest in my input. If you get a chance come and ride with us in Texas some time. Dan does a wonderful job with the brevets, sure you would enjoy yourself.
Tom Herrin:
Thanks a bunch for an excellent event.
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