1. Endurance cyclists are a very laid back group of people. They are very friendly and willing to open up their vans (literally) so you can take pictures of their setup and stuff. They offer advice and help even though they have 10 minutes to race start OR they are waiting for their teammate to come in for an exchange.
2. It is amazing just how much stuff you can actually cram into a minivan.
3. Don't overthink. Sometimes it's better to not sweat the small stuff and just get out there and do it.
4. This is nothing like a triathlon event (thank heavens!)
5. Even though everyone was pretty laid back, they did not underestimate the size of the task that was ahead of them - 370 miles is a long way on a bike.
6. A picture is worth a thousand words. And between my and MJ's photos, we have captured over 290 thousand words! The photos will be great reference as we start planning for RAAM 2011 in earnest.
7. Always have fun along the way!
We compiled over 4 pages of notes from the trip (thanks to Leary's awesome note taking skills) and this was a great eye opener to see our first endurance bike race event - from setup and start, to watching the riders do an exchange and watching the support vehicles leapfrog. Watching the first timing station (at mile 42 in Medina) was very anti-climactic. As riders passed the brick phone utility building, one of their crew called in and essentially said "rider in at ZZZ time". That was it? Where's the timing mat? The official to log each person's time? I guess there is something to be said for honestly, huh.
As we drove home and I thought about all we saw, I had a little mini freak out. This was real. RAAM was real. What we were starting to plan for was real. 6-8 days cross country on a bike. That was VERY real. I took a deep breath. All things in good time. We'll get there. I don't know how. But we will get there.
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