So What does this actually mean?
Contrary to what most people think, we are not taking the 3,000 miles of RAAM, dividing by 4 riders and then telling each rider, "OK Carol - go ride the first 750 miles, then Sue - go ride the next 750 miles..." and so on. In order to add speed to a race of this length, the rider shifts have to be shorter which allows for greater intensity. But how short?
Right now we are looking at splitting the four riders into teams of 2. One team will be "on" for several hours while the other team gets shuttled up the road and then rests, eats, gets a massage, or whatever. The team that is "on" will then ride alternating in shorter, more intense shifts -- so when one rider is riding for anywhere from 15-30 minutes, the other rider gets shuttled up the road and waits. When the one rider approaches, an exchange takes place and then the second rider takes off up the road while the first rider and bike is loaded up into the leapfrog vehicle and then is driven up the road for the next exchange. These exchanges happen for several hours until their shift is done. Then the second team of 2 riders is "on" and the first two riders will get transported up the road to rest, eat, etc. until it's time for them to ride again. For RAAM, this process will literally be repeated 24 hours a day for 7-9 days as the team makes its way across the country.
So how long is an optimal shift? We tried 4 hour shifts during our team training event last Saturday and that seemed to work really well. It was long enough for us to put in a solid effort but short enough to feel reasonable. The downside is that when the two riders are "off" - 4 hours isn't much time to eat, sleep, stretch, and get ready for the next shift. So at this weekend's Hill Country 600K race, we are trying one shift of 5 hours and one shift of 6 hours. The advantage is longer down time. But will we be able to sustain a solid effort for another 1-2 hours? My quads are cringing at the thought. Time, literally, will tell!
Contrary to what most people think, we are not taking the 3,000 miles of RAAM, dividing by 4 riders and then telling each rider, "OK Carol - go ride the first 750 miles, then Sue - go ride the next 750 miles..." and so on. In order to add speed to a race of this length, the rider shifts have to be shorter which allows for greater intensity. But how short?
Right now we are looking at splitting the four riders into teams of 2. One team will be "on" for several hours while the other team gets shuttled up the road and then rests, eats, gets a massage, or whatever. The team that is "on" will then ride alternating in shorter, more intense shifts -- so when one rider is riding for anywhere from 15-30 minutes, the other rider gets shuttled up the road and waits. When the one rider approaches, an exchange takes place and then the second rider takes off up the road while the first rider and bike is loaded up into the leapfrog vehicle and then is driven up the road for the next exchange. These exchanges happen for several hours until their shift is done. Then the second team of 2 riders is "on" and the first two riders will get transported up the road to rest, eat, etc. until it's time for them to ride again. For RAAM, this process will literally be repeated 24 hours a day for 7-9 days as the team makes its way across the country.
So how long is an optimal shift? We tried 4 hour shifts during our team training event last Saturday and that seemed to work really well. It was long enough for us to put in a solid effort but short enough to feel reasonable. The downside is that when the two riders are "off" - 4 hours isn't much time to eat, sleep, stretch, and get ready for the next shift. So at this weekend's Hill Country 600K race, we are trying one shift of 5 hours and one shift of 6 hours. The advantage is longer down time. But will we be able to sustain a solid effort for another 1-2 hours? My quads are cringing at the thought. Time, literally, will tell!
Photo: Carol Pope on team training event in Fredericksburg. Photo courtesy of Jake North Photography.
