>RAAM). Officially in its 36th running iteration, RAAM is a true cross country race that begins in Oceanside, CA, traverses the entire country, and ends at the historic City Dock in Annapolis, MD.

The foreboding challenge seems unreal... insurmountable even; 3,000 (+/-) miles in about a week, via bicycle, with a ragtag team and crew in tow, and all the logistical hurdles therein. Well, I'm here to share my personal Sisyphus-esque struggle of being the night crew chief on a 4 man team in 2017.

It started innocently enough... don't these kind of things always do? Hearken back to late September of 2016 where I had just completed the final stage of a three day gravel stage race in Charleston, SC and was finally enjoying the cold, crisp wash of a local IPA across my parched palate. My friends and fellow masochists that organize the stage race were just laying out the initial plans to enter a 4 person coed team for RAAM 2017 and I piped up that I'd love to help support them any way I could. Little did I know that would mean being asked to actually help crew the team across the country, but we'll get to that a bit later.

I guess it's one of those situations you might find yourself in where you feel something epic, tangible, and unforgettable is taking place right in front of you and that same imp that feeds on self-torture pops up with raised eyebrows and a toothy grin from ear to pointed ear, urging your very willpower down to the depths of forgotten pain and suffering... he takes over the rational part of your brain that should factor in how much vacation will be consumed, what else in your life will you have to forego to commit to such an endeavor? All sorts of logical and rational questions any sane person should be asking themselves and considering, but then... we endurance bicycle racers have never been accused of being completely rational, have we? No, our appetite for gratuitous self-inflicted torture is intertwined with our very being. We don't know how to say no to tests of our endurance and tolerance for physical exhaustion. We somehow find strength in that adversity.

This is my introduction, and the story will play out as I get time and motivation to write another entry, so stay tuned if you're interested, and I'll do my best to keep up with it...

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