DANNY'S 2000 RAAM REPORT, TIME STATION SPLITS, AND RAAM RESULTS If not for Fasching's 30 minutes of penalties, the 22 hour and 23 minute[22:23]gap[before penalties]between us would have been the biggest winning margin in RAAM history. In 1986, after Secrest crashed out of RAAM, Haldeman inherited 2nd place, and finished 22:15 behind Pensyres. This was also the year that Penseyres set the RAAM average speed record of 15.40 mph which has stood up for 14 years. I missed getting that new record of greatest margin between RAAM winner and 2nd place by just a mere 17 minutes. Fasching's official time of 8 days, 10 hours, & 19 minutes[8:10:19]is the 6th fastest solo transcontinental crossing on bicycle. The new top ten crossings are:
So what happened to me? I knew that the new course with perhaps the most feet of climbing of any RAAM, and maybe the coolest weather of any RAAM would make Fasching very difficult to beat. I would also like to congradulate Fasching on a terrific ride! With over 25,000 feet of climbing in Oregon on the first day, I decided to start with my new blue aluminun Softride Roadwing which was 4 pounds lighter than my other black carbon fiber Softride Power V. Unfortunately, I had less than a week and fewer than 100 miles to get used to it, dial it in, and adapt. A slightly lower handlebar setup began to take it's tool on me when my neck began hurting[Shermerneck]on just the 3rd day making it very difficult for me to stay in the aero bars for long periods of time. With about 1,000 miles left in the race, my achilles tendons began to swell up and get very painful. I have never ever had any trouble with them before. My crew finally got me onto my other bike for the last 800 or so miles, but the damage had already been done. I would like to thank Haldeman for scouting out such a beautiful new course who's biggest city on route was Ogden, UT with a population of just 64,000 or so people. It was nice being able to ride across the mighty Mississippi River in my first time of 7 RAAM's. It gave a certain feeling of continuousness which was missed during that vehichle shuttle in Memphis, TN and the nightmare traffic[Downtown in a big city followed by suburbia hell]which lasted a good two hours. Also those white RAAM arrows on the road were a big help letting my crew and I know we were still on the right route. The long hours that Haldeman put into scouting out and marking the route were well worth the effort. Despite all the climbing in the Northwest, strong tailwinds and cool temperatures made for my fastest RAAM start ever. I rode my first century in 4:53, my first double in 10:18, and had my best first 24 hour split of 429 miles[average speed: 17.9mph]. Unlike my normal steady pace the entire way across the country, I had my greatest decay in average speed ever. By the end, it had dropped down to just 13.4 mph which is my slowest of all 7 RAAM's I have done. A member on my crew read his book "It's Not About The Bike" by Lance Armstrong over the PA loudspeakers to keep me awake at night. I think the toughest climb of the route was that steep one out of Manila near the WY/UT state line leading up to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Too bad I had to climb it, and also make that long descent into Vernal, UT at night. I sensed that a daytime view would have been spectacular. Riding over Tennessee Pass and into Leadville[a town above 10,000 feet]just after Midnight on a clear 32 degree F night really froze poor Tom Buckley and I. Wearing every piece of cold weather clothing I had brought was still not enough since I had lost some bodyfat making it feel even colder. Because my lungs were so sore from the high altitude and cold air, I created a fictional situation called torn or ripped lung which I continued to talk with my crew about the rest of the race. I would have never believed it if you told me that I could have done the whole first half of RAAM without ever wearing a CamelBak, but it just wasn't warm enough[high temps never got above 80 degrees F]. After I caught and passed Tom Buckley for the last time at the halfway town of Walsenburg, CO, I never saw another solo rider the whole 2nd half of the race. Once I realized that Fasching was uncatchable, it was difficult to keep myself motivated to get 2nd place. I slept a total of about 25 hours including two daytime one hour naps towards the end of the race which were not planned for at all. Contrary to what many RAAM riders seem to do - cut back there sleep as the race goes on, I do just the opposite of that - going the first night without any sleep at all, and needing more as the race nears the end. Doesn't it make logical sense that as you get more and more tired in RAAM, your body craves more and more sleep? I also find that the quality of my sleep gets better the more tired I get well into the race. Once I finished RAAM in Gulf Breeze, FL, I never saw Fasching there. For those of you who missed the awards banquet/ceremony, when I was called up onto stage to receive my prizes and plaque, I had three beautiful tall woman briefly join me for a photo opportunity. 6'3" tall Dimity McDowell of Mark Patten's crew, 6'1" tall Sabrina Gherner of Fabio Biasiolo's crew, and 6'1" tall Kathleen Rogers of Jim Pitre's crew. DANNY'S 2000 RAAM TIME STATION SPLITS
2000 RAAM RESULTS Danny takes second place in the 2000 RAAM, a race that saw
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