Conference noted::bicycle

    	I talked to Ed yesterday. It was the first time we'd talked
    	since the Sunday morning the race ended.
    
    	Ed said he was a little upset with himself for not continuing
    	once he had warmed up on Sunday morning. I asked what he was
    	basing this on. He said that he felt fine on the Monday, Tuesday,
    	and Wednesday after the race and that most of his reason for
    	stopping must have been mental. I guess one of the other men
    	restarted in the morning and finished with 360 miles. Adrian
    	Harris stopped at 7:30 AM with 406 miles, and Ed finished with
    	something like 348 miles. Had he gotten back on the bike and
    	ridden until 9 AM, Ed could have made another 46 miles, more
    	or less.
    
    	Anyway, this hypothermic condition is nothing new for him and
    	we've dealt with it before.
    
    	Scott
    
    	We agreed that, once it starts raining anytime, he needs to stop
    	and get into some warm clothes. He was somewhat relieved when I
    	told him the rain that night was freezing, since it hadn't started
    	that way.

    	Ed will pick up the minivan on Thursday and the RV on Friday.
    	He and half the crew will leave Saturday morning. The rest of
    	us will fly out on the 27th.
    
    	He told me last night that they are starting all solo riders
    	together. Seems silly to me, even if Shawna Hogan thinks she
    	can compete, head to head, with the men.
    
    	That will make for one congested start, I'll say that.
    
    	Hope the weather breaks a little. If it doesn't, there will be
    	a lot of riders dropping out (in a race where a lot of riders
    	drop out anyway).
    
    	I, of course, will enter my RAAM diary after I return and
    	catch up on my sleep.
    
    	If you want updates about Ed Kross, you can call his home
    	number (508) 872-4592.
    
    	Scott

    	Well, I'm outa here.
    
    	Fly to LA LA land tomorrow.
    
    	If you want updates on Ed Kross specifically, try calling his
    	home (508) 872-4592. I think he's gonna have various people there
    	watching the phone and getting updates from us.
    
    	Scott

    	I'm back at work today.
    
    	Ed's time was 9 days, 14 hours, 19 minutes.
    
    	He finished 8th overall, 7th among the men. Seana Hogan (woman)
    	beat all but five of the men. She is unbelievable. I would not want
    	to compete against this woman. She has raced three RAAMs and 
    	destroyed every woman except Muffy Ritz.
    
    	More info later after I wake up and compile it.
    
    	Scott

    Seana is the first person to have won 3 consecutive RAAM's.  Finally
    broke the existing woman's record.
    
    ed

    	Also the first to win 3 RAAMs, consecutive or otherwise.
    
    	Scott

     1994 Race Across AMerica





     These are the results I had as of Monday, 8 August, 1994.



     Men

     ---

     1. Rob Kish        8d 14h 25m

     2. Bob Breedlove   8d 15h 58m

     3. Pat Ward        8d 17h 09m

     4. Daniel Chew     9d 00h 29m

     5. Darrell Bowles  9d 05h 03m

     6. Bruno Heer      9d 11h 15m (7th overall)

     7. Ed Kross        9d 14h 19m (8th overall)

     8. John Stoneman



     Women

     -----

     1. Seana Hogan     9d 08h 56m (6th overall)



     Team



     1. Centurion          5d 09h 17m (Germany)

     2. Manheim/Powerade   5d 10h 15m (Georgia, USA)

     3. Brazil             5d 12h 10m (Brazil)

     4. Kern Wheelmen      5d 14h 22m (California, USA)

     5. Pacificare         5d 19h 30m (Texas, USA)

     6. Bally's            5d 21h 24m (California, USA)

     7. Fontanil           5d 21h 49m (France)

     8. Y                  5d 22h 02m (Pennsylvania, Virginia, USA)

     9. Coldwell Banker    6d 02h 14m (California, USA)

     10. McKinley Paper    6d 03h 17m (Australia)

     11. Ideo              6d 04h 17m (California, Illinois, Massachusetts, USA)

     12. Tyrolia           6d 04h 44m (Austria)

     13. Kaiser Permanente 6d 12h 49m (California)





     Ed bettered his time from 1992 (on a much harder course):





     9d 20h 56m ==> 9d 14h 19m





     He also finished much closer to the winner:





     ~42 hours behind ==> 23h 54m behind





     Ed had not solved his nutrition needs.  Although he led at the first

     Time Station, he was getting bloated.  Late the first night, he

     stopped to hurl on the side of the road.  He continued after that

     without too much discomfort.



     Saddle sores became a problem very early in this race.  Ed was using a


                                                                Page 2





     Flite saddle.  Regardless of the weight, he should have used his

     leather saddle.



     He had breathing problems in the mountains in Colorado.  He seemed to

     have some kind of respiratory infection.  He could breathe and ride or

     breathe and eat, but he could not breathe and ride and eat.  He didn't

     have this problem once we left the mountains and Colorado.  Our nurse

     thought he might have been suffering from altitude sickness.  Not

     sure.



     Ed had another bout wherein he was bloated and unable to eat much.

     After a major bowel movement, he was eating like a RAAM rider should.



     As is typical, he wasted time off the bike before and after he slept.



     Towards the end of the race, Ed and John Stoneman battled for days,

     with Ed coming out the victor.  I talked to John at the awards

     ceremony.  Very nice fella.  He asked if we were feeding Ed bum info.

     I said, "No.  All I have to say is `John's coming' and he's back at

     it."



     Ed wants to race again in 1996.  He probably feels like he hasn't

     given this race his best.  I have to agree.  Had he had his

     nutritional problems ironed out, thing could have been a lot

     different.



     One cannot say enough about Seana Hogan.  She is such a tough rider

     that most of the men could not overtake her.  She has knee problems in

     long races, so she has to wear some kind of brace on each leg.  We

     could see some bruising on the back of her knees from the braces.

     Near the end of the race, one Time Station person mentioned that he

     could hear Seana crying as she rode past.



     Lots of riders were off getting IVs in or near Blythe, CA.



     Daniel Chew was introduced before the race as a fella who wanted to

     ride 1,000,000 miles in his life.  At 31, he had already ridden

     345,000.  His first long ride was a double century at age 10.  He was

     off the bike for 19 hours at one point.  After passing Ed, he rode off

     and soon was out of sight.



     The folks in Metter, GA, proved to be typical of man of the people at

     the Time Stations.  Very friendly and very supportive.  When we got to

     Metter, they were having a barbeque.  When Ed came by, they all stood

     in the road and yelled and applauded.  Fred talked one of the women

     out of her shirt (which she changed for an Ed Kross shirt in the local

     7-11 bathroom).


                                                                Page 3





     Final Notes



     The following people made up the 1994 crew:





     Stan Barrett    Mechanic, Massage

     Jodi Cecchi     Massage

     Scott Critz     Driver

     Patty Dietch    Nutrition

     Sally Fuller    Nurse

     Fred Kresse     Mechanic

     Vic Kross       Crew Chief

     Mark McMaster   Mechanic

     Juan Ochoa      Mechanic





     Our CB handles this race were "Scooter" and "Pie." So, of course, when

     we had a post-race party, Fred Kresse brought a box of Scooter Pies.



     In Pritchett, CO, I saw John Lee Ellis.  He had said he would not be a

     part of RAAM this year.  Actually, he was one of the covert officials

     watching the course.  He and I talked some and then we were off.



     We met Bonnie Allison in Guthrie, OK, Wednesday afternoon.  Bonnie won

     in 1992 as a senior rider.  She told us about getting hit by a car 650

     miles from the finish.  She had 18 stitches in her head, some disk

     problems, both wrists hurt.  The crew turned her handle bars over so

     she could shift by hitting the STI shifter with her arm.



     Because Ed was eating everything in sight, we had more food than we

     knew what to do with.  So, one morning, Fred started throwing out some

     old, stale doughnuts.  I suggested that maybe Ed might ride faster if

     Fred rolled the doughnuts past him.  So, of course, Fred alternately

     threw doughnuts at Ed and tried rolling them past him.



     During our trek around Atlanta (Sunday morning), lots of traffic.  The

     roads are hilly and windy, so it was hard for (timid) drivers to pass.

     This was a major pain in the posterior, since I had to pull off and

     let people pass about every five minutes.

    	Lots of other stories that I'll remember in dribs and drabs.
    
    	Chris Kostman was the official following the teams (non-stop
    	action). He would just sleep in the front seat of his van.
    	But, he said he'd have to write himself a note (to be read
    	when he awoke) to assure himself that he had not fallen
    	asleep at the wheel and crashed.
    
    	Michael Shermer talked about seeing Aldo Calandro (from Italy)
    	sitting on the side of the road.
    
    	MS: "Aldo, what are you doing?"
    	AC: "Michael, my feet, they tell me to stop. I say, `OK.'"
    
    	The German team that won used no PA system. They carried a whistle,
    	a horn, and a kazoo. Each sound (or sequence of sounds) indicated
    	to the rider which way to go. Kostman mentioned that they never
    	missed a turn or checkpoint.
    	
    	Bruno Heer (Austria) liked listening to reggae or calypso music.
    	It sounded odd when played over a PA system.
    
    	Scott

     Thanks Scott and please congratulate Ed on a wicked effort!!!
    
     Sorry if I missed it, but is the Ed's best effort to date?
    
     Sheesh, I eat everything in sight when I'm resting. I can't imagine my
     appetite after crossing a continent!!! :-)
    
     Chip

    	Yes, this was his best so far, although, with his nutrition
    	needs sorted out, I believe he can win. He is that good and
    	he can ride like a demon when he needs to.
    
    	Fred Kresse decided, after seeing the post mistress in Pritchett,
    	CO, that he would retire there, marry her, and live happily ever
    	after.
    
    	If you've never heard of Michael Hiltner, aka Victor Vincente of
    	America, you've missed hearing about one different dude.
    
    	Ed's talking RAAM '96. I won't be with Digital then, so I'm
    	unsure if I'll even have enough vacation time to crew. Have to
    	wait and see.
    
    	Scott

    	RAAM folks added another column to the route book. Invaluable,
    	in my estimation. It was MTNT (Miles To Next Turn). Before this
    	column was added, you'd have to calculate (roughly) when the next
    	turn would occur. Normally, you don't need this info. But, when you
    	have to leave your rider to get gas (or Chapstick or food or whatever),
    	s/he needs to know what's coming up and when.
    
    	The MTNT column also decremented each time you passed a checkpoint.
    
    	So, the route book is getting better and better.
    
    	The fella that does the route takes a 2 or 3 week vacation just
    	before the race. He drives the entire route, using a tape recorder
    	to record information.
    
    	There were a few little hiccups in the route book, but nothing
    	major. Once you got the hand of it, things usually went without
    	a hitch.
    
    	Scott

    I liked his article on accurately measuring the course.  Uses an Odo to
    4 digits, does test laps to get his tires warmed up to the needed
    temperature.  A real techno-weanie.
    
    ed

    	Forgot to mention.
    
    	Over 91K feet (17 miles) of climbing.
    
    	Scott

    Oh sure... over nine days!   :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

    I like the description of the trek around Atlanta.  Now why does that
    sound familiar?  Did they throw any beer bottles?  How many dogs did he
    get?  ;-)
    
    What a ride...

    	No beer bottles or dogs to mention.
    
    	One non-RAAM rider came up behind us and asked if this was
    	RAAM. We told him yes. He asked who our rider was. We told him.
    	Funny thing was, he couldn't get up to Ed or ride with him.
    
    	If I had a choice, I'd miss Atlanta by more miles next. Another
    	person said the same thing at the post-race festivities.
    
    	Scott

    	Ed wanted to average around 340 or 350 miles a day.
    
    	He averaged 302. (2900/9.6) Not bad, but not good enough to win.
    
    	A little less wasted time around sleep would have helped
    	a lot.
    
    	If he had wasted just 8 hours less, he would have averaged 313+.
    
    	Scott

    	We had 9 folks on the crew (4 veterans and 5 new guys).
    	No crew problems at all that I know of. I think this
    	race went better than the 92 race, from the crew's
    	perspective.
    
    	Juan Ochoa gave us some concern, though. He had been out
    	cycling with his brother in Washington state when he crashed
    	coming down Mt Ranier. He broke his arm and had numerous
    	other problems, not the least of which was a huge hematoma
    	on his left hip.
    
    	Oh, yeah. Juan was riding his brother's brand new Erickson
    	road bike (10 days old). I think the frame lived but a lot
    	of components died that day.
    
    	Scott

    	One night, we stopped and set up for Ed's sleep break on this
    	long, straight section of road. That meant that we could see
    	every rider coming through from a long way away.
    
    	Well, I see this rider coming, and, from guesstimates, thought
    	it was Ed. So just as he gets to me, I say "Ed, the RV is over
    	here." Problem was, it wasn't Ed. The rider turned and shouted
    	"What?" Anyway, no harm done, but it pays to know who you're
    	shouting at.
    
    	Scott

    	While at the Carlisle TT last night, Ed indicated that Juan
    	Ochoa would be there. I asked if he would be riding. Ed said,
    	"Oh, I guess you didn't hear?"
    
    	Juan was our RAAM mechanic who arrived in California with
    	a broken arm and a huge hematoma on his left hip. He and his
    	brother were descending Mt Ranier in Washington when Juan
    	crashed.
    
    	Anyway, the bone had shifted during RAAM and was healing
    	improperly. You guessed it; back to surgery to re-break the bones
    	and re-set them.
    
    	I asked him how the hematoma was. He said it was still there,
    	although it was almost gone. Remember, this all occurred over
    	a month ago.
    
    	Scott

    	Just an FYI:
    
    		RAAM '92 cost ~ $14K
    		RAAM '94 cost ~ $18K
    
    	Scott

    	Saw Ed last Tuesday evening. We had been pondering (for
    	a couple of years) why he got bloated at the beginning
    	of RAAM (both in '92 and '94). Randy Ice, who works closely
    	with the UMCA and does all the drug testing, told Ed that
    	there were a number of riders who got bloated.
    
    	So, bloating seems to go part and parcel with ultra-cycling
    	events.
    
    	We've talked about having Ed ride 100 to 150 miles a day,
    	beginning two days before the start of RAAM. That would allow
    	us to start feeding him the large amounts of food he would later
    	need for the race. Then, if he got bloated, it would probably
    	be before the race started, and he could be over it when the
    	race actually started.
    
    	Just a thought.
    
    	Scott

    <- Hmmmm, but that doesn't explain my bloating :-)

    	Chip,
    
    	Well, no doubt about that. But, it's happened to every rider
    	I've been with.
    
    	I think it occurs because, all of a sudden, the body is consuming
    	very large quantities of food.
    
    	I wonder if the folks that use liquid diets (Pro Op or Ultra
    	Energy) have the same problems.
    
    	If I were Ed (and I'm not even close), I'd talk to some of the
    	riders I knew and see if they got bloated, and if they did, what
    	they did about it.
    
    	Cathy Ellis is close by and Nancy Raposo isn't too far away. They
    	could help some, I'd. Might be harder to get info out of the
    	other men that he has to compete against.
    
    	I guess maybe next year will be another year of experimentation.
    
    	Scott

    Yea I know that it's a different scale, but I have found that day two
    into a hard alpine trip (100+miles/day 8000+ feet) I can get very
    poorly as my body tries to come to terms with switching from sedentary
    (200 miles/week) to all out blasting.  Of course I'm just eating
    solids..

    	Rod,
    
    	That's pretty much what Ed ate this year for RAAM. We tried
    	maltrodextrin in '92, and he got bloated. We assumed it was
    	the liquid diet, so we canned the liquid and went to solid
    	food also.
    
    	John Ellis had the same problem in 1991.
    
    	It would be nice to know why this happens.
    
    	Scott

    Just an educated SWAG, but whatch otta do is up the fiber (and liquid)
    intake about a hundred notches, especially before the race.  Also the
    (vitamin something-or-other, pantothenic acid?).
    
    We are built to process some 50  to 60 grams of fiber a day.  Likley
    your guy is doing 15 to 20, although getting enough liquid.  Fiber
    intake has lots and lots to do with digestive latency, so if you have
    a digestive transit of typically 24 hours, and suddenly start cramming
    four times as much food in one end of the pipe...
    
    Increasing your fiber will decrease transit time, thus your ability to
    process the, um, crap.  Mail me for some more information...I gotta go
    (no jokes, please...) ;-)

    <- Transit time? That's great!
    
       Some days my transit time is in minutes :-) My wife thinks I have
       no digestive system... Just one straight pipe.
    
       Chip

>...switching from sedentary (200 miles/week)

I wish I could be so sedentary.