Since I last blogged we have endured probably the hardest stages of the whole race. Friday dawned with the mountains ahead of us before we could get to the coast.

We swapped the pairings round with Karl and myself working as the lead out team taking us through the foothills. A hot (95 degrees)4 hours later we handed over to Adam and Dan who went through the first mountain stages.

We took over for the middle section of the Appalachians late afternoon and handed back to Adam and Dan for the final push. This took us out of the mountains, leaving 130 miles to Annapolis.

At last the distance to ride was digestible and mentally we prepared ourselves for the last few hours. The mental effort to stay focused was harder than at any other stage in the race. It still made for some memorable riding.

I will never forget the atmospheric riding through Gettysberg, with a mist only allowing glimpses of the canons and battlefields beyond and the sight of the sun rising as we descended onto the coastal plain on our approach to Annapolis. Maryland is a rich, picture box state in real contrast to the wildness of West Virginia and it was wealth and lush scenery that took us on the final 50 miles to the finish. Karl and myself had handed over to Dan and Adam at this stage. We had finished our last big pull.

The sense of achievement was palpable, as we realised at last that we would be posting a decent performance. The biggest pressure we all placed on ourselves was the need to perform for others; the riders, the crew, your family, friends, colleagues, bascally you don’t want to let people down. The relief of meeting expectation leaads to a real sense of happiness at a job well done.

The victory parade took us into the centre of Annapolis where we were surprised to learn we had finished 3rd in the open 4 man category ( you have to strip out the recumbents). Surprised but mightily honoured.

Saturday was a great day as it dawned on us what the team had delivered. We were stronger and closer as a team at the end, we have forged friendships that will last, friendships that are built on mutual trust and respect.

The crew of Glyn, Chris, Ritchie, Nolly, Anna, Hugo, Andrew and our crew chief, Marco were absolutely magnificent as they drove, navigated, shopped, washed, massaged,mechaniced,planned and plotted their way across America.

We were a totally rookie crew, but this element of innocence was probably to our advantage. We prepared professionally and executed clinically. All the parts of the whole came together and the process delivered us to the finish.

The scale of the race is still washing over me 2 days after the finish, with flashbacks of different touch points happening as the mind pulls together what the body has been through. Physically and mentally we are all in good shape, weight loss being the only real visible sign of the race. In America, that is easy to fix.

At the race banquet we were awarded the best performance for a single club award, just to cap a memorable day.

We are over two thirds of the way, a day and a half racing left. The daytime shifts are tough with temperatures of over 100 degrees, really strength sapping and if the terrain is tough, difficult to maintain momentum.

We had a slight disaster today with the guys stuck for an hour and a half behind a slow moving vehicle they were closing the road for. Only ourselves and the Hoosiers were caught in it, but also luckily a race official. There may be some time dispensation at the end, but I guess that is part of the vagaries of the RAAM.

All the guys are in good spirits, set for the final push. We are changing the rider patterns to prepare for the hills of the Apellations. Dan and Adam will need to be fresh to tackle the climbs and Karl and myself will lead them out. This means that there have been some huge efforts today from the boys, a real team commitment.

Last nights ride was a blast through the flat swamp lands, a ride I will always remember with humidity over 90% but a fantastic experience.

There is a sense of togetherness that is fantastic amongst the whole team. A feeling that only an event such as this can bring.

We have coped with route changes, leaking toilets on the bus, sickness, fatigue, real lows but massive highs as the common goal comes into sight.

The days are now all merging into each other as we are into the cycle of 9 hours on 9 hours off. The days are hot, around 95 degrees as we go through Kansas and now Missouri. We have passed the first solo riders who set off on Wednesday. All respect to those guys. If we are mad then they are the masters of insanity.

We are trying to stick to our race plan and ride to a pace rather than compete with every team. On the road. Its easy to get drawn into the red and then you are blown.

We have completed around 1700 miles currently and have the challenge of the Apallations ahead.

The crew are holding together and make a massive difference for the riders. Any slight deviation off course hits the rider hugely, so to have such a competent crew makes all the difference. Part of this crew are our US drivers, Coaster and Eddie. They are also real stars who have integrated themselves into the crew, Eddie is a poker playing ex marine and Coaster is a west coast dude.

So at the moment we are on course to hit our target, but there are many miles to go…

Don’t forget to check out our updates on Flickr

Day 3 on the road and we are about one third of the way through. The scale of the undertaking has well and truly kicked in!

We are all getting used to a new lifestyle, one of riding, eating, sleeping and riding again. Sleep suddenly your best friend, with the thought of a nice warm bunk really keeping you going at the end of a 9 hour session.
We have nearly completed the rockies stage, currently in Colarado, big country.

Dan and I are getting ready for a ride through the night, from about 9 30pm through to 6 30 tomorrow morning.
All the teams are really supportive and generally there is a great atmosphere when you come across other teams on the road. The racing is now quite spread out as all the teams settle down after the initial push through Phoenix and Utah.
Everything over here is on a bigger scale, which you really appreciate when you are trying to cycle across it!
I am sat in the back of the leapfrog vehicle in a town called La Vita at the top of the Rockies. We have just finished the last big climb and will be making our way across the great plains.

Our bodies are breaking down slowly but we have a great soigneur, Andrew Evans, who is attempting to defy nature.

All the crew are doing a fantastic job; their professionalism and support is fantastic. They are driving, navigating, cooking, washing and defying their own sleep patterns just to help the riders. We are very lucky and will owe them a few beers at the end.

We are off. The team is ready and we are racing! I am sat in Follow vehicle 2 on a transfer to Lake Henshaw where Dan and myself will be exchanging with Adam and Karl.

The race started at 2pm local time with over 250 cyclists gathered in the Oceanside amphitheatre. It really is a global race with teams from Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Spain and the UK joining the US teams.

The race starts with an 8 mile parade route before the real racing begins. Teams are supposed to ride at a max of 15mph and not overtake the team in front…being British and upstanding we obviously obeyed the rules, and proceeded to have half a dozen teams up our backsides, having lost the team in front as they shot off..not cricket!

Adam and Karl have a tough start as they climb through the foothills. This has brought a slight change in plan as Dan and myself were riding to time station 2 originally, but now we will probably go onto 3 and ride a full 8 hour session in order to. Get into the routine quickly.

It’s strange to think this will not stop for 3000 miles…

Last chance saloon! One day to go, its now or never, no turning back, no chance, no way.

Still a lot to do today. The crew went to recce stage 1 and familiarise themselves with the route. The riders went with Andrew Evans, our soigneur as he started to look at our bodies with the RAAM in mind. Now Andrew has seen many fit, athletic, supple bodies in his time; unfortunately these were not the first thoughts that came to his mind when he first laid his hands on us. He could tell from the start of the massage that we were not hydrated enough, but what was really clever was he could also tell us that we were going to suffer!

We decided that for Karl in particular he would have a better career in the porn industry, thus the ‘money shot’ pose you see here, with Dan playing the part of a porn cameraman (well, reliving previous roles).

Having suffered for our art it was then time to go shopping and provision for the first couple of days. Andrew was there to quality check what went into the cart. The healthiest shop ever seen, not an E number or preservative in sight (well not in Andrews sight).

Shopping done and stashed on the bus we then got everything ready for the official inspection. All the vehicles, bikes and rider kit have to be checked and approved by the race officials before any team is allowed to race.

Pre inspection done we took the hire car back and made our way to Oceanside beach for the inspection and crew meeting.
Sat behind the Redgrave Crew at the briefing session and stared at Steves shoulder for an hour. Slight problem with the lights on the trailer held us up this afternoon but there are no major issues. We are off for our last supper (and unfortunateLy a healthy one)

The next blog will be about day one of the race, at last…

Day 3 started early, about 5.30 when the jet lag kicked in. Breakfast was followed by a crew briefing to set out the day ahead.

A full pre inspection of the bikes and vehicles was carried out before the official inspection tomorrow.
The riders and crew chiefs talked through the complexities of day one as the first 40 miles are pretty much unassisted and we want to av oid any major problems. Adam and Karl will lead out as they are the most disciplined. Dan and I would just start racing from the gun….not good with 3000 miles to go.

We all split with different jobs to do; food to buy, crew chief meeting to attend, the last member of the crew to pick up from the airport and the riders to ride part of day 1. What followed then was like the opening act of Madame Butterfly as Karl and Adam appeared looking more like Geisha girls than bike riders. Karl had caught the sun the day before, and certainly wasn’t catching it today!

The ride was good, hot as we went inland. Adam had a problem with his saddle and emergency repairs were found in a dodgy motorbike shop; all part of the experience.

Coming back to Oceanside was a stiff headwind which Dan and myself drew the short straw for.
Arriving back at the hotel we had a quick turnaround to be at the pier for the official RAAM photographs.
The Rapha team kit is drawing admiring looks and is probably not helping our cause as I am sure expectation of our performance is higher than the reality!

Post photographs was a quick trip to the local bike shop for last minute purchases. Karl was going for a new look and has become obsessed with pink (aren’t we all). The compression tights look particularly good with shorts!

The coach turned up late afternoon and so we are now complete.
Vehicle inspection tomorrow and we are then ready to race: at last!
The crew have done a great job all we have got to do is ride the bike.

Day 2 dawned bright and early at around 5am (jet lag still not over). Kit sorted again and then breakfast with the crew. Registration at Race HQ followed and a chance to meet some of the other teams in the race. The RAF boys looked pretty bling in their white kit (its the new black) and the 2 man team velocity ( firemen)looked fit and raring to go.

The bikes were built, the vehicles stickered and bike racks fitted. Safety compliance is a big issue in the RAAM and each team has to pass a full inspection before they can start the race.

We then watched the start of the mens solo race. These are the real hard men who are riding every one of the 3000 miles; respect.

The weather in Oceanside was ok, around 80 degrees, but inland on the first day route it was over 100 at 7 at night!

The riders then went out for a ride in the afternoon; a 2 hour blast down the coast road to stretch the legs and get rid of the jet lag. There were lots of other riders out on the road and it ended up being slightly quicker than planned (all good).

So we are all in good shape and on schedule. Having seen some of the competition we have got our hands full but that’s why we are here.

Some early pics…

Arrived safely in US, amazing that after 24 hours of travelling you cannot sleep. Woke at 5am re packed and went to visit our Sharp Direct operation in San Diego. Very impressive and an interesting meeting. Back in the car to drive to LA airport to pick up the rest of the crew, which is where I am now.

Weather is hot and close. Clothing advice for this type of weather is to wear light coloured, loose fitting clothes; so skin tight black lycra sounds like a good choice!

Logistics start with a vengeance tomorrow. Let’s hope the bikes arrive in one piece!

We have teamed up with Zero, the US equivalent of the Prostate Cancer charity and they are running a face book campaign and other media activity throughout the race. This is a great chance to raise awareness and money whilst we are over here. Let’s see if we can hit the US in the pocket.

Paul