Tag | RAAM
Big Win At Kalispell For 4Mil and Wounded Warrior Project
Joe Arnone and Team 4 Mil, all either current or former military veterans, participated in this year’s Race Across America. Team 4 Mil outperformed all other military teams, winning the Armed Forces cup with a time of 5 days, 12 hours , and 5 minutes. The team also finished 2nd fastest in the 8 man division.
As if this accomplishment weren’t awesome enough, Arnone and team were racing to raise awareness and money for the amazing Wounded Warrior Project, a favorite organization of ours here at the Law Firm of Richard L. Duquette.
Race Across America is Here
Race Across America, known as RAAM, is underway. They’ve already announced an individual winner (Christopher Strasser, more on his win here), you can keep up with the latest scores on their official results page here.
Enjoy!
RAAM Is Upon Us: Cue The Hallucinations
The 3,000 mile trans-continental bike race known as the Race Across America (RAAM) kicked off on the first Tuesday of the month.
A little history of the event: It was started in 1982 and was first known as the Great American Bike Race. Participants began at the Santa Monica Pier and ended at the Empire State building in NYC. But as of late, participants begin the ride in Oceanside, CA and finish in Annapolis, MD.
Both solo competitors and relay teams participate in RAAM, although they’re broken up into categories. This year, the race has had 30 solo entrants (including 4 women!) and 39 teams, although who knows how many will finish the race. Because it is one of the most psychologically and physically grueling events around, drop-outs are par for the course.
You can keep up with RAAM news on their official website, although you’ll want to tune back in to our blog for the final results once they’re in.
Car Crash During RAAM: No Fault or Distracted Driver?
Chances are you have heard all about it: Team Surfing USA was taken out of the running when Jason Winn was tragically hit by the team Strong Heart crew van.
Cyclists getting hit by the vehicles with which they share the road isn’t all that rare–but something just doesn’t smell right about this collision. Team Strong Heart was jockeying with Team Surfing USA (Maui’s Laird Hamilton and other famous surfers) for first place the entire morning of the crash, and the Team Strong Heart van apparently made an unanticipated right turn directly into Jason Winn, taking him (and the team) out of the running.
Race Director Jake Zmrhal’s response to the crash was cagey and even a little suspicious. Take a look for yourself:
“The way the incident is—it was no one’s fault,” he says. “Two vehicles collided like any other time on the road, so there was an accident and there was nothing more to it than that. There was one racer who was injured and that racer is okay. There was no penalty given, because as far as we could tell no rule was broken, no law was broken, and no one was cited, therefore no one was at fault. This is the United States. There are vehicle and bike accidents everyday, and this was one that unfortunately happened during the race.”
As a lawyer with extensive bike accident experience, I see red flags all over this accident. As far as I can tell, the driver has offered no credible explanation for the wreck. I disagree with Zmrhal’s statement that “two vehicles collided like any other time on the road” and”no one was at fault.” What the driver probably isn’t admitting is that he was distracted and should have been paying better attention. So, how far should healthy competition go? When the rules of the road, law and ethics are broken, I say it’s too far.
Unfortunately, I know all about the danger distracted drivers pose to bicyclists, and you should too (i.e. all the cell phone and texting drivers I see while bicycling). Check out my website to find out more about the dangers of inattentive and distracted drivers. The information can save your life by preventing an accident.
Also, thanks to surfermag.com for the heads up on this injustice. You can read an article they wrote about the crash here.
Stay safe out there and ride defensively!
RAAM Winners!
Dani Wyss Wins the Solo Male Division
With an amazing time of 8 days 5 hours and 45 minutes–the second-fastest in RAAM history, Dani Wyss took the victory! RaceAcrossAmerica.org’s official blog has a video inverview with Dani here.
Team RANS Wins the Four Person RAAM!
With a time of 6 days 3 hours and 40 minutes Team RANS finally bested Team Surving USA to win a decisive victory.
Team Type 1 Wins the 8 Person RAAM
This young team, made up of Type 1 diabetics, took the 8 Person RAAM victory with a record-breaking 5 days 9 hours and 5 minutes.
Team All Wheels 4 Fibromyalgia Wins the 4 Person Mized RAAM
The team, racing for Fibromyalgia, finished the 3,021 mile race in 6 days 11 hours and 16 minutes. Congratulations!
RAAM Blow-by-Blow of Day 6: The Halfway Point
The halfway day for RAAM 2009 shows us a pretty grim picture: 3 new DNFs, several nasty cases of Schermer’s Neck” from 22+ hour days of constant bicycling, and body-mind fatigue. The pain is democratic, affecting all the participating bicyclists from the race leader Jurce Robic to the last place bicyclist Kevin Kaiser.
The Daily Peloton has the details about the DNFs, the digestive issues, and of course, the bicycling for Day 6!
