The Wizrd of Oz / Janet's Strange RAAM Dream

And then Glenda the Good Witch (played by Susan Sarandon) said, “Just tap your ruby red slippers three times and say there’s no place like home”. The Osprey did this fervently wishing she would be returned home from the strange place she found herself (a West Virginia mining town). Later on in the dream while attempting to karaoke to “Somewhere over the Rainbow”, Osprey was rather unceremoniously elbowed off screen by an indignant Judy Garland.



When she awoke, she was lying in a soft grassy ditch on the side of route 50, apparently having fallen asleep and veered off the road. Surrounded by her ever solicitous crew, she blinked her eyes, realized where she was and said “Wow, what a weird dream I had. Sam Beal was the Scarecrow desperately seeking a brain, Tom Miller was the Tin Man hoping for a transplant knee cartilage, and Ron Smith was the Cowardly Lion seeking the courage to finally lose his temper and snap at somebody. “



They helped her to her feet and said, well at least you’re way past Kansas. But you’ve still got a ways to go. “Alright…hard to believe all that was a dream” she sighed as she remounted her bike. Looking down to get clicked into her pedals, she did a double take as she saw she still had on ..



her red ruby slippers !! Hey, wait a minute ….


Janet/Osprey

PS Dorothy’s ‘red ruby’ slippers were originally metallic silver with stiletto high heels. However Judy Garland suffered such frequent incidents tripping and falling during filming, the stilettos were replaced with the more sensible shoes late in the filming of this movie classic. The decision to switch to red ruby slippers was undoubtedly done to highlight the use of Technicolor, the Wizard of Oz being one of the original films to first use Technicolor.

Almost Annapolis

After riding 2750 miles in 11 days and change, Janet reached a point of exhaustion that made meeting the official finishing time impossible. She is sleeping and should recover from the physical strain in a few days. We're disappointed, but not in her.

Almost to Ohio

Janet rode into Batesville, IN at 3:45am and left after what may be her last three house sleep break. She was in good spirits this morning considering the toll that 2370 miles takes on your body.
Yesterday was another fair weather-tailwind day, but steep rollers and fatigue made for an emotionally challenging day. Our luck with weather is amazing. We crossed roads in Indiana that were under water a few days ago. Almost every day we hear of bad weather ahead that dissipates before we arrive. Janet got to talk with a cycling friend and 508 veteran outside of Bloomington yesterday and it really picked up her spirits. She also enjoys hearing the comments to the blog.
We could write a book on the good karma Janet is riding with.

Kansas By Night

Today marked the half way point! The Osprey flew through time station 25 marking 1503.9 miles ridden and 1510.5 to go. The crew however could not resist stopping at the time station to briefly visit the wonderful people manning it. This station is marked by a McDonalds and the owner provides free food for the crews and riders. They also gave us water, bags of mixed nuts, bug repellent (yup there are a lot of them out here) and a huge helping of hospitality. While trying to catch the Osprey as she flew through Kansas we were delayed by a car fire between us and the day crew with Janet.

Now that we are back with Janet cruising through the state we are reading your posts to her- it is currently 12:30 PM. She is really enjoying hearing from all of you and it truly helps motivate her (not that Janet has any lack of resolve to conquer this beast called RAAM). Please keep posting so that we have more to read to her as Janet makes circles through the night. I should note that it is a beautiful night which started with a fireworks show thanks to the fire flies - way cool.

If you have a personal message that you do not feel comfortable posting here on the blog, you can always e-mail me so that I can read it to her. My address is bill-osborn@sbcglobal.net.

Hope to hear from all of you soon...

Bill Osborn
Night Crew

The night crew finally checking in

It has taken us a few days to adjust to the nocturnal lifestyle and the rigors of life in a RAAM crew van. In the beginning days the night crew nicknamed the race “Nap Across America.” When you’re following a rider who only sleeps for three to four hours per 24 hour period, the race is in constant movement and the only way to gain extra sleep hours is to grab them when you can. Fortunately we have been able to spend on average 5 hours a day (our night) in a motel room. I have to say that Janet has assembled an amazing crew and we have been working well together.

Currently we are headed into Plains Kansas with a steady headwind keeping speeds down. On the bright side the pavement is smooth as ice which Janet is greatly enjoying- especially compared to some of the other roads we have traveled thus far. Her spirits have been high and she has been joking the whole way. We are constantly trying to think of ways to keep her entertained through the night which helps ensure she stays awake! Cindy has been making lots of signs on our whiteboard, one of which you can find on the RAAM website. Tom has primarily been the driver and keeps Janet appraised of vehicles passing. I am the navigator, feeder (pass requested items to the rider from the van) and DJ for Janet. Given the terrain we travel we have run the gamut of temperatures and are continually adjusting Janet’s clothing which requires a stop. If you have been following you may have read about the solo male that crashed while changing cloths on the bike.

Through this trip we have seen an amazing variety of animals in the night. The list includes deer, elk, fox, bobcat, owl, prong-horn antelope, jack rabbits, jack asses (the four legged ones), horses, cows, and turkeys.

As I sit here and watch Janet ride, I have to say how incredibly impressed I am with her resolve and strength. No matter the conditions and terrain she pushes forward and beyond. Her focus is the finish line and I have no doubt that she will beat this RAAM course.

Check the team Osprey photo section as I just uploaded 40+ photos I have taken along the course.

Well since I originally wrote this we hit our crew switch point and we slept for four + hours. We are now sitting at the Pratt Kansas time station #25. It's a great time station with WiFi internet service, free McDonalds (the owner is running this time station) and great goodies!

Bill Osborn
Night Crew

Good Days and Great Days

Day 3 was only a good day. Janet covered 230 miles - shortest so far - on a day marked by a few small crew mistakes, hot pavement, and a dull afternoon. She rode into Monument Valley in Utah at sunset, past Mexican Hat, and a sleep break in the Road Trek somewhere out of Montezuma Creek. She had a little puffiness in the face and legs. She's tired but focused and in very good spirits (considering a new level of discomfort).

Day 4 is shaping up to be better. After a 3 hour sleep break, she rolled into Cortez Colorado and started the big highway climbs into Durango. The SW wind was gusting to 30mph on the long circular route to Pagosa Springs. Riding in wind that never abates is part of RAAM. She is trying to accept that speeds she would normally consider "slow" are actually "fast" - though it isn't easy. She has also started asking for Sustained Energy (rather bland but it works) bottle after bottle - another good sign of a RAAM rider. Puffiness in face is better but her quads are still in shock from covering 800 miles in 72 hours.

We were finally passed by Jure Robic. We have seen no other riders since Monday afternoon.

I expect her to arrive in Chama a little after midnight local. The continental divide and high point of RAAM stand between Chama and Taos, New Mexico. We look forward to more RAAM supporters in Taos.

FLAG

Janet had her first big day of climbing - 260 miles and >15K feet. We left Blythe at sunrise and commuted a few miles up I10 into the sun. The temps in E. Ariz shot up to the high 90s by late morning. She flew up Yarnell Grade at 2500 vertical ft/hr to find much cooler temps. After a 90min sleep break she continued the climbs up to Prescott, Jerome, and finally Flagstaff - for a shower and a full 3 hour sleep break.

We traded places once with Caroline though we're seeing her vans less often. The crew routine is running smoothly. After 500 miles in 38 hours, today will be a slow sore start. We depart Flag at sunrise with blue skies and 38degrees, for the Navajo Nation. Perhaps we will see the sun set in Utah today.

Chief report day 2