First Thoughts of the Morning - 6-13-2010

I am writing this, unencumbered by the benefit of facts. In other words, I have not spoken to anyone on the crew since my post last night, but here's my take based on looking at the current standings:

•  Rob needed sleep last night and took it. Based on the My Athlete tracker, he got up and over Cuchara Pass and then went down for a nap.
• Anyone who watches the Tour de France knows that on any given stage, the peloton sometimes is bunched up and other times is strung out in a long, thin line. Right now, RAAM has bunched up, except for Robic and Gulewicz, who are sort of in their own titanic death match out front. But the rest of the crowd has come together. 
• As of this morning, places 3-11, which now make up the "second group", are separated by only eight hours. "Eight hours?" you say. "That's a lot - more than 100 miles." Well, yes. But with 2,000 miles to go, there is a LOT of time for things to change, and change again and again.
• Rob is now either in 5th or 6th. The RAAM standings have Georg Payer coming into TS 19 five minutes before Rob, but Rob is still listed ahead of him. I am not sure which is the typo, but they both can't be true. No matter. It looks like Rob, Warner-Smith and Payer are glued at the hip, separated by less than 30 minutes, with Strebel and Kaiser not too far behind.
• It will be VERY interesting to see where things stand after the the Trinidad time station. That's because I am sure all of these guys, in addition to Rob, slept. With it bunched so tightly, was there incentive to make it a short sleep break? And if so, what will that cost the rider later today?

I can tell you that having so many people in his vicinity will keep Rob focused and motivated. This is not some casual charity ride across the country. This is the Race Across America, dammit! Rob knows that better than most.

The next few days will be fun to watch.

***Addendum***
Thanks to Mark Longwell, who posted a comment that explains the standings. (I had forgotten about the staggered start this year):

"Rob started "officially" at 3:48 Eastern, and Payer started "officially" at 3:26 Eastern. So Rob started 22 minutes later- and even though Payer came in 5 minutes earlier than Rob, Rob is still ahead by 17 minutes (which is reflected accurately in the overall times).

Thanks, Mark. And my apologies to the RAAM organization for questioning their data!