Pre-Race Update: Chat with Rob

I spoke with Rob earlier today. He sounds relaxed and ready to go. The final two crew members arrive today.

The vehicles are all set up and ready for inspection by race officials (a requirement for all riders.)

I think he was planning to go to the start of the Women and 60+ Men race today at Noon PDT.

The RAAM organization held its mandatory pre-race meeting last night where all the racers are introduced and Rob, as the most senior RAAM rider (meaning he has been at it the longest, NOT that he is the oldest), was introduced first at the meeting. Rob will also be the second-to-last to start tomorrow, with Jure Robic - a previous winner - having the honor of starting last. (Each rider will start separately at one-minute intervals.)

Rob says his plan is to "just get out there and enjoy the trip. I feel great. I can't wait to see the scenery. I could not ask for a better crew so this really will be something to enjoy."

He also said that he is going to take it nice and easy during the first 48 hours and not go crazy-fast up those early climbs. (FYI - some of them, like the climb into Flagstaff, can last for 4-6 hours.)

For example - here is the profile for the segment from Time Station 8, Cottonwood, AZ, to Time Station 9, Flagstaff, which is 536 miles into the race:

That's 40 miles of nearly non-stop climbing.

So it's all systems go for a noon PDT, 3:00 PM EDT start on Wednesday, June 9.