*REPORT FROM THE ROAD: 6-17-2010 4:00 PM EDT*

I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
Poisoned in the bushes and blown out on the trail;
Hunted like a crocodile ravaged in the corn,
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
- Bob Dylan

At 3:48 PM EDT, Rob passed through the 2,323 mile mark, giving him an average of 290 miles per day. Cool!

The pace van crew (three Danbury cops today, BTW), tell me that he is focused and is now asking about finishing day and times. I told Luis that I am sticking with Sunday finish, though it's still too soon to pinpoint a time. Could Rob still finish late Saturday night? Sure, but it would take a pretty heroic effort.

As an aside - I am enjoying the current race for 4th, 5th and 6th place between Thomas Strebel, Kevin Kaiser and Tony O'Keefe. At TS 41, they were separated by less than an hour. That'll lead to some motivation (and stress) heading into the last 600 miles!

 

Also, it looks like Jure Robic has the win locked up and will probably come in some time between 11:00 PM - 2:00 AM tonight.

Rob is currently battling for 7th, with Hungarian rider Ferenc Szonyi about two hours behind him at TS 39. Rob's two RAAM finishes, in '96 and '00, were both 8th place. I know it is motivating him to better that by (at least) one place.

Can you imagine the notion of actually racing after 2,300 miles? Oy!