I’ve been going over the route book, 12 hour time sheets, sleep breaks, etc. trying to figure out why I was so close on the bubble of finishing RAAM. It didn’t take long to discover where it happened. The worse leg of RAAM for me was around Parker AZ. As I neared Parker in early afternoon, the temps were already in the 100’s. I was weak, dehydrated and very tired. I had lost 14 lbs since starting RAAM due to dehydration, emesis and diarrhea.
I had 5 episodes of diarrhea in Bessie while at Parker. Conice injected an IV. I actually couldn’t tell much immediate relief. Even though I didn’t get to sleep, this break still cost me about 90 minutes
By the time I left Parker, the air temp was 112 – 115. I have no idea how hot it was coming off the pavement. I just know I could feel the heat baking my legs as I rode. I was genuinely concerned about heat stroke. I would only ride for a couple of miles at a time. Then I would get in the a/c of the car, put cold towels around my neck and do anything else I could do to try to keep my core temp down. Of course I was still sick and weak during all of this. We decided to try to sleep during the heat. I went down for an hour.
It is 107 miles from Blythe, CA to Salome, AZ. It took me nearly 13.5 hours. That is only 7.92 mph. Even being sick, I had averaged 12 mph from Oceanside to Blythe. Parker is definitely where I nearly lost RAAM.
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