Getting Through the Desert

The adage that you can't win RAAM in the first 2 days, but you can certainly lose it, is absolutely true.  You ask any RAAM competitor and they will tell you the first 2 days in the desert are what they dread the most.  You can get behind the eight ball the very first day and it will take you 4 or 5 days to recover.  It is referred to as the 'death zone'.

In Parker AZ this year it actually hit 115.  It was so hot I could feel the heat coming up from the pavement and baking my legs as I rode.  Of course this was the time I was still sick and could not keep any food down.  So I was very weak and would only ride about 2 miles at a time.  Then I would stop and use cooling techniques to help prevent heat exhaustion.  These stops are one of the reasons I lost so much time in the 1st portion of the race.
I had promised my crew before RAAM ever began, "Get me through the desert, people.  And I will ride for you!".  They reminded me of that as we hit Colorado.