2017 Race Summary

Celebrating the end of the race! (Photo by Hailey Coake)

Quick Summary

Result: 3rd place in my category, 4th overall, 1st American
Time: 10 days, 2 hours, and 53 minutes
Avg speed: 3070 miles at 12.64 mph
Fundraising: $40K for H4G

Given that average speed, I would have broken the 10 day barrier on a typical 3000 mile route, but a particularly long detour this year added 70 miles to the race distance. Without the detour, my time would have been 237 hours (i.e., 9 days, 21 hours). So I’m happy to mark the sub-10 barrier off my goal list even if it doesn’t look like that in the results.

Analysis

It’s amazing how knowing what to expect makes so many things go smoother. Dealing with the heat was easier this year. Dealing with sleep was much easier. Nutrition was so much better thanks to Lauren Parrish and Brian Barnett. The things that were hard were things that we didn’t have to deal with as much in 2015 – headwinds and saddle sores.

Overall my moving average speed (15.2 mph) was about 1 mph slower than my moving average speed in 2015 (16.2 mph). That is a huge difference over the length of the race, but this was offset by the fact that I was off the bike for 25 hours less in 2017 than 2015, which netted me a race that was about 12 hours faster despite being over 70 miles longer. I haven’t tabulated all the sleep data yet, but I’m thinking total sleep was closer to 20 hours instead of 30 hours in 2015.

Highlights from the race included sprinting Svata Bozak (from the Czech Republic) and barely passing him less than one second from the summit marker of Wolf Creek Pass. Also, there was a section of Eastern Ohio, where the tailwinds really kicked up and I was super motivated to go flying through all the corn fields, and ended up ramping up the speed enough to launch over a set of railroad tracks without even really bunny hopping it. Other highlights included some amazing support from the crew with some fantastic appearances from the Flash (Lauren) and Dr. Fancy Pants (Stephen Peters) cheering me up in some really down times. Finishing riding on certain days and sleeping in a hotel even if it was only for an hour or so, was also a highlight based on how well the crew took care of me and got me down to sleep quickly.

Low points from the race included being so amazingly cold outside of Flagstaff, Arizona as well as sleep deprivation late in the race. Without a doubt, though, the two lowest points of the race were the headwinds in Kansas, and the headwinds for the last 100+ miles of the race. Another low point was a badly timed sleep that left me reeling and unable to really wake up on the bike for several hours afterwards losing a lot of ground to Thomas McKenna in eastern Ohio into West Virginia.

Many, many more details and photos will be coming soon in the next few days as I relive all the action of the race as best as I can remember it!!! In the meantime here’s a facebook live video Kristine and I did capturing some of the highlights of the race as we answered questions.

Cycle Time

Surrounded by charged fans, Brian Toone clicked his cleats in to push his first pedal stroke in the 2017 Race Across America (RAAM) at 1:14 pm Pacific Standard Time on June the 13th.  In a nonstop race to the Maryland coast, time doesn’t fit quite so neatly into a 24-hour day-night paradigm.

If you know Brian Toone, you know he loves data!  Brian is no longer a RAAM rookie so his examination of 2015 data steered strategy for this 2017 Race Across AmericaRAAM finishes are calculated by total time start to finish but often referred to as days, like 10 days in Brian’s 2015 finish.  The plan was for Brian’s first ride cycle to be thirty (30) hours followed by a three (3) hour sleep.  With a 30:3 ratio, cycling and sleeping do not fall day or night necessarily.  Brian saw sundown and sunrise before the notion of a sleep stop was near.

At 8:05 pm PST on June the 14th, Brian stopped at Time Station 07 in Prescott, Arizona; 445.54 miles in the saddle from the Oceanside, California start!  Brian was shuttled by our follow van crew to SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Prescott where he was greeted by Gabe and Team R4G for an emotional reunion [click here to read more on this from Ride4Gabe].

Our incredible but slightly worn-out Team Toone crew was finally gathered in one location again.  For Brian, sleep was SO close…his bed within sight.

Simultaneously, Brian ate from a personalized buffet planned and prepared by our nutrition teammates, debriefed with Crew Chief Jeffrey White and conducted an interview with Ride4Gabe’s Media Crew.  Brian then provided quick blood and urine samples for a research study before showering and application of podium legs [see photo above] for forty-five minutes.  Finally, Brian welcomed the sandman for a tiny sliver of well-deserved rest!

Ride cycle one was complete and the worst thing that happened was Brian being stung by a bee as he descended the “Glass Elevator” in Borrego Springs, California.  Brian’s determination through the blistering desert heat and the remarkable collaboration between our Team Toone teammates made for an exceptional start to RAAM 2017!

Please know that your comments are read to Brian over the follow van’s P.A. system.  There is a definite increase in Brian’s speed and spirit as he hears each message!  Join us on this journey by following, liking, commenting, sharing, live-tracking and visiting Ride4Gabe to learn more about the Hope for Gabe Foundation while we “Race for Accelerated Access to Medicine” in RAAM 2017.

Written by Amy White


Please watch the following videos from our charity partner, the Hope for Gabe Foundation’s Ride4Gabe 2017, and consider a sponsorship of $12 a mile to help us make a difference.

Posted by Ride4Gabe on Monday, June 19, 2017

Ride4Gabe III — The Parallels

In 28 hours, Brian Toone demonstrated what Gabe and other kids with Duchenne muscular dystrophy experience from age 3 to 12. Thank you, Brian, for allowing Ride4Gabe to tell your story and Hope for Gabe to bring awareness to everyone across America. #ride4gabe #h4g #raam2017 #endduchenne #teamtoone

Posted by Ride4Gabe on Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Race Across America Eve

It is Race Across America (RAAM) eve.  The pre-race excitement here in Oceanside, California is infectious, our entire crew has come down with it.  The butterflies in my tummy started this afternoon as I contemplated Brian Toone peddling across this beautiful country with our Team Toone Crew, Hope for Gabe Foundation’s Ride4Gabe Crew, and cycling friends worldwide supporting Brian.

As we make our way to Annapolis, Maryland we are “Racing for Accelerated Access to Medicine”; spreading Hope for Gabe Foundation’s Ride4Gabe III campaign that affects so many with rare diseases, Hope for Gabe Foundation Races Across America to Bring Awareness to 11,599% Price Increase for Children’s Drug.

Please keep Brian and our team in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this tremendous journey together.  Your encouragement and support means everything, especially when it seems as if the whole race is uphill.

Brian is scheduled to cross the start line at 1:14 pm Pacific time on June 13th, 2017.  Follow us, live track us, and join us as Brian cycles coast to coast one pedal stroke at a time in the world’s toughest bicycle race!

Written by Amy White

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Westbound

After months (and months) of planning for Race Across America 2017, our Hope For Gabe/Team Toone RV departed Hoover, Alabama heading westward Wednesday morning!

Jeffrey and I stopped at the Alabama Mississippi line for a quick selfie, meeting two truly amazing gentlemen also snapping memories at the state line.  They were from Florida, heading to Alaska by motorcycle for another adventure.  Flat Stanley was along for the ride from their local school.  Turns out, one of our new friends [see above, right] is also a bicycle enthusiast.  He knew instantly we were RAAM bound, sharing that he’d been invited multiple times to crew since he was friends with one of the RAAM owners.  We chatted about riding a bicycle over 3,000 miles, as if completely oblivious to the fact we were standing in the grass off Interstate 22.

There is something different about cyclists; we never meet a stranger, just another friend that shares the special perspective of seeing the world at a slower pace.  As Jeffrey and I walked back to the RV, we both marveled at the odds of running into fellow RAAM fans at such a random place.  We agreed coincidences aren’t really, then we trekked on feeling even more excited about our Race Across America journey.

Click here to find out more about the Hope for Gabe Foundation at www.h4g.us

Written by Amy White