Congratulations, John!

This guy is amazing! (But it's not John)

David Jones is 62 years old and is about to finish RAAM. He is an amazing cyclist and kudos to him for his achievement!!! I hear that John and David had a great time competing against eachother.

JOHN MADE IT !!!!!!!

FIRST in the 50+ Solo RAAM competitors

FIRST Solo Recumbent to complete RAAM

TOP TEN (9th!) Overall SOLO RAAM finish as Rookie Solo


Congratulations John and crew.

446.7 Miles to go

John and crew have a very long ride ahead of them tonight. Please send them cyberfuel to fight off the sleep demons.

Jure Robic Finishes First

Jure Robic is a machine!!! He rides for the Slovenian Armed Forces and is a four time RAAM champion. Kudos to him....he is a phenomenal racer!

505.6 miles to go

John is the EverReady bunny...just keeps on going. They should finish early Thursday am. They are all running on fumes. Needless to say, Dennis is really looking forward to coming home to a soft bed and his two furkids!

Tortoise and the Hare

You guys all know the story. John is reeling in his competitors and moving up the ranks. 721.6 miles to go and still strong!

Monday, day 8

I talked to Dennis earlier today, and John is riding strong! He's actually increasing his pace and moving up through the ranks. He should be arriving at Bloomington, IN any minute in 9th place overall. His goal is to be the first recumbent rider to complete RAAM, and it looks like he will be successful.

On a sad note, there is an amazing guy named Beny Furer that had to withdraw 1854 miles into the race. This guy was racing with one arm. He withdrew because he lost use of his remaining hand and could not control the bike. Wow!

More pics and videos of JS in KS!!!

More pics and videos of JS in KS!!!

Sunday

I talk to Dennis briefly whenever he either has time or cell phone coverage, and he's hanging in there. They all are very, very tired. They are over half way there and most of the climbing is behind them... approaching Jefferson City, MO. I haven't heard from Dennis yet this morning, but hopefully the weather is a little warmer. Yesterday he said he had not been warm in 48 hours. I'm hoping to add a link to the Bacchetta blog. Dennis and Troy are reading the comments to John over the PA at night to keep him awake and to motivate him.

Now its cold!

After the blazing heat, the team suffered through the cold last night. John is keeping a pretty good pace, but they have a long night tonight. Anticipated lows in Chama, NM is 30 with gusting winds. Several guys have pulled out of the race due to accidents or medical reasons. John seems to be holding up ok, but there is still a very, very long race to go.

On the bright side, referrals came from China this week and we're up to Jan 20, 2006. We're getting closer...day by day.

John is back!

After a rough start, John is strong! He made it through the heat of the desert and Dennis said that he looks energized. Let the race begin!!!

It was a long night! John was really struggling through the heat and didn't have much reserve for the night. He took more breaks than scheduled, but he's still in the race! Recumbent riders are really challenged the first half of the race with the climbing, but really soar coming down the mountains and through the plains. Let's just hope John gets through the next few days!

Prescott, AZ

John came through at 22:39 EST. He had a nap, so I suspect he's energized and ready to roll!

RAAM 2008 Route

Here's the route.

John should be checking in at Prescott, AZ which is 400 miles into the race, just 2600 miles to go!

Feelin' the pain

I talked with Dennis earlier tonight and he said the heat is brutal. It was 103 at 10am and the riders are all suffering. At this point, the goal is to get through the desert and the first climb through the mountains. Dennis is driving the chase vehicle at night, and he has to position John 2-3 feet off his front bumper all night. It's not so bad going uphill, but at night coming down through the mountains John should be pacing at about 60mph. Are they crazy?????

It looks like John is behind if you look at the stats, but he took a sleep break. Thankfully, the crew took a break too. Dennis took a 3 hour nap and will drive all night again tonight.

Time Station 1

John is 38 minutes behind the leader, Jure Robic at TS-1. Robic rides for the Slovenian army....that's his job. He is accompanied by a Sovenian military crew. Quite the athlete.

RAAM - Race Across America > 2008 Race Report

RAAM - Race Across America > 2008 Race Report

Sorry guys! Some of these posts are for Dennis so that he can quickly access data. He has spent several hundred hours developing a pacing program and his internet access may be sporadic. This is a link to the start times. John should be passing through Time Station 1 (TS1) any minute now. Apparently anything in orange is a link and you click on it. Dad had a question about comments, and I think you just click on the word and post.

The Race begins!

It's that time of year again. Dennis is crewing for John Schlitter #144 who is attempting RAAM solo on a recumbent. If he is successful, he will be the first to accomplish this amazing record. I'm attempting this blog to bring family and friends highlights of the race but my posts will be short, I promise!