Cycling: Race Across America - Day 3 updates

Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 05:50 PM

Kevin Wallace from Gears' Bike shop in Mississauga continues his epic ride across
the U.S.A., in what most experts consider the toughest race in the world. Follow this great story each day, exclusively here at www.MyNextRace.com

The following are excerpts from Kevin's support crew....

Ron Mitchell


Not exactly sure when or where Monday started, but it was a lonely and dark part of northern Arizona , east of Tuba City. After sunset, the warm breezes remained, no respite for Kevin.

Navigation challenges in Prescott and Flagstaff left us all without much opportunity to rest. Now Kevin was about to encounter the same challenge.

I have crewed for Kevin and others on epic rides since 2003. I have seen when one of them goes to their limit and needs to stop. Nonetheless, it was shocking in a way to see him get off his bike and simply look for a place to lie down. It was by the side of the road. We got out the air mattress and sleeping bag. He just wanted to rest. He did, then we got him into the bus. In 10 minutes he was out again and ready to go. But without the real deep rest and recovery that he needs after this many miles, it wasn’t long before he just stopped.

It was on a relatively flat section, but very deceptive… a 3% grade for 30 miles, up an alluvial plain toward Kayenta, AZ. The grade was playing games with Kevin. He kept drifting out into the lane to have a long hard look back down the road. He was trying to understand why it felt so much like uphill, when it looked flat. But 3% for 30 miles is not flat.

He finally stopped and climbed into the Follow vehicle and fell into a deep sleep right away.

Jack, Larry and I had a 45 minute break to take in the desert at night… quiet, peaceful, not a breath of wind. The odd car passing, approaching from an eternity in the clear dark night, then passing with a roar of tire on pavement.

Occasionally, another rider would pass, their speaker systems blaring. Fabio Biasiolo’s crew was pumping out 90’s disco, Tony O’Keefe, the other Canadian soloist, was playing some funk rock country thing. Another Italian rider had his female crew member seemingly reading the news and weather reports from Italy. The desert is known for its odd collections, and here we were, strangers in a strange land, adding to the myth.

Purpose and energy are a perfect partnership. Doing something that means something makes it easy to find the energy to keep doing it, denying the undeniable needs and urges. Genuine excitement and anticipation can have the same effect. The upcoming 5 AM drive through Monument Valley was something I would not miss, despite the fact that it was scheduled to be my 2-hour down-time within the previous 24 hours.

It was amazing to see these huge monoliths, reaching to the sky like the overdone basilicas of Europe in the 1500 and 1600’s. It’s not hard to understand why the Native Americans of this area revere and respect the spirits that gather here. Their strength is inspiring. Kevin pushes on through Valley of the Gods, another landscape that engenders belief and imagination.

And so there it is… energy and purpose, nature and inspiration, excitement and denial. We experience this all over the course of 24 hours. In the end, recovery and rest cannot be denied. As Kevin does, so do we all.


Mike MacMurray


I’m amazed by Kevin’s resiliency. He got off his bike earlier today, his voice hoarse and his arms a reddish brown. He looked…well, cooked. Done to a turn by the sun and the cycling. I was a bit worried that he’d given too much of himself out there.

But, as he stepped out of the bus to get back on the bike, he was smiling and laughing. He gave me a little pat on the back as he headed over to where his bike was waiting. Hour after hour of punishing riding and there was no hesitation about going back for more.

He clipped in and headed off down the road, another day farther from Oceanside and another day closer to Atlantic City. Go Kevin!


Mike Kolesar


I find that when following Kevin in the Follow Vehicle (FV) you get one impression – that you are part of a “microcosm” that involves you and the rider. But when I catch a glimpse from the Support Vehicle of Kevin against the scenery I get a true feeling of the enormity of the ride, of man against the world. It is both humbling and impressive at the same time.

I find that when there are no other competitors around it is possible to lose sight of the fact that this is a race. There is less a feel of competition. Instead, it is more Kevin (or man) against the distance, against nature.


Dr Pat Hewitt

What can I say? Today we started to work better as a team. Kevin bounced back from 54 hours of nearly non-stop cycling…awesome!

RAAM is a race of the heart… RAAM is not NASCAR. It’s not an Ironman. It’s not Tour de France. It moves (often anonymously) through the country – on bad roads seldom used, through towns skipped by the freeway…

The juxtaposition of such a supreme effort where the audience is nine-tenths on the net and back at home is bizarre…if a tree falls in the forest and no one knows…

The veteran officials continue to badger and bemuse themselves with Kevin…what he intends to do and how he intends to do it is not even on their radar…

It’s not for glory…it’s definitely about guts…RAAM is about an individual’s quest within the context of a team, a race and a charity.