Where: CVS – O’Mallia’s Parking Lot, 510 S College Mall Rd
When: Tuesday June 15 to Saturday June 19
Contact: Jim Schroeder, 260-450-2007, jimmyschweb@gmail.com
Who: BBC members to volunteer to staff the rest stop, especially Wednesday (6/16) night to Thursday night and Friday (6/18)night to Saturday night.
RAAM Blog: ts38bloomingtonin.blogspot.com
In June, over 300 cyclists will race through Bloomington as part of the “world’s toughest bicycle race”, an extraordinary athletic challenge testing racers to the utmost limits of their physical endurance, mental resilience and commitment to a cause.
Competitors in the 2008 Race Across America (RAAM) will hop on a bicycle and pedal, either solo or in a team effort, across the length of the American continent, over 3000 miles from Pacific to Atlantic, stopping to sleep only when necessary.
Along the way, they will pass 54 “Time Stations”, spaced approximately 50 miles apart, where their crew must call Race HQ to report the rider’s or team’s arrival time and any other important news.
The Time Station in Bloomington will be staffed with enthusiastic volunteers and provide a festival-like atmosphere for spectators of all ages and the traveling group of racers and crews as they pass through the community.
The toughest endurance event in the world, RAAM offers long-distance cyclists the opportunity to challenge themselves to the height of their abilities. Over 1500 cyclists have completed RAAM since its first edition in 1982. Winners completing the course in approximately 9 days as a Solo racer and 6 days as a team effort, sometimes sleeping as little as 2 hours per day. These modern day heroes brave the desert, plains and mountain weather, lead a crew in a mini-organization of support, and raise thousands of dollars for charities around the world.
“RAAM unites people of all backgrounds, nationalities, and cycling histories in an adventure that challenges them to the core of everything they are,” says Fred Boethling, who bought rights to the race in 2006, after becoming the oldest man to successfully race RAAM Solo across the country. “It’s man against the elements, the road, and ultimately, him or herself.”
Racers are expected to pass through Bloomington between approximately 7:00 pm June 15 and 2:00 pm June 19, a careful calculation made by race organizers and posted on the RAAM website at http://www.raceacrossamerica.org.
Media interested in interviews with cyclists, their dedicated crews, Time Station volunteers and race management will find them in Bloomington as they stop in town to eat and replenish supplies.
About the Race Across America (RAAM)
The Race Across America, known as the World’s Toughest Bicycle Race, will set over 250 competitors on a 3,000-mile route stretching from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. Athletes race continuously day and night, on their own power or sharing the challenge with a team, and a crew of 8 -15 people following in support cars with food and supplies for the race. These courageous adventurers brave heat, wind, thunderstorms, altitude, the dark of night, fatigue, and sleep deprivation, cross two major mountain ranges, and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity. For more information and race updates, see http://www.raceacrossamerica.org.