By Redgrave Crew Racer Peter McConnell
It’s nearly two weeks since returning to the UK and nearly 3 since RAAM ended, yet it’s still the most dominant event in my life at the moment. Either people asking me how it went, offering congratulations, asking how Steve is or wanting to see photos. And I’ve just rebuilt my bike and been on my first ride since returning home.
From a little bit of distance it’s much easier to be satisfied with what we achieved. A group of former rowers of varying fitness, only one used to the demands of road cycling, crossing the breadth of the United States of America in 7 days 3 hours and 42 minutes. At the time I was disappointed, which sounds disingenuous, however I was tired, emotional and pumped with adrenalin. We’d just experienced Steve’s crash half a day earlier, our decision making had become fuzzy due to exhaustion amongst riders and crew and we’d relinquished our 4th place in the race. I was deeply disappointed by that and found it difficult to feel as elated as some of my team mates about finishing.

Nick & Nev on the road, somewhere in Colorado
This race reignited a competitive instinct in me that had been dormant for many years, I put every ounce of effort in that I could to make sure we were riding at speed and was convinced we could get higher up the leader board. Yet looking back we still ended 8
th having taken a night off following Steve’s accident, we still completed the race, albeit without one of the team and we still made it well under our original target of 8 days. It’s amazing how once we knew we were competitive we all switched into a different mentality. A mentality that meant we lost sight of our original objective. I should be and I am satisfied with what we achieved, but I have this feeling of unfinished business and know that if we were to do it again we could achieve much more.
So how did we manage to do so well given my earlier comment about being former rowers with varying fitness. I think this is down to 4 factors; we trained together as a team as often as we could, putting in a lot of mileage both on the track and around the Chilterns and parts of Hampshire forming a strong team spirit. We had an outstanding group of people in our crew who enabled the riders to concentrate on riding their bikes, indeed the race was probably harder on them than it was on us racers. We had practiced our strategy and rider changes for day and night and they worked magnificently during the race. Lastly that residual rowers competitiveness and latent fitness re-emerged which pushed us ever onwards.
As I have written previously our strategy as an eight man team was to divide into two teams of four, each team racing for periods of 6 hours with the rider on the road changing as often as necessary during that six hours. Remember we only needed to keep one racer on the road at any one time, which meant that we could ride relatively short stretches before making a change, enabling us to keep the speed up and for riders to get some rest during the 6 hour stretches.
While one team was out on the road with a support car and at night or in busy conditions with a follow vehicle, the second team would be in one of our two RV’s, eating, sleeping and travelling to the next rendezvous. Because of the distances involved in most cases, it meant that the riders were trying to sleep while the RV was travelling, an experience not to be recommended. Because of this strategy it was also very difficult for the support crew to get any good quality sleep, or indeed enough food.

Just about to change riders from Pete (incoming) to Nev with Tim & Joff looking on
We alongside many other teams were hampered by the surprising lack of mobile phone coverage in the States, which was intermittent at best, completely nonexistent at worst. This caused us numerous problems with arranging rendezvous and changeover points, especially on the penultimate day when everyone was very tired. To compound this, our CB radio’s would only work within a few miles of each other and then not at all in the hills and mountains! Next time I recommend satellite phones, they may be expensive but could be a life saver.
Our two riding teams were: Joff, Nick, Nev & Pete in one and Steve, John, Malc & Francis in the other. We knew that one team was liable to be quicker than the other and probably more able to cope with the mountains, and while this was the case it was a total team effort with everyone making valuable contributions.
I was in the team with Nick, Joff and Nev, where we largely rode between 2pm & 8pm and then again from 2am to 8am. We were lucky, and I think the other guys realised this, in that we rode into every sunrise and saw every sunset, most of which were very beautiful. We also seemed to get some of the cooler parts of the day. Though I was astonished by just how hot America is absolutely everywhere apart from the coast of California.
It is also worth mentioning that the race is as much an exercise in navigation as it is in riding. Teams follow a specific route as specified in the 60 page route book Mostly you are on smaller roads and at times the instructions can be complicated. (Here’s a link to it if you really want to see how complicated the route is http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/userfiles/file/RAAM2010-directions(Final)1.pdf ). We also had to call in at 55 separate time stations along the route, and expect to be checked by numerous RAAM officials to ensure we were following all the rules, anywhere along the road.
Our racing strategy was to change rider approximately every 3-4 miles; in the mountains we changed rider even more often. While climbing the Rockies up to Wolf Creek Pass we changed around every hairpin, often after only ½ mile or less. Adopting this approach worked fantastically well, enabling us to overtake numerous other teams with their longer change strategies.
A strategy like this wouldn’t have been possible without great back up from the team in the cars with us, catching incoming riders, moving bikes around and finding the right parking spot. My team is particularly indebted to Tim, Alex, Frank, Richard and Jim W who worked like a well drilled F1 pit crew. I know Steve’s team feel the same about Dan, Stuart, Tom, Jim R, Reman and Clare.
While thanking people I’d also like to say a big thank you to Serena who fed us fantastically well, (though I still can’t face another bowl of porridge), in incredibly challenging conditions, while keeping her RV tidy and facing it all with wit and humour that every one of us appreciated. Plus of course our Crew Chief Justin who performed miracles in incredibly challenging circumstances and who has some hair raising stories that are still emerging! Finally of course we owe a lot to Marie whose planning, common sense and incredible driving while pregnant and hot was inspirational.
What then are my highlights of this adventure:
- Meeting the Red Bull girls before the race and blagging the elixir, without whom John would never have made it.
- The emotional feeling of trepidation before hitting the road on day 1 and seeing numerous teams race past Nev and I, only to meet them at the first set of traffic lights.
- The unbelievable view of the vast desert plain from the top of the Sierra Nevada mountains, as Nev raced down the first big descent known as the Glass Elevator.
- The surprise of overtaking teams while climbing up the Rockies and knowing that we wouldn’t see them again.
- Whooping like a banshee as I rode into Utah then seeing the sunrise in the last miles of Monument Valley while Alex practised his cricket strokes at the changeover.
- Knowing exactly where the rest rooms were going to be in every Wall Mart.
- Laughing about how a bend in the road would be appreciated in Kansas, after 130 miles without one.
- The double rainbows by the side of the road, though I have no idea where we were, possibly Colorado.
- The sound of Indian drums early in the morning that turned out to be water pumps in the desert.
- Nick having his heels snapped at by dogs.
- The unexpected beauty of the hills in Ohio
- Watching Joff’s huge descent and having no idea where we were
- Seeing the remarkable courage and effort of all the solo riders. Theirs is a much harder and more brutal challenge than ours, one that evokes a vast amount of admiration. Whenever we passed a solo we made sure to give them a huge cheer and round of applause.
- Crossing the half way point at 1500 miles with all four of us out on the road.
- Getting off the ground and being bandaged by Nev having come a cropper on railroad tracks shortly after the halfway point, determined to carry on.
- The giant donuts that revived our energy one day, thanks Tim.
- Seeing Frank dive the LD4 in and out of huge ditches without a care in the world.
- Cycling at 25mph through the unbelievable Gettysburg battlefield site on the last day, loving the best road of the race and shooing tourists out of the way.
- The rolling countryside of Maryland and West Virginia, just like the Chiltern’s but with more churches.
- Meeting the challenge of the Appalachians for 10 hours in 30 degree heat, out of contact with the rest of the team and loving every minute.
This was followed soon after by the low light of the race. We eventually handed over to Steve’s group somewhere between Keyser, WV and Cumberland, MD, and after quickly eating we started to travel in the RV. Coming around a corner only about ½ an hour after we had changed over we saw ambulances, police cars and a fire engine in the middle of the road. John and Francis were there as was Reman, but no sign of Steve. He was still lying on the ground, blood covered his face, his index finger was pointing the wrong way and he wasn’t saying much. It transpired that he had a puncture in his front wheel while descending a hill and met the ground with hand, arm, chest and face. 19 stone at speed creates quite an impact and the upshot was a two night stay in hospital, concussion, 3 broken ribs, dislocated finger, broken wrist and fractured cheekbone.
Steve’s crash changed everything. The whole team was already tired, the crew more so than the riders. In fact that morning unknown to my team who were out on the road, half the crew had gone on ahead to get some rest, unable to drive safely any more. Emotions were very close to the surface and we took our time to make a decision about what to do next.
From my point of view I was torn. Part of me was exhausted and wanted to make sure Steve was OK, but having just put in a marathon effort in the steepest section of the whole route, I was loath to see other teams come past again. I personally decided to go with the group, decision, but there is part of me that wonders what would have happened if the remaining racers had carried on with only 230 miles remaining.
So at this point we took the night off for the first and only time. We ended up camping in a car park, the only time we got the tents out, and a welcome opportunity to get 6 hours sleep.
On the day following Steve’s crash we carried on, but with 5 of us rotating. Malc had stayed with Steve, while Francis deputised for some of the day as a driver as we still had to meet the second RV and support crew. This was a strange day, I felt we had had the stuffing knocked out of us and while we raced the first 100+ miles we then slowed right down with all of us out on the road in order to meet Malc,(who had hired a car and driven the 200 miles from Cumberland), in a car park just before the last few miles.

The team out on the road in Maryland on the final day
Riding into Annapolis that evening I was torn between what could have been and what we had achieved. However the welcome from the people of the town and supporters down at the harbour was phenomenal. It is always a great experience to be clapped and cheered for any endeavour, and this was most unexpected and very welcome. I think all 7 of us on the stage and everyone in the crew at the end were elated but thinking of Steve who I know was upset and disappointed not to be there.
The good news is that Steve is improving rapidly. He had an operation on his damaged cheek last Wednesday and will have a neat scar behind his right ear, but he certainly looks much better than he did a week earlier. He has also achieved part of his objective and lost some weight!
Would I do it again? Oh yes! With the knowledge gained from doing it once, the second time could be an even better experience. Don’t tell my wife but you may see the Redgrave Crew back in the Race Across America in a couple of years.

The Redgrave Crew celebrate after the end of RAAM