Oceanside CA- The team riders in the Race Across America began their 3,000 mile trek from the Oceanside Pier just after noon on Saturday. RAAM is an endurance bike race unlike any other, what lies between Oceanside CA and Annapolis, MD is 3,000 miles of heat turning to cold, light turning to dark, flat roads turning to mountain passes, vitality turning to exhaustion, and the chance to achieve the glory of claiming the title, RAAM Finisher.
Two time Motocross Champion, Supermoto Champion and Pikes Peak Hill Climb record holder, Micky Dymond, 7 time US National Time Trial Champion and Tour de France competitor, Dave Zabriskie, BMX Champion and 24 time X Games medalist, Dave Mirra, and finally Superbike Champion, Supermoto Champion and professional mountain bike racer, Ben Bostrom, will take on the country as Team Legends of The Road. The talent of all four seasoned athletes makes for the perfect recipe to race RAAM.
Shimano and Pearl Izumi among others have come along side the team to make it a successful race. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available. Visit the team website for contact information.
“As an endurance athlete my entire life, it has been a desire of mine to race RAAM, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to come together. RAAM takes competition to the next level and we are up to the challenge,” Comments Micky Dymond.
A large part of RAAM is the charitable component. Teammate Dave Zabriskie has a passion for educating and bringing awareness to safety on the road between cyclists and vehicles. His organization Yield to Life will be the charitable beneficiary for the team. On top of that, the team has created an opportunity for fans and supporters to become directly involved by contributing to their race efforts online and the video produced to go along side it.
In addition to the race, a video series titled Riding The Line, will follow them on their unorthodox path to compete in the Race Across America. In 2014, Riding the Line will go in-depth with each athlete, following them through their “normal” lives of competing in sports such as motorcycle racing, professional mountain biking, Ironmans, and more.
Each athlete has a carnal instinct making them push the limits every time they step into a race, no matter what the discipline. It’s this passion that Riding The Line will capture; showcasing these living legends in their various sports and coming together to compete as a team.
To follow the team in their quest to become the fastest team in RAAM visit them online at www.TheLegendsoftheRoad.com, on Facebook and follow the race at www.RideFarther.com.
RAAM Solo Race Update
While the team riders were leaving the start line in Oceanside, Christoph Strasser, was crossing the Kansas-Missouri state line over 1,700 miles from where the race began for the solo riders on Tuesday. Strasser continues to have an approximate 300 mile advantage over current second place rider Gerhard Gulewicz. The lone RAAM team that started on Tuesday was the +75 age division team of Fuzzy’s Friends and they passed the half-way point, 30 miles ahead of Gulewicz on Saturday afternoon. The solo riders had spread some distance between each other during the high desert and mountain stretches of the course but there is only 100 miles between the 2-5th place riders traveling through Kansas, Saturday night. All but one of the riders have made it over the highest elevations of the course in the Colorado high country.