Hey Callistus

Does RAAM permit recumbents? Nobody seems to ride them in the event.

"Carl Sundquist" wrote in message
...
Does RAAM permit recumbents? Nobody seems to ride them in the event.
------------
Bents, as well as unicycles are allowed in RAAM, I think. You have to
qualify first, you just can't just show up with whatever and say I want to
do RAAM with this trike I just built, so that pretty much limits the designs
you'll see. Personally I'm not a bent fan, because I just think from a
visibility point of view (cars), they look dangerous to me. You could use a
flag, etc, but the ones I've seen in long distance events never use them.
In RAAM, you have a car following you, so that minimizes the danger, but
that's the only long distance event I can think of that mandates that. For
instance in RUSA events, it's against the rules to have a support vehicle,
which means your stuck out there on your own. But I'm speaking from total
ignorance, on bents. Because I always get this line from people about how
they would never do night riding for the same reason. I found out it's
safer at night (from cars), from my experiences. First, there are a hell of
lot less cars at night, especially in the early morning hours where you
usually have the road to yourself. If you have good lights on the back (I
have 3 good back lights, with good batteries), reflective stuff on the bike
and on you, a car will see you quite a ways off. I've never had a close
call at night, and I ride almost daily in the dark, but I've had zillions in
the day time. The only problem is that LED lights, are still not there for
a 30 mph descent. But some have better eyes than I do, or they're braver,
but I just gotta have time to react to road hazards, which just isn't there
with an LED at greater than 30 mph. Can't use the high power lights, with
rechargeble batteries, because you ride all night, and you can't recharge
them, and they weigh too much. The problem with LED, is as of now, they
can't focus them enough to get a spot way down the road, like you need in a
descent. If you descend, and you get a car coming the other way with their
highbeams on, your lost with an LED.

from velonews:

Getting 'bent at RAAM
Consider how few Americans are are competitive cyclists. Now ponder how many
of those few will ever do RAAM. Finally, how many of that tiny group will
ever do it on recumbents?

We're talking a very small group here - recumbents make up less than 1
percent of all bike sales - which makes the race unfolding between Team
Velokraft and Bachhetta B Team / Military Families Foundation in the
two-rider-team category all the more interesting.

Team Velokraft, currently leading, rode through Yates Center, Kansas, about
an hour ahead of the Bachhetta riders. Team Velokraft's lead, which they
took Friday evening, was a long time in coming. The team has endured three
crashes. The first was what crew chief David Bradley describes as a
"first-night, adrenaline-type thing." Recumbents can be a bit unwieldy at
low speeds, and it seems Glenn Druery took off and powered up before he
really had the bike pointed straight and went down. Happily, the only damage
was to his bike shoe.

The second crash came later that night. "Driving the follow car I was having
a hard time myself dodging all the roadside debris in the dark," said
Bradley. "But I was amazed at how many pieces of debris the riders were able
to avoid. Glenn especially. He's more at one with the bike and moves it like
a mountain biker. Anyway, Tim Woudenberg was going about 25 mph, and got
into the gravel trying to avoid debris and went into a slide and went down,
chewed up his elbow pretty good."

Team Bacchetta's machines have a fairly standard (for a recumbent) position

Druery's bike-handling skills weren't much help in the worst crash. It
happened on Interstate 10 when a front tire blew out at 40 mph. "There was
this big puff right in the headlights as the tire blew," Bradley said. "He
went down on one side and was skidding along pretty good when the edge of
the rim catches traction and flips him over onto the other side, the
derailleur side. So sparks are flying. It was pretty spectacular."

Asked how he fared, Druery deadpanned, "Well it hurt. In fact, it hurt a
lot." He's fine now, though there was some muscle bruising.

"It slowed his pace over the next 24 hours," Bradley said. "His road rash is
all scabbed over now. So performance-wise he's back up to normal speed."

The bike suffered considerable damage, too. The derailleur was reduced to
shrapnel; the chain idler system was chewed up. The wheels were wobbly but
savable - the team mechanic, Fernando, was able to true them up fine. The
tires, however, were done. High-performance 20-inch tires and the idler
pulleys that the Velokraft bikes use can't be found in just any bike shop.
So the team had some Fed-Ex'ed to the time station in Pratt, Kansas.

All this put the team two and half hours behind Bacchetta at the worst
point. But they turned up the throttle to close in and pass.

While both teams are serious about their racing, they're also friendly
rivals. Back in Oceanside before the start, Druery and John Schlitter hopped
on each other's bikes and did laps around the parking lot. Velokraft's crew
chief, Bradley, actually owns a Bacchetta, and will be crewing at the Race
Across Oregon for Bacchetta.

"It's like a family," Bradley says of the recumbent endurance-racing world -
a world he predicts will get bigger in the coming years. "The concept that
recumbent can't climb comes from the early days when they weighed 30 pounds
and were ridden by old men with potbellies and beards." (Bradley sports a
beard and a slight gut.)

Consider that this year's 24 Hours of Sebring in Florida was dominated by
recumbents and his prediction begins to make sense. We may be seeing more of
these laid-back machines in the future.

Carl Sundquist wrote:
Does RAAM permit recumbents? Nobody seems to ride them in the event.

How would you hook up the helmet strap?

Bob Schwartz

On Jul 9, 9:38 am, "Callistus Valerius" wrote:

Consider that this year's 24 Hours of Sebring in Florida was dominated by
recumbents and his prediction begins to make sense. We may be seeing more of
these laid-back machines in the future.

Ever been to Sebring? It's absolutely flat and made for recumbents.
Bring those recumbents up here to Tallahassee, where we have what
passes for hills in Florida, and I'll guarandurntee you they wouldn't
be so dominant.

On Jul 9, 8:59 am, "Carl Sundquist" wrote:
Does RAAM permit recumbents? Nobody seems to ride them in the event.

That's pretty interesting. I have never ridden a 'bent, but it does
seem like a good tool for the job once you get to flatter areas. Not
only for the usual 'bent aero and comfort arguments but also the
significantly lower potential for getting broken during a sleep-
deprivation crash. Besides, I don't believe you're riding in a pack
during RAAM.

/s

In article
et,
"Callistus Valerius" wrote:

"It slowed his pace over the next 24 hours," Bradley said. "His road rash is
all scabbed over now. So performance-wise he's back up to normal speed."

Have they not heard of Tegaderm(TM) dressings? Do not
let wounds scab up. Clean well, slap it on. They keep
the wound moist, but are permeable to ambient O2. You
shower with them, and keep them on for a week.
This is an actual medical advance.

--
Michael Press

In article
et,
"Callistus Valerius" wrote:

"Carl Sundquist" wrote in message
...
Does RAAM permit recumbents? Nobody seems to ride them in the event.

[RAAM recumbent account elided]

Sounds like RAAM recumbent bicycles have problems remaining upright.
Did the RAAM diamond frames manage better?

--
Michael Press

On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:38:27 GMT, Callistus Valerius wrote:

Getting 'bent at RAAM
Consider how few Americans are are competitive cyclists. Now ponder how many
of those few will ever do RAAM. Finally, how many of that tiny group will
ever do it on recumbents?

That argument doesn't make much sense, since competitive cyclists are
normally prevented from using recumbents, and they're not representative
of bicycle purchasers. But anyone looking to do well in a
very-long-distance event would be silly not to consider one, if they were
allowed.

"Carl Sundquist" wrote in message
...
Does RAAM permit recumbents? Nobody seems to ride them in the event.

More boredom added to an already dreadfully boring event? Who cares?

A more important question is whether a typical RAAM breakfast table looks
like this or not:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6131132

Greg
--
Ticket******* tax tracker:
http://ticketmastersucks.org/tracker.html

"Dethink to survive" - Mclusky

On Jul 9, 8:00 pm, "G.T." wrote:
"Carl Sundquist" wrote in message

Does RAAM permit recumbents? Nobody seems to ride them in the event.

More boredom added to an already dreadfully boring event? Who cares?

This from the person with nothing to add on anything at all.

A more important question is whether a typical RAAM breakfast table looks
like this or not:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6131132

Have you always aspired to being a one-trick pony? The humor is
lacking, and apparently the creativity as well. Do try harder.

R