Team Wolcott

For the past decade or so, the UltraMidWest 24 Hour race has been held on Labor Day weekend in Port Byron, IL. It was at this race last year that Keith qualified to do RAAM by completing 400 miles in 24 hours without drafting. We had planned to return to Port Byron this year and both do the race, Keith in preparation for RAAM and Ellen to experience another 24 hour race. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled, mainly because of health reasons on the part of one of the directors.

To honor the two couples who founded this race, a group of racers organized an informal version of the UltraMidWest 24 Hour race. There were no numbers or entry fees, but the school where it has always been based was rented again and racers were asked to donate money to honor the founders, the Parkers and the Jamisons. Even though we had only been to the race once, we were glad to return and participate. Friday evening before the race, a group of us met for dinner at a local pizza shop. There we met and conversed with some fellow bikers, several of whom have participated in RAAM as either crew, rider, or both. We heard many RAAM stories and gathered lots of ideas to consider in planning our RAAM.

As for the race itself on Saturday, about 20 riders showed up at the start. There are three loops for the race – a 53 mile loop, a 20 mile loop, and the short night time loop of 8 miles. Riders were free to ride whichever loops they wanted to. Ellen just wanted to do a century, so she started with a long loop, took a modified version of the middle loop, and finished with the small loop for 102 miles. As the day wore on, there were fewer riders out on the loops. Keith rode with Paul Carpenter the whole time. They worked together to make their goal of 400 miles. They did 404 miles in 23 hours. Earlier in the week, the weather predictions had called for a high of 96 on Saturday, but fortunately that was revised to 86. Most of the day was overcast – a real blessing. The high was 85 which was hot enough to cause Keith a lot of trouble with dehydration despite the fact that he took in fluids constantly. As it cooled off in the evening, he recovered. Several other riders were out after midnight, but only Keith and Paul went for 23 hours. It was a good training ride for both of them. Keith got to practice another aspect of RAAM – sleeping in the screen tent on a thin pad. He got a 30 minute nap before the presentation ceremony for the Parkers and Jamisons.

Arizona Road Report - Day 1

Report for day 1 (we'll post an overall report on the Team Wolcott page eventually - don't feel mentally capable of doing so now.) I'll try to make this concise. Keith started out at 4:45 a.m. yesterday from Congress. The first thing he got to do was the Yarnell grade, a seven mile climb. It gave him no trouble. (The photo below was after he had cleared the grade.) There was more climbing to the first time station of the day in Prescott, but he made it in good time. Unfortunately, we lost some time when we missed each other at the time station. The next time station was in Cottonwood. Keith made good time getting there. He had a flat tire shortly after that. We passed through Sedona, AZ on our way to the time station in Flagstaff. The road between those two was very busy and not much shoulder. The switchbacks going up to Flagstaff were tough, but manageable. We got lost in Flagstaff, so we lost some time there. The next time station at Tuba City was 70 miles away, but mostly downhill. Keith went to within 15 miles of it, stopping at 7:30 when it got dark and he had made 200 miles. He climbed 17,000 feet in that time. My day was very hectic. I could not be driver, navigator, and foodie all at once, but I did my best. We were both pretty tired when we drove into Tuba City. I had the phone numbers of the four hotels in town. Three were full. The fourth was an Inn that seems to be associated with a school. We had our own room, but the bathrooms were down the hall. No wi-fi, so no reporting last night, not that I could have. It had taken us an hour to find the Inn. We had no dinner, but just ate what we had in the car and hit the sack.

Arizona Road Report - Day 2

Report for day 2 - We were up at 4 a.m. this morning. Keith began by changing the flat from yesterday and replacing his rear tire as the tread was worn. We had a REAL meal at McDonalds for breakfast (I had to drive around the four horses wandering down the middle of the street to get there.) He got off at 6:23, heading for the time station at Kayenta, AZ, 72 miles away. He got another flat early on, but I was close by to swap out the wheels. I got to practice changing the flat tire. Today was much less hectic for me, probably because there was little navigation to do, just stay on the same road. I would leapfrog ahead of Keith two miles, wait for him to go by, wait 10-15 minutes and repeat. The first fifty miles of the route was a climb, though not steep and he had a tailwind. He was starting to get his energy back by the time he got to Kayenta, but he still wisely decided just to do two time stations today. The next one was 44 miles to Mexican Hat, UT. This is the segment that goes through Monument Valley, so he was really looking forward to that. I did manage to get the iconic shot of him climbing up out of the valley. (He hit 47 mph going down the previous hill.) He arrived in Mexican Hat at 1:50, having done 115 miles and 3500 feet of climbing. We drove through the next two time stations and are now in Cortez, CO. If Keith does three time stations tomorrow, he will be over Wolf Creek Pass.

If you live around Charleston, IL, perhaps you've seen him on the roads. Keith is always out on his bicycle or running. Here are a few photos from some recent rides.

Day Riding - The Crew's View.