Miscellaneous
Well, Mother Nature was no friend to any racer during the 2021 Race Across the West. Record breaking heat in the desert cut Team Z Cycling’s race short about 30 miles from Parker, AZ. The highest temperature we saw was 137 degrees. During the day temps ranged from 105-120 and at night from 90-100 degrees. Rick was ready physically and mentally. The crew was prepared and knew what to expect on the course. Except for the heat. Rick wasn’t eating according to the plan and didn’t feel like eating much. Hydration was good but Rick never felt hydrated as evidenced by infrequency of nature breaks. Water retention was going to be a problem. With roughly 680 miles to go into temperatures that were not forecast to come down – a decision was made to focus on racer and crew safety and stop the race. This decision was also made because, based on our current race progress, it was highly unlikely we would finish by the cut-off time of 92 hours. Listen in to last minute conversations with crew member Jen Orr (overall 2019 RAW winner), crew chief Steve Barraco and Caryn and Rick as they talk about the race. While extremely disappointing for sure…we’re all very proud of our efforts to get to the start line and be in the race! Show resources: https://www.facebook.com/saywattpod Or on Instagram @saywattpod https://www.facebook.com/10BuckBikeClub Race Across the West: http://www.raceacrossthewest.org/ Race Across America: https://www.raceacrossamerica.org/