May 20: Barbara and Jay are Marshfield, MO!  Go to the Current Trip page for updates.

Barbara is a Featured Athlete on www.crankcycling.com. Check it out! Thanks to cycling coach Jesse Eisner!

If you see them please send a picture to slaam_net@yahoo.com to be posted on the site.

Some of you may have heard of RAAM---the Race Across America.  It’s an annual event where ultraendurance athletes race their bicycles from Oceanside, California (about 40 miles, or less than three cycling hours, from our house) to Annapolis, Maryland.  The top finishers ride 3,500 miles in nine days, averaging 20 miles an hour and sleeping about 90 minutes a day.  The athletes are supported by several coaches and other people, including a navigator, massage therapist, chiropractor, doctor, and nutritionist.  A car trails the rider to ensure his or her safety and to blare loud music or encouragement out the window when the rider is fatigued.  The top finishers will stay on their bikes almost the entire time---they change clothes while riding, eat and then brush their teeth while riding, and the men even pee while riding!

Starting April 15, 2012, Jay and I will be doing our own version of RAAM.  We won’t have any support crew and will carry everything we need in panniers secured on racks on our bikes.  Plus, we’re going to stop when we need to pee.  We’ll be lucky to average 13 miles an hour, so our trip will be one long Slog Across America.  But it will be fun and a grand adventure!  We’re taking 10 weeks off work and plan to average 65 miles per day, camp five nights per week, and spend a couple consecutive nights in a motel once a week to do laundry, reconnoiter, and rest. 

We will leave at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 15 from Dog Beach in San Diego.  We’d be thrilled if you came down to see us off!  Our finish point is the Washington Monument in D.C., some time the week of June 17.  We will keep track of our progress on this website (my younger sister, Chris, is our webmaster).  Our employers expect us back at work on June 25. 

Thank you in advance for your support.  Sign up here to be notified of updates or ask us a question.  We hope to see you at Dog Beach in a few weeks!

Warm regards,

Barbara

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A special thanks to our sponsors:

	Cycling Coach Jesse Eisner (619) 962-3176 www.eisnercoaching.com and http://www.crankcycling.com/
	Cycling Coach Darryl MacKenzie (precision bike fit) (619) 303-7316 Direct (619) 987-7316 Mobile www.coach-darryl.com/ email Darryl@Coach-Darryl.com
	www.Knickerbikers.com of San Diego County
	Danielle M Emhof, MPT, IMTC, Matrix Energetics Certified Practitioner Holistic Physical Therapy and Wellness Services www.moonstone-empowerment.com (703) 627-1789
	The Bicycle Touring Store 10920 Roselle St., Ste 103 San Diego, CA 92121-1529 www.cyclequestsd.com phone: 858-622-9636, fax: 760-923-8313
	www.pilates-rx.com
	www.truebalancedynamics.com
	www.adamwinterlifestyle.com

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