NEVER SAY DIE
Montezuma Creek, Utah, 4,456 ft elevation, 834 miles done, Time Station 13.
— Calling for rider 558.
— Srinivas Gokulnath?
— That's right. We want to report arrival at TS 13, Montezuma Creek.
— OK. But you're almost out of cut-off time for Durango. Do you want to continue?
— Of course we will. The rider will come back strong for sure.
— Great! Here goes your confirmation number...
Conviction. Faith in the rider, and in ourselves. We all were ready for the challenge. The challenge was to reach Srini to Durango, CO, challenge to help him climb the Rocky Mountains after a gruelling test in Arizona, challenge to see him on the finish line in Annapolis. He did it. We did it all.
TESTING TIMES
The path was not easy, neither was it meant to be. Forget racing, it takes sheer gut just to share the Oceanside pier with best of the endurance cyclists in the world. Srini did it. He shared the space earlier too, in 2016. But his preparations were not a great one in the summer of 2016. This year, he came back with proper planning and tools to execute that. However great the race plan is, RAAM (Race Across America) will test you — through the desert, above the mountains, along the great rivers, even on the plains and undulating terrain. It will throw a spanner of 110°F when you are burning the rubber in Arizona, it will send you over the mountain passes even when your tired muscles asking for rest, it will welcome you with a tropical storm while you think the ride was steadier in the plains of Kansas. The misery is endless for the racer.
The misery started the earlier night, shortly after crossing Prescott, AZ. Srini was not feeling well with chilly winds in Prescott National Forest making conditions difficult for him. We had to slap instant hot packs on him. Improvement was visible. From Potato Patch, the highest point in Haywood Canyon at 7,032 ft, Srini gained momentum till Cottonwood through the winding lanes and bylanes of copper mining town, Jerome. The daytime temperature on way from Parker to Salome — about 14 hours earlier — was sort of teaser for the strong cyclist with an otherwise frail frame battling heat.
GEAR SHIFT
As one of his crew members, my job was that of a feeder. For the uninitiated, a feeder in the team has to take care of a rider's nutrition and hydration needs while keeping a tab on him regularly. Undoubtedly, it is a key job, and i was awarded a double shift for bringing Srini back on the track the previous night. Initially, i was put on night shift because of my "night owl" nature! However, during the shift change a few miles off Happy Jack Ranger on way to Flagstaff, our crew chief, Chris, thought if i can feed Srini better to take him to Flagstaff and beyond. I was elated at the development although it would mean a 24-hour shift that day for me! But for Srini, everyone was ready to sacrifice.
At 102.9 miles, Camp Verde to Flagstaff, AZ, is the longest distance between two time stations in RAAM. After a 2-hour sleep in the follow vehicle, Srini started his ride to Flagstaff along the scenic Mormon and Mary lakes. The pain of crewing, as opposed to common perception, is you barely have time to enjoy natural or architectural beauty as your focus is always on the racer. Not only the lakes, the crew did not have time to take a closer look at natural monuments like the Mexican Hat. Crewing for 12 days is both physically and mentally tough.
I was fortunate though to have a 30-minute walk through the town of Trinidad, CO, while searching supplements for Srini, as he was some 10 miles away from the time station. And, the unfortunate part was that being Sunday morning, most of the town's halls and museums were closed! All that i could see an old steam road-roller next to the last steam engine used to ferry coal in the 1970s on the Purgatoire river near Safeway grocery store. No sooner had Srini reached than we ferried him fast to a Super 8 motel in the town for his sleep break.
MOTEL MATTERS
Super 8, Quality Inn, Comfort Inn and the likes became our home for the fortnight that we spent out of bags for Srini's successful RAAM attempt. We had to check in and check out of at least 20 such hotels/motels on our journey from California to Maryland. In Brawley, CA, where we stayed the first day as rest before midnight changeover the motel was run by a Gujarati entrepreneur, Abhay ji. We found another Indian, Deepak ji, who took the Motel 6 franchise in El Dorado, Kansas. Over a cup of tea with namkeen during breakfast, he came up with an interesting fact that Indians, especially Gujaratis, enjoy most of the ownership of motels in Kansas and neighbouring states. Maybe true, might not.
Motels are not meant for serving breakfast unlike the hotels where we had sumptuous complimentary meal before driving miles to catch Srini. Indeed, breakfast was the major meal for the day crew who had no other option but to pick up a piece of burger or Starbucks coffee on the go till midnight. During crew changeover in midnight, we used to exchange several stuff — car keys (once Chris went off with his car key in a hurry to follow Srini in Effingham and i had to walk back several miles with Yin, who had a duplicate key), bags with essentials from errand vehicle, and also WiFi password of the hotel/motel! Also, the night crew used to collect and keep the breakfast coupons at the rooms. And, we used to lose it also! Quality Inn in Tuba City, AZ, offered us breakfast tokens of $7 each but in a you-know-what moment, i realised i would go hungry in an hour whatever little they offered. In the car, i had to search for the peanuts jar!!
LIFE EXTRAORDINARY
So, what's the intrinsic relation between crew life and rider life? Whatever little i've realised in those 15 days, is that both are made for each other, particularly for round-the-clock success in the race. Why round-the-clock? Because the RAAM clock never stops unlike Le Tour de France or Giro d'Italia or other stage races. The crew has to operate 24 hours much like the rider. Even when the rider takes a sleep break, we had to rush to Walmart or any other store to stock our essentials, which may include a whole roasted chicken too! Yes, that was essential — for the rider and the crew. The 11-member team that we had was always with Srini to support him 288 hours (though he made it in less than 283 hours).
Once out of Trinidad, CO, the terrain changed to more of rolling. Our support too was leapfrog in nature with Srini being visible for miles. Sometimes the crew were so engrossed in Srini's movement and on-the-run requirements that we even forgot to fill gas in the follow vehicle. In one such scary situation, we were running out of petrol with darkness engulfing the road, and the maize fields around us. We had just crossed Kim, CO, TS 21, and realised we would soon be in trouble with the fuel gauge being almost horizontal. Open map, search "gas station". No help. The nearest, and only, one in Kim was closed by then; the next one would be in Springfield, some 30 miles away. We took a calculated risk, and asked the errand van to take over as follow. Then began Yin's sprint on the wheels; we reached Springfield just in the nick of time!
In Springfield, we put up at Stage Stop Hotel — a unique one with its heritage building and wooden interiors, walls adorning trophies yet offering 24x7 coffee at its tiny lobby at 1.30 in the night! Srini was to continue to Pratt, KS, that night to compensate the miles he had lost earlier in the race. Days Inn, the hotel we chose to get Srini sleep in the afternoon, was next to Walmart, the time station. While Srini went to sleep after having oatmeal and eggs prepared by Prafulla, we pounced on chicken! Kansas gave Srini the much-needed boost to regain confidence, which would propel him to Missouri. The day crew had a refreshing swimming session at Comfort Inn, West Alton, MO, as Srini went to a deep slumber.
BACK IN RACE
Effingham, IL, will be a time station Srini will remember forever, as he caught up with his rivals for the first time to get a taste of the race. As we approached the town well past midnight, Srini suddenly got energetic seeing rider Joe Frank in competitive distance. He not only overtook him but also went ahead of fellow Indian Amit Samarth for the first time in the race. At one point, Amit was 160 miles ahead of Srini in the first couple of days. After Effingham, when i met Srini the next day in Columbus, IN, fatigue was writ large on his body but he was bubbling with energy. Dhanasekar, as is his usual practice, took Srini to his room in La Quinta Inn and Suites for a massage before sleep. For the first time in the race, we faced rain in Columbus, which however did not deter us to take a dip in the pool!
The rain and tropical storm Cindy became stronger as we moved eastward. Srini fought a battle that no one would have imagined — the battle against nature to win the battle of nerve. As we took the country roads through Ohio, the storm seems harder but we had almost zero accident-free ride till Lebanon, OH, where we changed the crew shift about midnight. Aided by music that we set up using Bluetooth sharing with car-roof speakers, Srini rode through the night till Athens,OH, where we set up a room for his sleep break at Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott even as rains lashed it hard on the road.
Music was a great encouragement for Srini, who had a long playlist on his cellphone for RAAM only. The ultra cyclist loves divine spiritual music than the popular Hindi or Telugu or Kannada numbers. It was fun to see him dancing to the beats of Kuttu songs while riding uphill. But when he wanted to really concentrate, he asked us to switch to Tibetan-Buddhist hymns or even the Gayatri mantra. RAAM has been pure meditation for him, for months, if not years. The divine practice reflected on the road, especially when the going was tough. In one funny moment, Srini asked me to sing on cardo also, as he wanted some change in music!
LAST SPRINT
Srini may remember this race for several reasons but an evening will be etched in my memory forever. As we figured out later that Srini was the only rider in this year's RAAM who pulled off a negative split from Pratt — and it's very rare indeed. Barring the figures, which we could not calculate always during the race, the last evening was phenomenal. It all started after Srini's 1.45-hour sleep break — what was supposed to be a quick nap of 30 minutes — in La Vale, MD, a few miles before Cumberland, MD, time station. Srini woke up fast to a post-Cindy clear afternoon. Asked about some racers he was competing with that stage. Then he started pedalling towards Rouzerville, PA. While taking a mandatory detour through Big Cove Tannery Road, he was feeling sleepy again. Sleep deprivation is a key factor that every RAAM rider has to fight with. We let Srini take a power nap of 5 minutes before McConnellsburg town too.
It did not help much. But what helped remarkably was the mention of one particular racer that the guy is just 6 miles ahead of him. Aided by steep downhill, Srini zoomed past everything on his way yet the rider was elusive. Crew chief Chris came up with a brilliant idea — give him coffee to ward off sleep and to boost instant energy too. Just ahead of Rouzerville, the night crew waited with hot coffee that Srini had it in one go. Also began howling on cardo that Srini cannot just escape RAAM this time. Although by that time we knew Srini could finish the race but whether he would be the first solo Indian to complete it or not was up to him. It apparently gave him the kick.
When we reached Hanover, PA, around 2.30 am, the riders Srini was racing were nowhere, as everyone has been beaten on the track by him. I still don't know what happened to him and how he managed that speed after 275 hours of riding almost 3,000 miles but that sprint is simply unforgettable. In fact, the RAAM official manning time station 51 in Hanover told me jokingly, "I think Srini should go for urine test; is he on drugs?" I replied, "The only drug he has in his brain, not blood or urine, is RAAM finish line."
FINISH LINE
The long shadows of the morning greeted us in Mount Airy, MD, for a final check on his penalty status. No, we were lucky else Srini had to serve penalty hours at the scenic time station, 52, located off the Mount Airy Bike Shop. A quick massage by Dhanasekar on a yoga mat rejuvenated Srini like a champ. He was ready to finish the race in style. The next time station at Odenton, MD, was completed like a leopard on prey. Astonished we were seeing him on the road. During a short uphill i thought to run with him as final push but Srini told me: "Arrey! You cannot keep pace with me now!" True that was. Rams Head Roadhouse is a small tavern with beer and burgers. The Sunday morning when we drove early to welcome Srini there had hardly any people there. Even regular patrons were on the road, or on the seating arena outside the restaurant, to greet Srini. It's also the "timing line" of RAAM. A rider has to report there and s/he would be escorted to the finish line in Annapolis City Dock; for this escort, 26 minutes are added to the time of solo finishers. We were really ecstatic to witness history being made — so many Indians attempted RAAM before but no one could finish it! Some of us went live on Facebook to webcast the historic moment while some others were waiting with bated breath to see Srini on the horizon.
As soon as Srini checked into Rams Head Roadhouse, all hell broke loose with excitement all around. Some of us screamed in joy, some broke down in tears of success and some like me framed several pictures on mobile. Srini's stopover was hardly for a few minutes but it left an indelible mark on the Generals Highway. Apart from the follow vehicle, we all drove down to City Dock to witness the actual finish.
We all had goosebumps, as RAAM officials on the microphone blared: "Here comes Srinivas Gokulnath, the first solo finisher from India." Is it dream, or reality? We asked ourselves. Srini appeared on the finish line with his usual smile that was seldom lost even when he had a tough time. He kissed the finish line — a kiss of accomplishment. He waved to hundreds of supporters and keen onlookers with a grin that talked of sheer grit — if there's a will, there's a way. Dream on.
