How many of those do I need??

Besides spending the bulk of my "free time", not to be confused with time free, training, there is a myriad of details to attend to in preparation for Race Across the West. Not the least of these is answering the question "how many of those do I need?" Besides getting myself, two bicycles, three support crew, and a vehicle to the starting line in Oceanside, California there are numerous parts and equipment that are needed as well.

When planning on pushing your physical limits and the limits of a bicycle over a 1036 mile route in 92 hours you must plan for any contingency. A sampling of parts and equipment include: spare wheels, brake pads, brake cables, derailleur cables, tires, tubes, clothing (jerseys, base layer shirts, cycling shorts, socks, rain jacket, arm warmers, leg warmers, tights), water bottles, trash bags, fire extinguisher, cloths-pins, tools (pedal tool, bottom bracket wrench, chain tool, allen wrenches, etc), spare batteries, and the list goes on. The support vehicle is essentially a rolling bike shop, mobile repair stand, and rolling food cart.

Race Across the West is an endurance event and as such there are numerous forms that are required to absolve the organizers of any liability should I careen over a guard rail going 50 mph downhill, to ensure that my insurance and my support vehicle insurance is up-to-date, biography information for marketing of the race, proof of age (so I can legally enter into the liability waiver), and more!

Getting me and my crew to the start line is another level of planning. Mandatory pre-race meetings and safety inspections dictates our arrival into Oceanside at least 2-3 days prior to the race start. Flights, excess baggage handling for the bikes, shipping of parts/equipment, hotels, support vehicle and Crew Chief driving in from New Mexico.

All of this requires a logistics expert. Lists are made and modified, new idea's are always popping up on how to handle certain aspects, questions are posed to "veteran's" of the Race Across America. Planning, logistics, and the age old question "how many of those do I need???"

If you want to help with supplying parts or equipment or just plain financial sponsorship visit http://raceacrossthewest.nami.org!