RAAM Day 8 – Yates Centre to Mississippi River – 381 Miles

Mickey awoke in Yates Centre the worse for wear suffering from chest congestion, and the effect of working his body so hard for so long. He opted for a longer sleep to help recovery, with the downside being huge pressure on making the next cut-off deadline at the Mississippi River, some 381 miles away and with only 27 hours to do it in.

Mickey calmly said “lads, we’ll approach this like the 24hour National Park training ride, where we covered a greater distance in only 24 hours”. This actually made the target quite doable, especially as the extra rest period enabled a shortly longer sleep for the crew. The benefits of the extra sleep for both Mickey and the crew were pretty obvious early, with all having slightly more spring in their step.

Mickey rode off as soon as possible, with the crew in hot pursuit.  He started his progress towards the target well, with 23miles per hour knocked over in each of the first two hours. The longer he went on, the lower the speed required to hit Mississippi became. The initial target required Mickey to ride approx.  16mph, or approx. 25kmh per hour for up to 27 hours. As he ate up the miles in the heat, this target gradually softened with dawn the next day requiring only 12mph or 19 kmh.

Mickey was simply superb, and the MickRooCrew worked hard to make pit-stops as quick as possible and have Mickey back on the road as early as possible. To keep him cool we used a water gun to spray him with water which was a bit of fun as well. We relayed some messages to him when we were allowed, and it was obvious a large number of family and friends were tracking his progress as the day and night wore on. Every time our mobiles came into coverage areas, the text messages or calls came through thick and fast – messages of support, messages telling Mickey to pull his finger out, and lots of really positive messages in general.  We can only be alongside Mickey 4 times per hour, so there is limited chance for contact.

Rusty kept the support crew in the car entertained  by sharing his theories on physiotherapy, podiatry and thoracic surgery, including a number of hypotheses about western culture. As the night wore on and dawn approached, Mickey went on and on, with a high cadence and the ability to clearly focus  - he was in the big cog and being a real machine. Greg pumped up the music and was thankful his kids had downloaded doof doof music to keep Mickey pumping along.  Once morning hit (after 18 hours of solid riding) the support crew struggled with fatigue and needed driver changes after only short distances.  It was special crossing the Missouri river, and then the Mississippi.

The last time station before Mississippi which was at Washington Missouri, couldn’t come quick enough for the support crew and it was a boon McDonalds was close by for a power breakfast of pancakes. Mickey hardly seemed tired at all after 18 hours of hard riding, and after a couple of bowls of cereal and the McDonalds pancakes he was keen for the next stage.

Mickey powered away on the final stage to Mississippi, and nailed it making the cutoff-time with 1 hour and 50mins to spare. Unbelievable! 380miles injust over 25 hours.  And he was in much better shape than the support crew whom struggled to put two words together. He looked like he could turn around and do it again.

The team worked well under pressure, and special thanks to Roger for driving the RV for two days solid – no mean feat either!

The race is two-thirds over and the man is doing well. Thanks for all the messages of support.   In addition to supporting us, also support the Cerebral Palsy Alliance whom Mickey is supporting in this race. To donate, go to http://gofundraise.com.au/page/RideAcrossAmerica. Over $18,000 dollars has already been raised and your support is appreciated.

Note although we have been racing across 8 calendar days so far, the race clock runs off the time the race started. Each new day starts for Mickey at 3.35pm. So today is actually Day 7 of the race.

The MickRooCrew