Crew Roster and New Addition...

Well...now we are set...Shaun Smith has agreed to come on board as a crew member with the Team Strong Heart Solo effort in, oh I don't know, 39 days away.

Shaun is a great guy and a New Zealander (former?) to boot. He lives with his wife Erin in Louisville, CO and has a wicked accent.

Aside from Shaun my complete crew roster includes:

Michelle Pearl - Physical therapist and massage therapist by trade. She was recently voted "Best Massage in Boulder County." Not too shabby...

Kevin Case - One of my two brothers and a grad student who almost has his grad degree in hand. Kevin's making the trip out to Colorado to start our journey by way of Pennsylvania after he graduates from the University of Illinois.

Gordon Shaw - This gent is making the trip to support Team Strong Heart all the way from the UK, Glasgow University to be exact. Wow!

and Eric Begin - Eric's a co-worker of mine at Boulder Fire Rescue and a former cycling teammate of Tom Danielson at Ft. Lewis College. He's the de facto crew chief for my solo effort this year.

I cannot even begin to describe how lucky I've been this year finding these amazing crew people and coming across so many different supporters from all walks of life.

Let it begin!

Tim

Racing and a Party

Howdy,

Yesterday was a very big day for me personally and for Team Strong Heart. Woke up, washed the bike and headed out to the Primus Mootry Criterium, for what should be my last official race before the Race Across America in June. I had a great time at the crit and ended up doing exactly what I had set out to do...that is...stay upright, work a bit at the front, chase some breaks down, etc. We had a great showing from my Horizon Organic Cycling Team. Some of those guys even did a road race the previous day, with my teammate Aaron coming in fourth place and then showing up to race the crit on Sunday. Damn! I felt strong and very relaxed during the race, even though I was a bit twitchy with my folks and significant other out there to watch me and cheer me on.

Post-race we had to rush out to get ready for the Team Strong Heart fundraising party later in the day. We had a bunch of people come out to the Redfish to support my Solo effort and all of the efforts that Team Strong Heart has put in so far this year. We're estimating about 70 people showed up and many walked away with some incredible raffle prizes donated by 53 businesses in the Boulder area. We even had some extra last minute Smith sunglasses donated to us to give away. I was definitely jealous that I couldn't participate in the raffle.

Many thanks to the Runnin' Wild Band for putting in a stellar performance for our guests. The guys are still in high school but they can stand up against any live artist I've seen, including some of the music greats. If they keep at it, going at their current pace, you'll definitely be hearing from these guys...

Wow! We raised a bunch of money last night and the donations are continuing to come in. I've already met my personal fundraising goal, but we have a couple of huge personal donations coming in shortly that will blow our goals completely out of the water and set a new standard for next year.

Yep, I said it...next year.

Special thanks to everyone who has worked so hard on my, Camp Odayin and Team Strong Heart's behalf. And a special thank you to everyone who stepped up last night and showed up to support us at the Redfish.

You are incredible and the true heroes!

Tim

Fundraising Party This Sunday...

Hi all,

We are poised to destroy our fundraising goals with a fundraising party this Sunday, April 27 at the Redfish Brewhouse in Boulder, CO. We're estimating about 100 people will attend this gala affair with live music from the Runnin' Wild Band and a silent auction and raffle from over 45 local businesses...

So...Redfish is located at 13th and Spruce St. in downtown Boulder. The party starts at 6:30pm with live music beginning at 8:00 pm. Entry is $15 at the door and kids are welcome and free to attend! The more, the merrier!

Contact me direct at tim@timcase.net with any questions, but we are going to have a guaranteed sweet time Sunday for a great cause, Team Strong Heart and Camp Odayin!

Tim

Breakthrough Ride

Howdy from snowy Colorado,

Just a quick update for y'all regarding training for the RAAM, etc. Last Monday I hit my first hundred mile ride (113 miles to be exact), doing a great loop from Lafayette to Estes Park and back... To the uninitiated, this is a very scenic and very challenging loop with about 7000 feet of climbing and some pretty amazing stretches of road.

I was pretty nervous about the whole experience, testing out the legs, back, neck, etc. and putting my coaches theories and training plan to the test. Thanks to Eric Kenney for continuing advice and guidance on what's about to transpire in June. I've been getting itchy for longer rides, but Eric has kept me on a steady uptick in training. Patience, my boy.

Coming back through Boulder after the first 99 miles, I hit a stretch with a bunch of riders trying to make like a pro, if not ride like a pro. If they only knew.
These freddies hang on your wheel, take your draft and then blow past you like you're yesterday's news. I'm todays news dammit!

The friendly wave and smile from a rider coming up the other way on the road is worth its weight in gold, especially when the ride starts approaching triple digits. One of the things I really dig about Team Strong Heart is that we have always been and always will be a group of riders and supporters who believe in the smile and the wave, believe that the grass is green right here, right now, and believe that a bunch of "ordinary," everyday sort of riders and racers can make a real difference.

I'm up at 10k feet at my house right now, sitting under 5 inches of snow and counting, but my mind and legs and heart are moving towards the start line in Oceanside on June 8th...

See you at the party on the 27th in Boulder, CO...

TC

Photo Shoot

Hi all,

Don't forget our party on April 27th at the Redfish in Boulder, CO...should be fun and fortuitous.

Last Saturday was an interesting day, to say the least. Ever had a professional photographer's camera thrust in your face for a photo shoot? I did. Ray Rushing of Ray Rushing photography brought me into his North Boulder studio to take some pics for the upcoming edition of the Yellow Scene magazine, which is a glossy mag sent out and picked up by a ton of people out here in the front range.

Ray and I chatted about the RAAM and then got down to business, having me pose and contort to make it look like I mean business, which really I do, but you know to convey that via a pic is kind of tough. After the studio shoot, Ray, myself and the Yellow Scene editor, Jake Harkins, went out to rural Boulder for some more photos...it was a typical beautiful Colorado day and riders were out in full force.

Ray is a great photographer and excellent guy to boot, so if you're ever in need of a photo session, give him a good hard look. Check out his website and blog that contains many of his favorite photos and work he's done, and of course, yours truly.

Aside from the glamour shots, I've been hard at work getting everything in place for June, including going to Walmart to buy diaper rash ointment and baby wipes. It's amazing how much planning and development goes into getting a bike and a crew from point A to point B. Last year, with Bernie Kaeferlein at the helm on the rider side and Bill Nicholson managing the crew, all I pretty much had to do was raise some money and show up with a bike. This year has clearly shown me why Bernie looked so damned tired even before the RAAM actually started.

Kudos to everyone who has stepped up, last year and this year to get Team Strong Heart out onto the racecourse for Round Two. When I've needed it most, my friends, family and teammates have filled the loney void that comes with "too much" preparation, training and hard work.

See you on the long, hard road to Oceanside...

Tim

Save the Date: April 27th...and...80% Liquid

Once again, don't forget that on April 27th, Team Strong Heart and yours truly will be hosting the first annual Team Strong Heart Got Solo? Fundraising Gala... We've gotten even more donations for raffle prizes from local supporters and businesses in the Boulder area.

See you there!

For something entirely different, I just received a massive shipment (see the attached photo) from Hammer Nutrition, my chosen nutritional supplement for this year's RAAM. Hammer Nutrition, albeit not a sponsor of Team Strong Heart, has generously offered a substantial discount to registered racers of the Race Across America...like...me!

Many thanks to Hammer for all of the data on their website and their excellent customer service in getting my order processed promptly and accurately. Heck, I spent over 800 bucks on powders and gels, etc.!

From all accounts, for solo riders the winning formula for nutrition during the event seems to be an 80/20 split, that is, 80% of your daily nutrition during the RAAM will come from a liquid source. Hammer Nutrition and their endurance activity gurus argue that there is ABSOLUTELY no way to replace every single calorie lost during an ultra-endurance event, such as the RAAM. Based on previous experience, I burn about 1k calories per hour during moderately intense (60-75% threshhold) activity on the bike. I am working off the idea of spending about 20-22 hours A DAY on the bike for about 9-10 days in a row. So... about 15-20k calories will be burned up in the process per 24 hour period.

Hammer Nutrition posits that we can only replace about 300 calories an hour during exercise without suffering adverse intestinal and performance effects. I am translating this idea into a mindset where the Race Across America will be an "exercise" in managing of deficits and caloric deficiencies. Hammer steps in with their products to offer replacements with adequate calorie and carb/electrolyte to protein ratios that will sustain from California to Maryland (a sobering thought).

This sort of "techie" approach is now becoming more crucial as we approach the start of the RAAM, which is some 70 days away.

See you on the road...

Tim