Cleveland Team Hope had a superb meeting this evening in Twinsburg with Larry, Andre, Mark, Trish, and myself. I love group collaborations...It's like a giant think tank!
Details to follow shortly.
The Event is called Shifting Gears-Saving Lives.
Ride On!
Sara
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
So, What is RAAM?
RAAM is a race across America. It is a timed race and it is very competitve. Solo adventurers and teams from all over the world compete and compete to win and/or support a cause. So, what does RAAM look like? Watch the video below! Follow the link.
http://vimeo.com/18724956
Keep in touch for future videos!
http://vimeo.com/18724956
Keep in touch for future videos!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
SAVE THE DATE!
Paninis of Twinsburg is going to host an awesome fund raising event for Blue Planet Network and Team Hope. Mark your calendar and save Thursday, April 28, 2011. This will be a fun filled night with great rocking music, great food and a great cause. The party will start about 8pm and last until about midnight. Let everyone know about this event. Tickets go on sale soon and almost all of the proceeds go to Blue Planet Network. Stay Tuned!
Twinsburg
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
1 1 2
So we're now 112 days away from the whole team meeting for final RAAM preparations...and ONLY 115 days away from being at the RAAM starting line. It seems so close, yet so far. And we have so many things left to do, and yet we've accomplished so much.
People who have participated in RAAM know that the hardest thing to do is trying to get to the starting line. For Team Hope, we have been getting to the starting line since September 2009...and it's been a long journey. Throughout our journey, we've met some amazing people, learned a lot of lessons and have really embraced the mindset that "things happen for a reason."
While the team was not able to participate in RAAM 2010, I had the opportunity to participate for a 4-person recumbent team, Team Bent Up Cycles. The crew consisted of 15 people, with the infamous Lee Mitchell as the crew chief. It was a HUGE learning experience for me as my previous experience with RAAM was in 2009, crewing for female soloist, Janet Christiansen. OMG...believe me when I say this: crewing for a 4-person team is soooo different compared to crewing for a soloist. Sure, the route is the same, you have the crew supporting the racer(s), everyone's tired and sleep-deprived. But that's about it (well, in a nutshell. A really SMALL nutshell). Crewing for a 4-person team is soooo much faster. I mean, if you think about it for a second, errrr or maybe a minute or ten.... you have two pairs of racers who alternate shifts every 4 hours. So while a pair of racers are sleeping, you have the other pair of racers alternating every 15-30 minutes with his own follow vehicle in tow. After the racers finish their 4-hour pull, then they switch spots with the racers who were sleeping and now have to sleep for 4-hours. Were you able to picture that? Seriously, stop and think about it. Our bodies are not designed to function that way - 4 hours "on," 4 hours "off" and repeat?!?!?! Don't forget, the 4-hour time frame while you're supposed to be resting includes: taking a shower, trying to consume some calories, trying to sleep in the back of a moving RV and then getting up for the next pull. And that's just what the racers deal with! With the crew, you have a 16-hour shift of doing direct follow or leapfrogging the racer, followed by an 8-hour sleep break in a moving RV (and half-way through your sleep break, you hear the racers doing their shift exchange). And of course, I can't fail to mention that all of this is going on while:
People who have participated in RAAM know that the hardest thing to do is trying to get to the starting line. For Team Hope, we have been getting to the starting line since September 2009...and it's been a long journey. Throughout our journey, we've met some amazing people, learned a lot of lessons and have really embraced the mindset that "things happen for a reason."
While the team was not able to participate in RAAM 2010, I had the opportunity to participate for a 4-person recumbent team, Team Bent Up Cycles. The crew consisted of 15 people, with the infamous Lee Mitchell as the crew chief. It was a HUGE learning experience for me as my previous experience with RAAM was in 2009, crewing for female soloist, Janet Christiansen. OMG...believe me when I say this: crewing for a 4-person team is soooo different compared to crewing for a soloist. Sure, the route is the same, you have the crew supporting the racer(s), everyone's tired and sleep-deprived. But that's about it (well, in a nutshell. A really SMALL nutshell). Crewing for a 4-person team is soooo much faster. I mean, if you think about it for a second, errrr or maybe a minute or ten.... you have two pairs of racers who alternate shifts every 4 hours. So while a pair of racers are sleeping, you have the other pair of racers alternating every 15-30 minutes with his own follow vehicle in tow. After the racers finish their 4-hour pull, then they switch spots with the racers who were sleeping and now have to sleep for 4-hours. Were you able to picture that? Seriously, stop and think about it. Our bodies are not designed to function that way - 4 hours "on," 4 hours "off" and repeat?!?!?! Don't forget, the 4-hour time frame while you're supposed to be resting includes: taking a shower, trying to consume some calories, trying to sleep in the back of a moving RV and then getting up for the next pull. And that's just what the racers deal with! With the crew, you have a 16-hour shift of doing direct follow or leapfrogging the racer, followed by an 8-hour sleep break in a moving RV (and half-way through your sleep break, you hear the racers doing their shift exchange). And of course, I can't fail to mention that all of this is going on while:
- Making sure everyone is safe
- Ensuring each member of the team is following the RAAM rules, as well as the traffic laws
- Trying to NOT get lost
As crazy as all of this sounds, it IS truly an AAAHHHHMAZING experience. If you ever have the opportunity to do RAAM, as a racer or crew member, do it!!! You won't regret drinking the RAAM Kool-aid!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Photoshoot!
This past Saturday, Cleveland-based racers Andre, Larry, and Sara met up for a team photo shoot. Here are some of the shots. The rest of the photos are published on the Team Hope facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/The-Team-Hope/249965686468
Here are some of the highlists--
Ride On.
Sara
Here are some of the highlists--
Let's call this the CLE pose-Lebron is so last year..
Sara
Team Hope Store
Looking for a way to represent for Team Hope?Team Hope now has an online store at: http://theteamhope.propellshops.com/
A portion of every sale goes to support The Team Hope & the Blue Planet Network – and every order comes with our 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you like what you see, please tell your family and friends to check us out too!
Don't forget to go to our website http://www.theteamhope.com/
Don't forget to go to our website http://www.theteamhope.com/
Thank you in advance for your support!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Photo Shoot!
Friday, February 18, 2011
The Team Hope Blog
Welcome to the Team Hope Blog
Follow us to see what is happening on a daily basis! Check out what the racers Andre, Alex, Larry, and Sara are doing. Check out crew chief Kat as she prepares us for such a grueling race. Feel free to leave comments and if you have any questions, please direct those to teamh2ope@gmail.com.
In a recent issue of EcoWatch, a Cleveland-based publication, Team Hope's vision and 2011 RAAM are featured. Visit, http://bluetoad.com/publication/?i=60037&p=9
Team Bent Up Cycles, a team from the 2010 Race Across America involving four recumbent bicycle racers that finished an impressive 3rd out of 11 entries. This 50min. HD video gives the viewers what happens behind the scenes look. Visit, http://vimeo.com/18724956.
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