PAC Tour Elite Tour Heats Up (2007)

by Terry Zmrhal

And you ride,
and you ride
to catch up with the sun,
but it's sinking
Racing around
to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way,
but you're older
Shorter of breath
and one day closer to death
Sandiway Fong — Adapted from the lyrics to Time. Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd.

The Elite Tour run by Lon Haldeman and Susan Notorangelo of PAC Tour is one of the toughest cycling events in the country. In only 17 days, riders pedal more than 2,800 miles across the southern part of the United States. This was just the fourth year this ride was held.

The riders begin by leaving San Diego and warm up with the shortest day at 128 miles. From there each day is 160-180 miles with a few days of 200 or more miles. Overall the average is 165 miles per day for 17 days.

As is to be expected, riding through the southern part of the United States in June, it’s hot! Surely not as hot as July or August, but hot nonetheless. Most days were well into the 90s. The PAC Tour crew had their hands full finding enough fluid and ice to keep the riders hydrated and cool. As always on a PAC Tour, the riders are well supported across the country with a full crew attending to the riders – repairs, injuries, food, fluid.

As is true to a Haldeman tradition, I found many pictures and references to McDonalds and Dairy Queens among the reports.

The Elite Tour is also one of the toughest ways to qualify for the solo division of the Race Across AMerica. To qualify, a rider must complete each day within the time limit. The riders are expected to maintain a 14 mph minimum average speed or to stay within a 90-minute group spread per 100 miles, which ever is slower. Riders behind this pace are shuttled ahead until they are back on schedule.

Of the 50 riders who started, 39 finished and 21 qualified for the RAAM. To solidify their preparations for RAAM, both Harold Trease and Phil Holcomb rode solo the entire trip without drafting.

Some people ride to see America, some people ride for the challenge, some just want another t-shirt as reported by The Savannah Morning News. The newspaper wrote several articles on the efforts of the PAC Tour as they rolled into Savannah for their finish. When Andrew Puddy of Australia was asked why he had untaken the ride, Puddy smiled broadly. “Because,” he said, “I liked the T-shirt.”

More information: Pactour website

RAAM Qualified