UltraCycling: Rainer, congratulations on an excellent first RAAM! You were Rookie of the Year!. Tell me about your race.

Klaus: In the beginning, with all the climbing it was nice. I like the cooler air. But then it heated up too much. I'd hoped that it would be cool the first four days, but even in Idaho and Utah, it was hot. I remember coming down to Wolcott [CO]. It was so hot, and the road was rough. I got blisters on the bottoms of my feet. I was in a lot of pain. That affects the race. You think only how to get away from the pain. You forget to eat, forget to drink, make mistakes.

UC: What did you eat?

Klaus: The first two days, I drank liquid food, but I had problems with that, my stomach got upset. So I changed completely to solid food. But we would lose time - you can't eat a pizza or a taco while riding. I would ride for three hours and then stop for 5-10 minutes to eat. I ate pizza, Snicker bars, muffins, bread, pretzels & chips for salt. I drank water, apple juice, two quarts of milk a day, coke and Red Bull. When I'd come off the bike in the evening, they'd have pizza, coke and Red Bull waiting. I'd be happy! This is a mental race; you need to stay mentally in form, and good food helps.

Klaus stopping for food David Kincannon photo

UC: Did you do any special mental preparation?

Klaus: No, I had seven years to prepare. [He qualified at the Tour of North Texas in 1994.] Thinking so much about the race, it penetrates into you. I saved for seven years; I had a lot invested from private funds.

UC: How much did you sleep?

Klaus: The first night, 90 minutes. The next three nights I slept for two hours. But we were very inexperienced. We would be stopped for four hours for a sleep break, but would spend too much time getting organized. I'd only get 1.5 to 2 hours sleep. We were throwing away time. We learned a lesson for next time!

The last part of the race, I would plan to stop at 4 or 6 in the afternoon, cool down, eat, and then sleep in the van for an hour. You are so tired that you can sleep anywhere! Then I'd try to ride all night! If I felt I couldn't go on, I'd take a 15 - 30 minute nap. That worked until Arkansas. It was so hot, with the rolling hills, I broke down completely. I had to stop for four hours. That was the hardest part of the race.

UC: What did you think of the course?

Klaus: I liked the big climbs; they were easy! I hated the rollers in Arkansas and the rough roads. Bu-bump, bu-bump. But the course was absolutely beautiful with very little traffic. Some people on my crew spoke no English, and had never been to the US. But they had no problem finding the course. Lon and the organization do a great job.

Moving down the road David Kincannon photo

UC: How did you train?

Klaus: I rode about 20,000 km between January and the start of RAAM. I organized my training around my work schedule. I work from 8 until 4:30, but if a customer needs something, I have to stay. I sell labels, bar code printers, and so on.

I get up at 4:45 a.m., have breakfast, and start riding between 5:15 and 5:30. I do a two hour loop to work. After work, I do a two hour loop on the way home. Once a week, I would take in fresh clothes.

I got used to being exhausted and feeling terrible on the bike. On Monday morning, I'd be fresh and feel like a god. By Friday evening, I'd be very tired. On Saturday, I couldn't think of riding 100 miles. I'd ride maybe 40 miles, then have lunch with the family, read the paper. By Sunday, I'd feel good, and do a longer ride. I live in southern Germany and we have plenty of mountains; I love to climb.

UC: Tell me about your crew.

Klaus: I had six crew. We were all rookies! We came as friends, using our vacation. We made mistakes, but we laughed and had fun. That's more important than being in front. Jonathan Boyer was the only rookie to win RAAM, but he had a professional crew.

Roger Byrom joined us from Oklahoma to Alabama. It was nice to have fresh blood, but then he had to go back to work.

We used two mini-vans - it was a mistake not to have a motorhome. In the west, I'd plan to ride to a motel, thinking I'd get there by 2 a.m. It would be so cold, I'd slow down and not get there until 4. When it took longer than expected, it was a big mental problem.

The last four days, I told the crew: plan your motel stops. If I can reach the motel, okay. If not, I'll sleep in the van. I just slept in the van - you're so tired, you can sleep anywhere. I didn't even have a shower for four days.

Rookie rider and crew David Kincannon photo

UC: What's your strongest memory?

Klaus: You'll laugh. It was the crickets in Arkansas. They were so loud. I remember them from the 24 hour race in Iowa.

And the sun. The sun is your biggest enemy. You wait for the night. But at night, you can't imagine riding all night. You want the sun!

It's like when we're doing an ultra bike ride, we want to be sitting in a comfortable chair. And when we're sitting in a chair, we wish we were out on the bike. It's really very simple. Humans are basically animals and we want to move all day. That's why when we are sitting, we yearn to ride our bikes or to climb mountains.

UC: Will you come back next year?

Klaus: I'd like to, but the problem is the money. I saved for seven years for this race. I just talked to my parents. The first few days, no one at home knew about the race. But interest increased during the race. I hope to get more support.

Winning is not the main thing. Next time I want to be in the top five. This is a long process, you have to wait and work. It's not going to fall from heaven. People from India understand this; Westerners are impatient.

UC: When do you fly home?

Klaus: Monday; I have to go to work on Tuesday. I wanted to take more vacation, but the company doesn't have anyone to print the bar-codes! They wanted me to bring a mobile phone, but I told them it wouldn't work over here. [We laugh]

UC: Rainer, thank you very much! I hope to see you next year.

Klaus: Yes, I hope to be here, John.