Ever dream of racing in the Race Across America? But then you think...too many miles...too many days without sleep...too expensive. A two-person relay team could be your answer. Riding RAAM as part of a two person team is a good way for many serious recreational riders to experience the thrill and adventure of racing across the country.

The physical demands on each rider are still tremendous. Riders share cycling time and trade off "Pony Express" style every one to two hours. The more extreme the cycling conditions such as heat, wind or mountains the quicker the exchanges take place. Both riders need to pace themselves to finish, but they are able to ride harder and recover longer then when cycling as a solo rider.

The key is to keep one rider on the road cycling at a pretty good pace. The resting rider is in the support van being shuttled five, ten or fifteen miles up the road. While this recovering rider is off the bike the rider can eat, drink, get a massage, go the bathroom, change clothes and pretty much stay civilized while getting ready for the next turn to ride.

Sometimes two person teams may choose to take longer rotations of two to three hours each. This will allow the resting rider to get some sleep and recover more. It best to plan these extended riding times for good cycling conditions so the person out on the road isn't getting totally wasted in the afternoon heat or a strong headwind.

Since the team never stops and the riders are recovering along the way, their average speed is much faster than if they were riding solo. If a good male solo rider can average 330 miles per day at 14 miles per hour, he would be competitive in the men's solo RAAM Division and finish in about 9 days. A two-person team would need to ride about 17 miles per hour and 410 miles per day. They would finish in about 7 days, 6 hours. Although their team riding is intense, they would have received about three days of recovery along the way.

The good thing about a two-person team compared to a four person team is that the support vehicles needed are about the same as a solo rider. The two-person rider rotation is pretty simple and the resting rider should be able to recover in a mini van that can serve as the rider's pace vehicle. A two-person team with 7-9 crew people and three vehicles should be able to be competitive without the huge budget of a four-person team. If two riders combine their resources they should be able to race RAAM much less expensively than a solo effort. Currently, two person teams do not have to qualify for RAAM. As long as the teams can finish under the established cut off times, each race will be fast and competitive. For RAAM 2001 all two-person teams need to finish within 36 hours of their age group winner or course record. That means finishing in less than 9 to 10 days for most age groups.

Everyone knows at least one riding buddy that would make a good teammate. Now is your chance to work together and hammer across the country. So take the seats out of the family mini van, ask Thelma and Louise to crew and you are on your way to racing in two-person team RAAM!