Missouri Rollers

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Chasing the race.
Up and out around 7am this morning. We had to make our way from Gunn Park back to highway 54. A slight misdirection quickly rectified only added about 1km to our riders journey. We were only 6 kms from the Missouri border and glad to be leaving the flat lands of Kansas. At the border were we stopped for photos there were a number of RAAM support vehicles. Of note there was Maria Parker who holds a number of world endurance records for cycling. Maria was off the bike to support some other riders who were about to come through. This was not officially part of the RAAM Race (I don't think). It was called Heroes on Wheels. The race was over the same course and was a being done by a team of amputees. One of them we saw was a triple amputee. He propelled his recumbent bicycle with one hand turning the crank. Instead of letting adversity rule their lives these people have undertaken such a demanding task that most able bodied people wouldn't even contemplate it. It certainly provides perspective. While we complained about the heat of the desert these guys had to put silver foil under their arms because they were so close to the road the reflection was burning them. Where Kansas is flat, Missouri is undulating. Not big climbs just lots and lots and lots of rollers, up and down. They really sap the strength from the legs. We saw a number of the racers today. We spoke at length with Penny from England. She was competing in the women's individual event. She knew she wasn't going to make the time cutoff at the Mississippi River but instead of pullout she was riding there anyway. These athletes are amazing. I also spoke to a German women's 4 person team. The way it works is two women race at a time. The first woman goes flat out for 10 minutes and the the second one takes over. They repeat that for 6 hours and then the 2 nd pair do the same thing. This way the teams cover the distance in about half the time as solo riders. It was hot again today, in the 80s. We covered about 180kms so it was a big day. At least we ended up in a good RV Park with decent facilities which has been a bit of a rarity over the last couple of days.

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Photos

Building in Weaubleau
Pronounced WoBlo

Penny
In pain.