Race Across The West 2024. Team EFI

Forest Gump Hill

 I did Race Across the West (RAW), way back in 2014, on a 4-person men's team. That race was a real adventure as they all are. You can read that story Here.

Our crew chief that year was my good cycling buddy Tony Musorofite with our friend Margaret Howell as our navigator. 

This year I was asked to crew for Tony's, two-person team EFI. Tony was going to do the race with another good friend of mine, Robert Mann. Robert did his first endurance event, a double century, with me back in 2017. He, not long after started riding fixed gear and has never stopped.  They had been planning it for some time but circumstances had them postponing it a few times.

This would be Tony's first race since breaking his hip shortly after the Race Across Oregon in 2020. I was also part of his crew for that race. You can read about that experience Here.

 His hip replacement got infected and after numerous additional surgeries and new hips, they finally got it right. We all felt so bad for him. That year he was planning the trifecta. Oregon, The 508, and Hoodoo 500, all on a fixed-gear bike!!

Team EFI

Team EFI is a 2-person fixed gear team. This means they will be riding every single inch of the course without coasting.

It is difficult enough to do a RAAM (Race Across America), qualifying race on a geared bike. 

Just imagine this!

You ride a bike that has only one gear and NO freewheel.

If you are not familiar with a fixed-gear bike (fixie), there is this. You can never stop peddling whether you are climbing or descending. That means, NO coasting and resting on descents, only spinning spinning spinning. From what I have been told, descending is the most difficult part of riding a fixie. 

You are also very limited to the speed you can go downhill so there is no making up any time on a descent.

There you have it. 

RAW starts in Oceanside California and is part of Race Across America. It is the desert, southwest portion of the race, and this years course is 861 miles from the coast to Durango, Colorado.

The Race Across America (RAAM) solo riders and the RAW solos and teams started together on June 11th. The RAAM teams began on the weekend that follows. 

The RAW teams have a 2-day, 20-hour time limit to finish the 861 miles. 

We all went down to Oceanside on Monday the 10th for pictures and check-in. We also had to get the support vehicle set up with all the required signage and lighting, which is required for road safety per the rules. 

After all the prep, it was off to the races on the 11th of June. 

Our very BIG crew vehicle.

Day One: Oceanside to Parker Arizona

Team EFI was the first to start at around noon at the Oceanside Pier. We all had a great time seeing friends at the start before we sent the guys off on their journey. 

The start in Oceanside

Tony and Robb did the neutral section at the start together. It's a 7-mile section on the San Luis Rey bike path where all the racers cannot exceed a certain speed and they cannot pass the other racers to gain time.

Robb did the first section once racing started, so we picked up Tony and headed to the pre-planned rider exchange in Bonsall CA. 

We put Tony on the bike at the start of the first major climb of the race, Old Castle Road. It was a pretty tough climb in the heat. The temps were already climbing drastically from our start near the cool coast of California. 

Tony climbing Old Castle Road

Tony did great on the climb before we made the next exchange. We slowly made the climb to the Mount Palomar area. This section is pretty tough and hot. The guys were already showing signs of heat exhaustion and we were not even in the desert yet. Both our crew and Rob's crew made great efforts to keep the riders cool with cooling vests and lots of ice and water. 

It was during this section that a race official summoned both our vans. He said that our flashing amber lights were supposed to be on during daylight hours and not just at night. 

The rules were somewhat confusing saying that the lights must be on at all times when actively supporting the riders. Both our rider crew chiefs read the rule the same and thought since we were just leap-frogging the rider and turning the lights on when stopped, that this was by the rules. Well, he wrote us up and we think we got a 1-hour penalty. 

After this, Robb was on the bike. We had difficulty getting the roof lights to work properly. Tony had tested them countless times at home and they worked flawlessly. You know what they say about these ultra races....If something can go wrong...it will. 

We got it figured out but it took a lot of time and Robb was out on the bike way too long. We hurried up to make up time and get past him so we could make the exchange. We caught up just before the town of Ranchita and at the top of Montezuma Grade, better known as "The Glass Elevator". 

Tony wanted to do this famous descent so we made the exchange in Ranchita. Robb was toast and needed a good break now at this point. 

Tony switching with Robert in Ranchita with Montezuma Grade ahead

Rob is in the van with Phil tending to the bike. 

Down..down...down Tony went to Borrego Springs for about a 3,000-foot elevation drop.

It was amazing to watch Tony descend that elevator into that furnace heat, spinning like a crazy man. 

We saw the RAAM media crew at one of the turnouts and we were hoping that they had a drone up to capture the only fixie on the descent in the race. After watching some of the race videos we didn't see any shots of him descending. It would have really been a cool video to see. 

From Borrego, we made our way to Parker, Arizona via Brawley and Blythe Ca. 

The sun was setting as we headed into Brawley.

Sunset way outside of Borrego Springs

The guys had planned to ride longer during the night so each rider and crew could get some rest along the way. The temperature didn't go down much after dark and stayed in the 90s for quite some time. 

 The team made adjustments in their pulls, due to problems with heat exhaustion,  as we got through the night making it to Parker Arizona just after sunrise. There was a glitch in the course going into Parker. 

There was a bridge out on the course so we were re-routed just to the south of Parker, bypassing the town itself. 

Parker was the destination we had planned to get fuel and re-stock the ice chests. 

Tony was finishing his night pull, so we handed it off to Robb just outside of town then sped back to Parker for gas and re-stock. Robb was off on his way to Hope Arizona.

Day 2: Parker Arizona to Flagstaff Arizona

After our stop, we sped back on the course. Robb was cooking along really well and apparently rested well, and it took us a while to catch up so we could make the rider exchange to Tony.  

We heard from his crew that the heat was getting to him a bit so we were really working hard to catch up. 

The traffic on this particular Hwy was really bad with lots of trucks so it took us a while to catch up. Once we did, we made the exchange as we rolled closer to Hope Arizona. 

The Arizona desert really starts getting beautiful at this point on the course and it just keeps getting better....and tougher...until you reach Flagstaff and the cool altitude. 

We went through Hope and headed for the next Time Station in Congress Arizona.

It was really starting to get warm now and approaching 100 degrees. The dryness really takes a lot out of you also. 

After passing Hope and on the road to Congress, we stopped for supplies and a bathroom break at a local gas station. Robb was doing his pull on the bike and we were waiting for him.

This is where we needed to communicate better between our crews. We saw Roberts crew vehicle stopped in the same gas station near the road at the exit. We assumed they knew we were there waiting and that they would take Robert off the bike and Tony would roll. We had him ready.

 Well....Robert just flew by and the next time we looked up, his van was gone. One of the crew was in the bathroom so we had to wait for them before we could head out. Tony could have rolled since he was waiting for Robert. 

 Robb was getting toasted out there and we felt terrible as we sped to catch up. 

Then, we had a really hard time finding a place to turn out to make the exchange.

When we saw Robb, he looked ok. They had been dowsing him with ice water and he had a cooling vest on. He was just drenched. 

It was during this stretch between Hope and Congress that, after talking to their coach, we made the decision to take a sleep/rest break in Congress and start back up when it was starting to cool down. 

It was about 2 pm when we got into the Congress time station. We planned to roll out about 4. 

We really didn't get all that much rest there but it was a good break for the guys. It allowed them both to recover a bit. 

Next came a real challenge, Yarnell Grade!!

It really had not cooled down much and was still above 100 degrees as Robert took the first pull up the grade.

Yarnell Grade is about 7 miles, I believe, and not an easy climb, especially on a fixed gear. 

We made a few exchanges on the way up to the summit and the guys did great. I think the break did them well. They both killed it but it was a real suffer-fest!!

Next up was Skull Valley and a really tough climb in that section. It was really a beautiful area though. I did not get to see this section during my past RAW and RAAM races since it ended up during my rest period on both.

The boys did great through here as the sun started to set. 

Robb was on the bike as we entered Prescott Arizona. We needed to make a stop for supplies at the time station which was located at the local Walmart. 

A funny thing happened on route over the past hours with our rental crew vehicle. It is a Mercedes Diesel and we got a notification from the computer that fuel additive needs to be added soon and that we only had 10 more starts of the engine! We were hoping that the Walmart auto dept. would have the correct additive and they did. Tony was sleeping in the van as the girls went in for supplies and, hopefully, the additive. I drove around to find a good spot to park for the beast we were driving. 

Luckily they had the correct stuff and we were on our way.

Robb passed us while we were in the store. We followed the route and caught up to him and his crew on the Hwy not too far from our turn toward Jerome. 

We waited at the turn and made the exchange to Tony.

Next up was Mingus Mountain, a long 12-mile climb to the summit and an equally long descent down to the quaint and amazing town of Jerome. 

Jerome is a really cool town which is, sort of, built into the rocky side of the mountain. Too bad we went through at night. 

Robb did the descent through Jerome and into the Cottonwood area.

Tony took it in Cottonwood and we made a wrong turn. For some reason, the Ride With GPS navigation file for this section gave us the wrong directions. Tony was starting a climb that we all thought had him on his way to Sedona. 

Good thing for text messaging!!!!

We got a text from our friend Phil on Robert's crew telling us that he noticed on the tracking site that we were on the wrong road.

Luckily they caught it when they did. We were less than a mile from where the turn mistake was. We put Tony in the van and took him down to where we went off-course. 

NOW... we were on the climb to Sedona.

Sedona and Red Rock Canyon are a spectacular place and crazy tourist attraction.

Once at the high school in Sedona, everyone in the race is required to shuttle their rider to the summit of the 30-mile climb. The shuttle distance is about 20 miles. 

This was done due to the traffic jam it would cause if riders and crew were going up through this section at such a slow speed. With all the tourists and local traffic, it would be crazy and unsafe. 

We went through in the middle of the night but it would be a whole different story during the day in this area. 

The boys worked well on the long climb to the high school with Robb being the last one on the bike. We hurried up the shuttle route with Tony and waited at the parking lot on the summit.

It was a narrow and winding road and not an easy climb, even in the vehicle. 

We waited at the top for Robb and his crew. Tony was having some stomach issues and trying to recover. 

When they reached the top, and Robb had a good rest on the drive up, he took the descent into Flagstaff so Tony could recover a little more. 

It was a long and beautiful road down into the town of Flagstaff. The 12-mile descent into town is nice and wide and no cars in the wee hours of the morning. We figured that Robb was going to love this descent. It did get pretty chilly in the mountain air though. At around 7,000 feet, it was around 43 degrees in town when we got there. I think it was warmer at the top of Red Rock Canyon!

When we got the text message that Robert was a few miles from the time station, we got Tony ready.

Day 3: Flagstaff to Durango Colorado

The distance to the next time station was 75 miles. 

Tony wanted to take much of it and give Robb a good rest. He was feeling much better once he got going. 

Tony ended up doing a really good chunk of it and switched off with Robb a little before the turn to Tuba City in the Navajo Nation.

At the turn on Hwy 160 which is the "Navajo Trail", we were required to do "Direct Follow", even in daylight. 

We put Tony back on the road here for the climb from Hwy 89 heading toward the time station in Tuba City. We then switched off to Robb who took it to the time station. 

We needed fuel so we sped up to the time station. We also used this opportunity to put the fuel additive in the vehicle engine.

From here we made it across the Navajo Trail for the next turn in Kayenta which is the doorway to Monument Valley. 

It is a 71.8-mile stretch of road that had a lot of car and truck traffic at the time we were on it. It was not fun, especially since we had to be in direct follow mode with our riders. 

The final stretch was a 19-mile descent into town with a tailwind. 

Tony wanted that so we put him on his descending bike for this stretch. He crushed it, but it was not all a descent. Some kickers in there were tough with the gearing he had on that bike. 

We rolled into Kayenta and Robert was all ready to go. He rolled out into what was now a crosswind from his left. It was very very windy and dusty. We picked up some supplies and gas at the time station and then rolled out for our next exchange. 

They were working on the road and had traffic shut down for a bit. There was only one lane in operation so they had a follow car guiding people through about a 5-mile section. We waited for quite some time and thought that Robb was going to catch up with us. 

Once we got through and traffic was normal, we hit an intense dust storm!! You could barely see ahead and the view of Monument Valley really sucked at that point. 

We found one of the few spots to pull over and waited for Robb. I would say, it was a 45 mph gusting crosswind at this point, with a little bit of tailwind mixed in. 

Margaret and I got out to get the bike off and get Tony set up for his pull. The dust was terrible. This red, fine, dust just inundated everything. We wore face coverings when we went out but the dust took a toll immediately on our eyes. In fact, Margaret immediately had some sort of allergic reaction to the dust in her eyes she had never had before. It was intense and we were all worried. Luckily some Benedryl and a wet compress on her eyes did the trick after about an hour. We were very worried about our crew chief for a while. 

We got Tony out on the bike. The dust was intense for about 15 minutes but then things changed. 

I think we were below some wind tunnel canyon when we had the dust storm. It, all of a sudden, calmed down to a mild tailwind and the views got much better. It also started to cloud up and looked a little like thunderstorms forming. We did not have any rain but heard later that people behind us had rain and pretty intense hail through the same area. 

We handed off to Robert, a few miles before Forest Gump Hill. He descended the hill and then did the little climb where the viewpoint was. It was incredible. All the tourists at the viewpoint were cheering him on and doing the wave as he summited. Fun times!

Forest Gump Hill

We soon headed to Mexican Hat and the long descent to the time station. Tony took the descent and the little, but very tough, kicker to the time station gas station. 

Tony descends to Mexican Hat. A white knuckler!!

The Mexican Hat

Next up was some more of the beautiful colored desert terrain and rolling climbs taking us toward Montezuma Creek, Utah,  and the next time station. The distance was about 40 miles. 

We were getting close with only about 94 miles to go, once we reached the time station in Montezuma Creek. The sun was starting to set as we passed Montezuma Creek time station.

The next section which took us to Cortez Colorado, a distance of around 50 miles, just seemed endless. The first section which was just before sunset was really nice. After dark, it seemed like endless climbing, and seemed like we were going in circles because the terrain just looked the same for so long. 

It seemed to take forever.

We missed a turn toward Hovenweep National Monument and had to turn back. We then stopped at the turn to mark the turn for Robb and his crew. It was so easy to miss!!

We knew we were getting close to Cortez when we saw that airport from up in the hills. 

Robert was really riding strong at this point and seemed to be getting an incredible second wind this late in the race. He had such bad heat-related problems riding through the desert. This was really great to see as he pounded the hills into the night. 

After leaving the checkpoint in Cortez, we went up ahead for quite some time to find a good spot to pull over where we would make the exchange. We really thought it would take Robb a long time to reach us. Before we were ready, all of a sudden, there he was with his crew in tow. He really climbed that section fast! 

It was now starting to rain some and the wind was picking up pretty strong. It felt like thunderstorms were on the way.

I think they switched one more time. Tony took the descent into Durango and then we all stopped so the boys could ride in together to the finish. 

They had a great finish with over 4 hours to spare before cutoff time.

They set a new course record for 2-person fixed gear.

A huge CONGRATS to Tony and Robert.