SenseAware

We Made It!!

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 12:37:13 -0400

IT’S OVER! We have crossed the finish line! It’s a huge accomplishment to say we, the RAAM rookies, finished and survived Race Across America, “The World’s Toughest Bike Race!”

Jake, the young boy we rode to support, was the real winner in all this. I heard he has left the hospital and is recuperating at home.

Akron Children’s Hospital

I want to thank our supporters, volunteers, and the cheerleaders that followed us via SenseAware. Thank you for your donations, e-mails, calls, prayers, texts, tweets and Facebook posts. I have never been involved with something of this magnitude. There have been hundreds of hours given by dozens of volunteers to support a great cause. I want all of you to know how much of an impact this has had on me, my fellow racers, our crew, and of course, the kids at Akron Children’s Hospital. You have made a difference. Please know that I/we appreciate you.

Signing off…

The route looks much shorter on paper!

Victory Post!

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Crossing the finish line

We did it!

All photos in this post were taken by Brian Palmer

Friday, June 22, 2012

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:50:18 -0400

The SenseAware(SM) application provides near real-time data about the team’s journey. Here is a snapshot of today’s statistics as the team rides on past Cincinnati, OH.

Location: Belpre, OH

Temperature: 92.4º F

Humidity: 56%

Barometric Pressure: 989 mBar

Kansas Dust Storm and More!

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:54:24 -0400

Kansas was tough. Riding through dust storms is not easy!

Our RV generator went out, so that means no power and worst of all, no air conditioning! We’re charging our all of our electronics (including our SenseAware devices) via the cigarette lighter outlet, and Kansas in the back of an RV at 111 degrees is definitely not the most fun. It’s been a hard couple of days, but seeing the country and sharing this experience with you is worth it!

Kansas’ beautiful morning sky

More to come…

Awesome sights

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:07:00 -0400

In the past week, we have traveled almost 2,000 miles and have witnessed some pretty incredible things! Enjoy some of our journey pictures below.

Sunset in Arizona

Riding uphill in the Rockies

The hot sun beaming down on us

More to come…

All photos in this post were taken by Brian Palmer.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 12:27:34 -0400

The SenseAware(SM) application provides near real-time data about the team’s journey. Here is a snapshot of today’s statistics as the team rides through Bluff City, Missouri.

Location: Bluff City, MO

Temperature: 91.4º F

Humidity: 42%

Barometric Pressure: 993 mBar

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:56:00 -0400

The SenseAware(SM) application provides near real-time data about the team’s journey. Here is a snapshot of today’s statistics as the team rides through El Dorado Springs, Missouri.

Location: El Dorado Springs, MO

Temperature: 90.0º F

Humidity: 53%

Barometric Pressure: 980 mBar

Jake update

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:14:00 -0400

I received a quick update from my dear friend and father of Jake, the young boy who had the ten hour surgery at Akron Children’s Hospital on Wednesday. I’m pleased to announce that he is doing well and making remarkable progress. Keep them in your thoughts!

Our goal is to get to Annapolis before Jake gets to go home. Friday, June 22 is the forecasted date for Jake’s departure, and I know it’s a heck of a stretch for us to make the entire 3,000 mile journey in such a tight timeframe, but we’re motivated. Cheer us on!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:22:42 -0400

The SenseAware(SM) application provides near real-time data about the team’s journey. Here is a snapshot of today’s statistics as the team rides through Bartlett, Kansas.

Location: Highway 160, Bartlett, Kansas

Temperature: 91.6º F

Humidity: 16%

Barometric Pressure: 872 mBar

Friends and Family witness journey struggles via SenseAware...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:52:00 -0400

Our closest friends and family members are tracking our near-real time progress using SenseAware. So, they’ve witnessed firsthand some of the obstacles we’ve experienced thus far, like riding in extreme heat and getting hammered in the Rockies!

Sleep has been a challenge as well. Since I left on Saturday, I have had two hours of un-interrupted rest. There was a slight miscommunication with our RV and we were forced to do back-to-back pulls with no rest and no change of clothes. Talk about a disaster! But our spirits are high and we’re racing with all of our might!

More to come…

Preparations

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 19:56:00 -0400

Just a snapshot of what we needed in order to race across the United States and raise money for Akron Children’s Hospital:

· Two doctors

· One mechanic

· One crew-chief

· One assistant crew-chief

· Four crew members

· Eight racers

· Eight SenseAware devices

· Ten bikes

· Two SUV’s

· One RV

· Countless additional volunteers along the route to prep food and cheer us on

· An insane amount of Gatorade, water, gels, medicine, Chamois Butter and sun block. Plus a whole bunch of stuff I am forgetting because I am tired!

***Note*** The folks on the crew are volunteers. How cool is that? They’re giving up their vacation time to travel across the United States at 20 mph, all in the efforts to raise money for others. I am humbled! ***

More to come…

Monday, June 18, 2012

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:50:00 -0400

The SenseAware(SM) application provides near real-time data about the team’s journey. Here is a snapshot of today’s statistics as the team crossed the San Juan River.

Location: Highway 191, Utah

Temperature: 77.9º F

Humidity: 22%

Barometric Pressure: 858 mBar

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 14:53:00 -0400

The SenseAware(SM) application provides near real-time data about the team’s journey. Here is a snapshot of today’s statistics as the team approaches Phoenix, AZ.

Location: Wickeburg, AZ

Temperature: 84.9º F

Humidity: 40%

Barometric Pressure: 855 mBar

Just taking few minutes to reflect on why we’re racing…. While many racers and crew on the team...

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 14:42:00 -0400

Just taking few minutes to reflect on why we’re racing….

While many racers and crew on the team have had a firsthand experience with Akron Children’s Hospital (me included with my son Caleb), we received a sobering e-mail last week that reminded us why we have been preparing and training for this event. The author of the e-mail is a fellow triathlete and friend.

An excerpt of his message reads:

Dear Friends,

Most of you know our oldest son, Jake’s, medical history. Many of you also know that, on June 13 at Akron Children’s Hospital, he will hopefully have the final surgery of his life to implant bars in his back to help correct the scoliosis of his spine. This 8-10 hour procedure will entail two surgeons opening him from the side, removing a unneeded rib, removing the discs between his 5-11 thoracic vertebrae and using the rib to fuse those vertebrae. He will then be closed, turned over and his back opened to insert bars on either side of his spinal column. The bars will be then fused to the vertebrae. As serious as this procedure sounds, it has been performed many times before by the surgeons with the very favorable results of increased mobility, enhanced quality of life and reduced future deterioration. Unbelievably, his hospital stay will be a week or less and they expect him on his feet the day after surgery. The recovery, however, will be about two months, somewhat painful and will include a great deal of rest.

Talk about bringing things close to home. As I am typing this message Jake is literally recovering from surgery at the very hospital our charity is supporting. This (Jake) is why we have been working on this project for over a year now. This is why we woke up at 4:30 a.m. for those indoortraining sessions in the middle of the winter. This is why we have been sore, and hurt, and exhausted, and stretched beyond what we thought could be possible.

I know Jake personally as my oldest son played against him in little league. I can’t wait to see him once he is out of the hospital, which will hopefully be around the time we should be crossing the finish line in Annapolis, MD. An appropriate closing event for our effort, wouldn’t you say?

More to come…

All photos in this post were taken by Brian Palmer.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:14:00 -0400

The SenseAware(SM) application provides near real-time data about the team’s journey. Here is a snapshot of today’s statistics as the team left Oceanside, CA.

Location: Oceanside, CA

Temperature: 81.1º F

Humidity: 44%

Barometric Pressure: 1005 mBar

I guess it’s real now. Today we begin our journey and in a couple of hours the Race Across America...

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 10:26:00 -0400

I guess it’s real now. Today we begin our journey and in a couple of hours the Race Across America (RAAM) gun will officially sound off. The Ohio Cycleworks Charities team has worked so hard this past year and I know I speak for everyone when I say I can’t wait to simply get pedaling! My anxiety and excitement is at an all-time high!

Riding 3,000 miles on a bike is most absurd when you think about it. I never said this was a logical endeavor. The reality is this may be one of the most mentally and physically challenging things I will go through in my life.

Our team is traveling with a SenseAware device throughout the entire race that will allow us to share with you firsthand some of the extreme conditions we will face as we race from coast to coast. We will be able to share statistics such as current location, temperature, barometric pressure and relative humidity with all of our blog followers.

I’m glad that you have decide to follow our RAAM journey and travel across the country with me, my team and SenseAware.

More to come…