VMG Racing

2007 RAAM Highlight Video

2007-10-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Cameron for this piece. He is planning on making a 2nd one. Here is a quick and dirty version. Enjoy!

Team Crank and Burn RAAM '07 Highlight Video from Tyler Apanell on Vimeo.

RAAM '07 PHOTOS

2007-09-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

Some Photos from this year's RAAM:

Photos by Jim Kelley:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mijyellek/2007RAAMPhotos

Photos by The Chief:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lvazquezjr/RAAM02

Photos by Sam Cutting:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Sam.Cutting.4/SamSRAAMPhotos

Photos by Dan Busse:
http://picasaweb.google.com/DanRAAMphotos/RAAM

June 19, 2007 5:49est New Jersey!!!

2007-06-19T02:49:00.000-07:00

Van 3 has just crossed the Delaware River. We are currently awaiting our riders at TS 55. The finish line is in sight! STAY TUNED!!!

-Cam

Greenup ,IL 6/17/07 @ 09:19est

2007-06-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

We Arrived in Greenup, IL this morning ! Boys are still strong despite two crashes ! Shawn slipped on gravel and crashed. Kiv crossed RR tracks and got his wheel wedged and was thrown... Despite all the drama the boys are fine! Working hard ! Trying to make up for the days when they could only run three. Jim has been burning it up. We have finished 2146.1 Miles and have 900.5 miles to go! STAY TUNED

Here we are in the Ozarks 6/16/07 16:12

2007-06-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

Well we finally made it out of Kansas and did not encounter much wind. The boys are back to the normal rotation of two on two off pulls every four hours for hours 24 hrs until Atlantic City. We are happy to say we made up more time during these two time stations. The temps here are very hot! 98 degrees with over 90% humidity. We just sent Kiviok and Dan for their 4 hour session. Hopefully they can make more time. Stay tuned for more..... And check out the RAAM sight for more detailed info.

Wolf Creek Pass. This ones for You 6/16 7:20 est

2007-06-16T04:17:00.000-07:00

Team VMG RAAM Would like dedicate the grueling accent to our buddy Steele. This dedication comes as we the riders were standing on our pedals and thinking how hard you have to push to break tib /fib. Hang in there Steele.

6-16-07 2:57est

2007-06-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

Good morning good morning good morning Kansas, we jumped on the bikes and follow vehicle for the beginning of our 2am to 6am shift. I'v been looking at the back side of Jim's VMG shorts and it reminds me of a high reving four cylinder m series motor, his legs are pumping at well over 100rpm. HE'S BACK TO FULL FORM!!! and feeling great. Our boys last nigth pulled off a speedy shift shaving more time off Strong Heart's slight lead for third place. We seem to be around +/- 6min behind them. Hopefully we'll catch them today. Stay Tuned!

-The Chief

Loving Low Altitude!

2007-06-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

Jim here. Thanks to all for the kind words of encouragement. Just got off a four hour shift, alternating with Shawn. Feeling great now that I am back to low altitude. Averaging about 24mph on my pulls, with a slight headwind. Speaking of wind, we just rode through downtown Greensberg,KS. Or what is left of it. The town got hit by a huge tornado a few weeks ago. News footage of the destruction doesn't begin to capture the real thing. We are all doing great in comparison.

The sun just set and I am off for the next four hours. Shawn and I get the sunrise shift, beginning at 2 a.m.

Free McDonalds

2007-06-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

We are just outside Pratt, KS and we are looking forward to the free McDonalds. Also.....Jim is back on the bike and stronger than ever.

Time Penalty Explained

2007-06-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

You might have seen on the RAAM Race Report for VMG Racing a time penalty. Here's what happend: Shawn had dropped a chain on his bike and was forced to stop and fix it. The other 3 riders had pulled away from him in the mean time. In effort to make up time, Shawn rolled through a stop sign to make up time, thus resulting in a penalty. Hopefully it will be the last one.

Thanks for staying tuned to the blog!

-Tyler

Special Thanks to Denise Christensen!

2007-06-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the burritos, cakes, bread, cinnamon buns, etc...Thanks for Fueling Team VMG!

We really appreciate it.

Dueling it out in Kansas!

2007-06-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

Our boys are now dueling it in Kansas with team 410, Team Gs - Logistik Austria and Team 411, Team Strong Heart. Kiviok and Shawn had an amazing accent at Wolf Creek passing doing 1 mi, intervals, and by the time they had reached the top, Team VMG had negative time splits.

Unfortunately, Jim Kelly has had to stop racing as the high altitude has caused him mild pulmonary edema. On the bright side we have sent him ahead to Ulysses, Kansas and he is resting at a hotel. Thus our 4 man team has been working with 3 and holding their own. We are confident Jim will feel good enough to go on this evening and battle along as 4 man team.

We really appreciate the support and interest we are receiving! In the past 7 days our site has had 24,000 hits! Thanks A LOT!

-Tyler

6-15-07 12:52am est TS 19

2007-06-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Just through TS-19 La Veta, CO

Thanks friends in Cortez

2007-06-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

That was great having such a warm welcoming in Cortez, it sure did give us the extra boost we needed for Wolf Creek. I doubt that any other team received support like that from their home towns.

-Shawn and Kiviok

6-14-07 7:36pm est Wolf Creek Complete

2007-06-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

The boys made it over Wolf Creek Pass with ease around 6:30est.

6-14-07 12:19est Durango, TS 15

2007-06-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

We are on our final decent into Durango and Dan is headed into the time station. We are 40min ahead of Team Strong Heart. It is a beautiful blue bird day in sunny Colorado, the boys are anxiously awaiting to attack Wolf Creek pass.

Sam's 4 Spandex Clad Ferries

2007-06-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

As we were outfitting the vans with magnet sheets displaying our various fabulous sponsers, Shawn noticed that the word "ferries"(Lake Champlain Ferries, a team sponsor) was displayed conspicously large. He then dubbed the team the "Alternative Lifestyle Team." I mean, what kind of guys like to dress up in skin tight spandex, shave their legs, and spend every waking (and sleeping) moment together training for the "worlds toughfest bike race?" I'll tell you who.......... Sam's heros! And here they are, all 4 of them.

Kiviok Hight

Dan Busse

Shawn Gregory

Jim Kelley

All our prayers and wishes go out to Sam, I had the chance to talk with her the other day and if you are reading this right now, thank you, you are truly and insparation to us all.

-Cameron

The First 10

2007-06-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

Things have been movin so fast, it has been hard to update the blog as planed. I finaly have the chance to update sitting in the parking lot of some hotel in Kayenta, Az. I have not had much time to sleep, let alone upload and edit any footage. I have a bunch of great footage along with a bunch of great Hi-Res Photos.

Thanks for looking
-Cameron Payne

Heres a quick shot of the standings:

Here are a few more pics by, Cameron

Team VMG

Boss Dog

The "New" Guy

Shawn keep your eyes on the ROAD!!!

Thats more like it

Good Transition

Let The Race Begin!

2007-06-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

The RV left for Sultan City at 12:30pm Pacific time. The vans will follow the riders after the parade route........STAY TUNED!

Planning

2007-06-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

Pre-race vehicle logistics. The cardboard cutouts are vehicles and riders. The number of wine bottles is proportional to the understanding of the audience. We'll ask Kiviok to explain it all again later...

The dinner planning picture from two posts ago...

2007-06-11T18:54:00.001-07:00

Race rule and route changes announced the night before the race? No problem for the Uber-Chief

First Video Clip: Packing the Vans

2007-06-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

So this is just a short clip of packing and outfitting the vans in Cortez, CO.

This mornings Solo Start 6-10-07 3:30pmest

2007-06-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

In Oceanside 11:00am EST Update 6/10/07

2007-06-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well.. here we are.... We are in Oceanside. Gettin' the Vans set up..RV etc The Solo riders head out today. 9:00am PST. We will update the sight often.. I will update with photos soon.
LV

Thank you Johnny T

2007-06-07T21:55:00.001-07:00

Special thanks to John Tomac for all the Help throughout the training season. Team VMG relied heavily on his advice for their RAAM training. Look for Tomac training online in the near future.
Thanks again John

Cortez Morning Hot Spots

2007-06-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

Catch your early morning breakfast and coffee at Main Book Co and El Grande. El Grande opens at 6:30 am and Main Book will be open at 7am for RAAM tuesday june 14th through Thrudsay June 16th.
See you there.

CHRIS CORMIER AND MUSCLE TECH

2007-06-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the Nitro Tech shakes

OSPREY joins team VMG

2007-06-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

special thanks to everyone at OSPREY for hooking us up with travel packs. We're very lucky to have you in our community and with us on the road.

Flying Our Colors

2007-06-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

100 Tour de Cure this Sunday

36 Bottles of Perpetuem on the Wall

2007-05-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

With just two weeks to go, I am having an internal debate about how hard the RAAM is going to be. On one hand, 120 mile a day for six days, seems daunting. On the other hand, I consulted with Hammer Nutrition to determine how much Perpetuem powder I am going to need for the race. Only 36 six bottles to go across country! No problem.

2007-05-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

Medical Update

2007-05-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Sorry for the extra drama. First I knocked up a crew member then I go breaking myself up.

Just wanted to let everyone know how things were going. I got my clavicle plated yesterday (Sunday) morning and everything went great. I literally pulled my Ortho Doc buddy straight off the golf course to come fix me up (I owe him a T time for sure). He said all the screws went in very solid and all the bones went back into place with no problems. I feel a lot better after the surgery and can already move my arm around and don't have to keep it in a sling.

For the next 5-7 days the major concern is not to sweat so the incision does not get infected then I can start riding again (Road bike only). It actually will take 5 - 8 weeks for the bones to actually heal up but I should have full mobility with the plate until then. I just have to be careful not to pick up to much weight until the bone is fully healed because only the screws are holding things together before hand.

I have another buddy who is working me into rehab this week as well. The way I feel so far and the way things have progressed I don't see any reason why I would have any problems. Having raced motorcycles for years riding with injuries is just part of it. I guess my upper body pain may just be constant with the lower body pain during the race.

My ortho doc buddy is going to come up to my house today and remove the bandages. He road his mountain bike by yesterday but I was hiking down in a canyon on my property and missed him. I will let you all know how things are going. Sounds like I may be the only one truly tapering off the training before the race.

Just wanted to let everyone know my thoughts. I know that surgery and broken bones seem like they would be a race ending injury but out of all the bones to break this scenario with a plate will keep me in the race and I am fully committed to riding 100% of my part.

Also, I will order the racks this week and Kiv and I can get the CBs as well. Radio Shack in Cortez has everything in stock including the 3-way plug splitters for the vehicle cigarette lighters. Shawn

P.S. I will email x-ray showing carnage when I get it scanned in.

sam's pics in Germany

2007-05-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Letter from Sam

2007-05-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hey Kiv,
Things here are going well, Ive had my share of sick detox days already but Im still pushing! I had last week off and I was very sick, I had major nausea and I didnt eat for about 3 days...:( I started treatment on monday and I did great they cranked the machine up to 25% and I took it without pain or anything, Tuesday was harder, because I went so hard on monday I was already sick going into the clinic, they could only run the machine at 15% but the also gave me a few new drugs, some selenium...sp?? and lukine.... Over all though Im doing great, dad gets here in 5 days and Im soo excited I miss him like crazy! Ill try to attach some picks to this email if it doesnt work write me back and Ill try again

Talk to you soon

Sam

Christmas and Tapering

2007-05-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to all our sponsors. As the race is approaching, we're getting some of the equipment generously donated to us. It's a little like Christmas...

We were told to back way down on our training. "Sleep 10 hours a night, take frequent naps, eat, rest and meditate," to be exact. While my kids and employer aren't exactally buying into this, I am taking care of the eating part.
I'm also happily following the advice of Coach Kelley on interval training : "rest, repeat, rest, repeat..."

New Sponsor

2007-05-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

today ZEAL OPTICS sponsored slipstream eyewear for team VMG's RAAM journey. Welcome to the team! Check out their outstanding lineup of eyewear brought to life here in the four corners (Moab) at zealoptics.com

coal bank ride

2007-05-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

Recap of ride last sunday. Shawn and I set out to ride durango to silverton and back, but got turned around at coal bank pass (10,600 ft) d/t a down pour. Met a guy coming back from Molas pass that said he ran into snow up there. We turned around and began the big decent to safer ground below. On the way down my bike began to shake out of control. I was wondering if a wheel got lose or I was sliding on the wet pavement while braking. I stopped and checked out the bike. Nothing wrong. Got back on the bike, and it started again. I couldn't figure it out until I hit a warm patch of air and the shaking stopped. Turned out that I was shivvering so hard that I could barely control my bike. It took 20 minutes for my hands to thaw out when we got to the valley floor. -Got to remember the camera.

Team RED BULL

2007-05-11T08:10:00.000-07:00