Press ReleaseSeptember 22, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Brett Walker
Phone: 603-648-2899
Fax: 603-648-6647
info@teamwalker07.com NH Cyclist Qualifies for “World’s Toughest Bicycle Race Salisbury, New Hampshire cyclist Brett Walker recently won the Adirondack 540 bike race. The victory officially qualifies him for the prestigious and arduous Race Across America (RAAM). Walker completed the demanding four-lap, 544-mile route through New York’s Adirondack Mountains in 32 hours, 16 minutes. His winning time shattered the old course record by 42 minutes and was more than four hours faster than his nearest competitor. RAAM has been termed “the world’s toughest bicycle race.” Created in 1982, it is the world’s longest-running ultra-endurance cycling competition. The 26th edition will begin on June 10, 2007 in Oceanside, California and finish over 3,000 miles away in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Walker will be competing in the grueling solo division (there are also team categories). Only 164 solo and tandem riders have successfully completed RAAM, compared to over 1,300 climbers who have summited Mt Everest. Solo competitors ride nearly continuously in all weather conditions and terrain, typically sleeping only one-and-a-half to fours hours each night. Even so, very few finish within the allotted time of 12 days. Yet even for solo riders, RAAM is anything but a solo effort: Cyclists depend on crew teams in pace vehicles for motivation and logistical support, as well as corporate sponsorship to defray the $15,000-$25,000 cost of competing in the transcontinental race. 2007 will be the first year in which a solo cyclist from New Hampshire will be represented in RAAM. | 