Last Saturday, a group of cyclists set out from Los Angeles, California on a 3000 mile bike ride/race across the United States in an effort to raise funds for Blue Planet, an organization dedicated to delivering safe drinking water to the world. Ultimately, they hope to complete the journey in just eight days, eventually ending their ride in Annapolis, Maryland. If successful, they'll have completed a race that is longer than the Tour de France and in just a fourth of the time.These efforts are taking place within the Race Across America (RAAM), an annual event that has riders from all over the world competing in a transcontinental road race. The Blue Planet network teams that are taking part in the event include Team Ride4Water, made up of Katie Spotz and Sam Williams, and Team Hope, which as four riders – Alejandro Galindo, Sara Harper, Andre Husain, and Lawrence Smith. Solo rider Samim Rizvi is also competing in the race for Blue Planet as well.
The riders are off to a great start and have already completed the first 1000 miles of the ride. As of this morning, they're in Colorado, where they are about to cross one of their biggest hurdles in the form of the Rocky Mountains. With that out of the way, the next two-thirds of the race should be a piece of cake.
You may recall that Katie Spotz rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean a last year for clean drinking water as well, and apparently her partner Sam has also accomplished that feat. Things haven't gotten off to a good start for her however, as according to the video below, she broke her pelvis in a crash a week before the race. She is continuing on however using a recumbent bike, which should be more comfortable, but still doesn't sound like a lot of fun.
If everything goes as scheduled, the teams and riders in this year's RAAM, should arrive at the finish line this Sunday.