**Disclaimer** I am not sponsored by any of the mentioned brands of gear/bikes. I am however sponsored by Berry Fast Bicycles who can order any of the spare parts, most gear, and Trek/Bontrager items for you. This is the end of the Disclaimer ***
When I first signed up for the Race Across the West (RAW), the thoughts racing through my mind all revolved around riding a bike 930 miles (920 at the time of registration). Would I be able to physically do this? I soon realized that my ability to accomplish such a feat as RAM relied just as much on, if not more, our planning efforts and ability to acquire the needed gear. In today's article, I want to take a moment to share just exactly how my mindset evolved, what gear I chose and how I came to that conclusion and the costs associated with everything.
First, the registration. I first heard of and thought about RAW in 2013 when I dove heavily into cycling while I was stationed on Camp Pendleton in southern California. It stuck with me for nearly 8 years and started to become my priority in late 2020 after getting back on the bike. One evening after thinking about it heavily for quite some time, my wife Emily and I decided, let's do this.
Just like that, I was registered. Commence heavy breathing and instant thoughts of self-doubt. Don't worry, that's normal for me and many others. If anyone ever says they were never even a tad bit nervous about something, they are most likely putting on a front.
What now? Well, I already had a bike. Emily was gracious enough to allow me to purchase my next 10 years of Christmas gifts all at once during the summer of 2020. My bike.
This has been hands down the best road bike I have owned. It's light, roughly 14.5 lbs, and has electronic di2 shifting which allows for more precise and quicker gear changes, and less chain wear. The bike cranks also came with power meters, which allowed me to accurately gauge my efforts out on the road. Wrapped up into that bike price is a set of 50mm Roval wheels. But here is the standalone cost.
For those that aren't huge into cycling, these 50mm wheels allow higher aerodynamics through the wind. I can honestly say that these things feel like you are cheating, and I can compare them to sails on a boat. Again, like anything, they are light coming in at roughly 3.11 lbs per.
You would think an eleven-thousand-dollar bike would come with water bottle cages and pedals, but you are wrong. I again stuck with the light options, getting full carbon cages and Dura-Ace Pedals.
Now that we have most of the bike components taken care of, it was time to upgrade the bike computer. I wanted something that had a large enough screen for easy to read mapping, but a battery life to last me the entire race. I went with the Garmin Edge 1030 plus. This device checked all my boxes, and I have been super impressed with it on the road. Waterproof, long-lasting battery, easy-to-read screen, and a fantastic touch screen. Garmin says that the battery will last 24 hrs. The race itself will last well beyond that so I invested also in a battery pack. This adds another 24 hrs, can be removed and charged, and added back to the device when needed. Solution for a 92 hr race!
Next comes lights. The rules state that you must always have a rear flashing red light, and a front light either flashing or solid during the day and solid at night. I had a larger light before from NiteRider, and decided to stick again with this brand after many hours of research. It ticked all my boxes of light, waterproof, bright with rechargeable batteries, and easily mountable. I bought three of the NiteRider Micro 900. This allowed me to always have one on the bike, one charging, and a spare if things were to go wrong with one. For the flashing red light, Emily and I already each had a Garmin Varia which acts as a rear light, and rear radar. It connects with your Garmin bike computer and notifies you when a vehicle or object is approaching from the rear. VERY nice to have on desolate country roads. Also in our inventory are some basic rechargeable rear red flashing lights.
Next, I needed a set of clip-on aero bars for my road bike. These aero bars allow me to duck down out of the wind, change up my bike position, and take some stress off my hands, wrists, and joints. After some research with John Berry with Berry Fast Bicycles, he mentioned the brand RedShift. I have not purchased these yet, but will within the next few days.
Phew... Let's take a little break for a second from the gear and equipment. During all of this, I have also been reading through the 56 pages of race rules, trying to find a minimum of 5 people to join along as crew members, ensure my vehicle meets specifications, order the correct lighting for such vehicle to meet the rules, talk John Berry into bringing his mobile bike shop with (Thank you John!), and promote our fundraiser for the Semper Fi & America's Fund. To say the least, the easiest part so far has been registering for the darn thing! Not to mention I needed to come up with a bike training plan, and ride my dang bike. It is a bike race of course! (More on that here).
Moving on from the bike, I need to have all the right gear for my body. I need to be prepared for a multitude of climates. Hot, cold, rain, wind, etc. Emily and I found a company called Rapha, and have been very happy with their bib shorts and jerseys. Yes, they are a bit more expensive, but the material is top-notch.
Rapha Jersey top: $180 x5 = $750
Rapha Bibs: $270 x5 = $1,350
I already had myself a Helmet but needed a spare in case of any problems. I also wanted a white helmet for the desert, so my head could stay that much cooler. After my longer rides, I realized that I needed cycling gloves with padding, something I have never worn. Another thing I had never worn was UV arm and leg sleeves. These white sleeves basically block the sun from direct contact with my skin, but also are moisture wicking helping keep me cool. An extra set of cycling shoes/cleats, plenty of socks, a rain jacket, shoe covers for rain, headbands, etc. I also wanted an extra set of sunglasses, with the option for clear lenses for night riding. I have ALWAYS gone with Oakley for all of my sunglasses and again stuck with them.
Bontrager XXX Helmet: $300
Bontrager Gloves: $35
Bontrager Leg Covers:$40
Bontrager Rain Booties Shoe Covers: $100
Bontrager Headbands: $25
Now for the boring things, but essential. Spare parts. I can't be in the middle of the desert and have a mechanical failure without a solution. Thankfully, I kept my original Cannondale CAAD 10 as a spare bike. Which has its own spare wheelsets. I will not include this in the grand total.
Spare Chains: $50 x2
Spare Cassettes: $665
USED Bontrager Aeolus D3 Carbon Wheelset: $1,200
But we are not done yet. I wanted a waterproof gear storage solution that offered many pockets and plenty of room. I also wanted to invest in something that could be flown to any future events. I came across a company called ROAM Adventure Co., and their 95L Rugged Case. Sold separately was a lid organizer as well. This was a perfect solution for the organization! The only problem was they were out of stock. After some digging and some super quick responses, I was able to find what I needed from the folks at Adventure Up Overland.
Two other solutions that we needed were water/ice storage and food storage. Again we turned to our new friends at Adventure Up Overland and ordered the ROAM Adventure Co. 20QT Rugged Drink Tank.
For food and ice storage, we decided to invest in a YETI 125 cooler. From the countless reviews we watched and read, YETI consistently took home the cake for performance. Again, it is not the cheapest cooler on the market, but we desire items that will work for years to come. As they say, cry once, meaning I would rather cry once and pay for something that will last.
Finally let's factor in the hotel, travel, and food costs for the actual event. As well as the required vehicle safety equipment.
Lodging: Oceanside, CA race start location: $1,189
Travel to Oceanside & travel home: $700
Meals: $900
Lodging along route and finish for the crew: $500
Amber lights for both follow vehicles: $280
So let's take a moment and add things up....
**Calculator sounds beep-boop-bop**
$26,503 ....Woah... Commence heavy breathing
Now you might be thinking, are you nuts? But I want you to put this into perspective. What is the one thing that you are passionate about? Have you actually totaled it all up to see how much this passion "costs" you? Think about what it would feel like to lose this passion, what would the cost be to you then? The cost is unmeasurable. I am blessed with the opportunity and support system to be able and take my passion and try to raise money for wounded veterans. Cycling has done much more than take money from my checkbook. It has provided wonderful adventures for Emily and I, like our journeys to California, and Mt. Lemmon in Tuscon, AZ. It has helped me lose over 30 lbs and refine my fitness. It has done absolute wonders for my mental health, and after 200 miles on the bike my spiritual health as well. When things are put into perspective, $26,503 isn't an issue. Emily and I would gladly write that check again.
Thankfully though a lot of these items are one-time purchases and should last for many years if maintained correctly. This is just our first ultra endeavor, so the costs added up quickly. These items weren't acquired in one month. We were able to slowly acquire them without having to, sell the farm, as one would say. I've also been very fortunate to have some wonderful sponsors to help offset the costs. Dairy Queen of Madison, Sunshine Foods of Madison, Madison Family Dental, State Farm Insurance & Randy Schaefer, and of course Berry Fast Bicycles. Thank you all for your support and backing!
As you might see, I'm just ready to get on the bike and race! Enough logistics, planning, preventing. Cheers!
As always, I encourage everyone to donate today to our Semper Fi & America's Fund page!
Until next time. Adventure is out there!
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