My plan was to sleep 20-minutes in the back seat of the minivan every six hours after the first 24 hours of continuous riding. I followed this sleep-ride cycle in 1990 and everything went great until I missed one of my sleep breaks. When I finally went to sleep I did not wake up for four hours. Anyway, we finished the 1990 RAAM in 10 days three hours and 32 minutes .

In 1990 I used Ultra Energy as my predominant fuel source. This year however, due to our limited budget, my diet consisted of sustenance provided by sponsors at no charge - a PowerBar every half hour and two bottles of Accelerade every hour.

I did not feel it necessary to monitor my blood sugar until I started feeling nauseous in Arizona. I finally took the time to check my blood glucose and it was almost 400 ml/dl. I increased insulin dosages and decreased the PowerBars and immediately felt better.

My major slow-downs on the bike were due to atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat). These episodes occurred mainly during extreme heat and/or high humidity. However in Utah, my support crew informed me that I was slowing down even when it wasn’t hot or humid. My crew chief and an old friend who pedaled along side me for a few minutes, deducted that I probably was not getting enough REM sleep during the 20-minute sleep cycle.

Rather than follow the advice of my friend and the crew chief, I continued with my 20-minute sleep pattern until we reached Colorado. Then it happened - at about 2:00 am I felt as if I was no longer riding the bike. I was watching myself ride, but there were no saddle sores, muscle tension, or knee pain. According to my support crew I was riding 20 mph up hill without effort. Since “I” was not riding, there was no fear of cattle guards or steep descents. I hoped this out-of-body experience would last for the duration of the race, and if so, I was sure that we would make it to AC!

The next thing that I remember is my support crew trying to rouse me in the back seat of the minivan. Later they told me that I was speaking in the 3rd person (e.g. "You shouldn't make Tom ride"). That firmed the decision to extend my sleep breaks to 90 minutes instead of just 20 minutes.

In the pitch black night my crew chief informed me that we were at the base of Wolf Creek Pass. I was ecstatic. To me, this was the halfway point in the race. After a couple of more mountain ranges, then it was all down hill for awhile. In 1990 I remember pedaling so slowly up Wolf Creek Pass that a journalist was able to walk comfortably beside me and hold a microphone to my face. This year was different - I was psyched. Even though it was 17 years later, somehow, with all of my ailments pedaling seemed easier and I rode faster.

We changed my sleep cycle to 90 minutes every eight hours, but I was still at the back of the pack. I was also eating ravenously. Our budget didn’t cover my cravings every time we passed a convenience store. And when we had to stop and fuel up the van, I stopped too and found a way to spend money on food.

Maybe it was the boredom of Kansas that caused me to gorge on hot dogs, turkey sandwiches, subs, … and in one feeding I inhaled five hamburgers in less than ten minutes. In any case, I was eating up our budget.

By the time we reached Missouri we were faced with the disheartening news that not only would we not have enough cash to make it to AC, but that if we were to finish, it would be unofficial because we missed the time cut off. That is when we made our decision to cut our losses, pile everything into the van, and make a bee-line back to Texas.

I love the RAAM and I would love to try it again. Diabetes and arthritis can be managed, but I’m still trying to find a cure for a-fib. If anyone has a low-budget cure for an arrhythmia, please let me know and maybe next year there will be an official finisher of the RAAM who is also a Type 1 diabetic.