Vocabulary

The use of the following terms is intended to facilitate communication.

Team Captain (1)
He leads the overall personnel and material organization of the team
During the race, as the Crew Chief, he is a member of the crew.

Racers (4)
They drive the race with their bikes.

Replacement Racer (1)
He is available for the possible failure of a designated racer. If none of the racers fails until the start, he will be a member of the crew during the race.

Crew Chief (1)
He leads the team during the race and is the official contact person for the members of the RAAAM organization. He is part of the crew. His major tasks are

• leading the team
• human ressource and material planning
• to make tactical decisions concerning the progress of the teams race

Deputy Crew Chief (1)
He is the deputy of the Crew Chief. He is part of the crew

Crew (10)
They do support the racers in many ways. Their major tasks are

• driving Follow Vehicles (7-Seat Vans) and Support Vehicles (Recreation Vehicles)
• navigating the racers
• supplying the racers with food, drinks, clothes
• communication matters
• purchase of nutrition and material
• bikes preventive maintenance and small repairs

Media (2)
The accredited Media-Team is to escorts the team for photograpic documentation.
They do operate with an own Support Vehicle (7-Seat Van).

Tests

We decided, to make no practical test prior to the US-Phase of our project.

Travelling Concept

We have to decide the terms of travelling during this year. Team start will be at Saturday, 20th 2020, 12:00 p.m. (PDT). The concept is that the advance-party consisting of the four racers, the reserve and three of the crew members, will arrive at the team’s basecamp in or around Oceanside six days prior to the race team start. This will be Sunday, 14th, 2020. They will pick up the RAAM and Race Supplies in the RAAM-Office and accomplish the initial setup by

• get acclimatized (racers & reserve!)
• collecting the rental cars (Follow Vehicles & Media-Vehicle),
• assemble the bikes,
• buy equipment.

The rest of the team will arrive Tuesday, 16th, 2020. Their main tasks will be

• collecting the Recreation Vehicles (RV)
• attending a Crew Chief Meeting (Mandatory for the Crew Chief)
• preparing and attending the Team Inspection (mandatory for the crew)
• prepare the Follow Vehicles and Support Vehicles (inside & outside)
• buy supplies, food, nutrition & drinks for the race
• attending the photo session (mandatory for the racers)
• attending the team presentation (mandatory for the team)

Destination Airports

There are three airports possible for travel. The first choice is Los Angeles (LAX). Alternatives are San Francisco (SFO), with the disadvantage of longer travel time to the start in Oceanside, or San Diego (SAN) (no frequently departures from intercontinental airlines from Norway). Direct flights from Europe to Los Angeles (LAX)are preferred in order to avoid stress through transfer immigration.
All flights will be arranged by or in close contact with the Team Captain.
Most likely, we will fly back from the airport in Washington. The Return of the Recreation Vehicles may force us to designate other airport, e.g. Newark (EWR) or Denver (DEN).

Follow Vehicles (FV)

The primary task of the Follow Vehicles is to support the racers by

• navigating on the race route
• provision of fluids, nutrition, clothes and equipment
• shielding from upcoming traffic

We will rent two Follow Vehicles (7-Seat Van). Usually they are DODGE TOWN&COUNTRY or CRYSLER GRAND CARAVAN. Almost perfect for our needs.
When renting a car, as many crew as possible will registered as drivers to each car. This keeps us flexible to the maximum extent possible.
The car rental firms usually allow registration of up to six drivers per vehicle. Sometimes more. When registering drivers for a vehicle, the drivers have to be present in person. After-registration is possible, but the drivers must be present in person as well and that takes additional time.
We will hire for similar vehicles as following cars. Not only similar car classes but also the exact same vehicles. The advantage is that the drivers can swap vehicles without the need of getting familiar with a new vehicle. The vehicles will preferably be in different colours.
One mandatory exercise during preparation for all crew members will be in the exchange of tires. Because the active following car usually drives halfway on the emergency lane, flat tires are daily business during the race.
Each following car has seven seats. All seats behind the driver/co-driver are retractable. Enough space for a madras. This madras enables people to rest (primarily the racers, if spare, also other crew members). The madras can be replaced with the 4th seat if needed (one of the jumpers gets into the car and all 4 persons in the car wish to sit).

Recreation Vehicles (RV)

The Recreation Vehicles will be used by all team members to

• transport personell, equipment & luggage along the race route
• accommodate the resting crew for sleeping-, eating- and personal hygiene purposes

We will rent two RVs US-Type C-30. They can be driven with the regular drivers Licence Class “B”.
The advantage of this Type RV is, its space is suitable to accommodate all equipment, personal belongings and supplies. Still enough space to accommodate the resting crew in an almost convenient manner.

Mobile homes also have a few disadvantages. The RAAM-Organization does not allow mobile homes as Following Vehicles. The onboard toilet gets full after one or two days. The use of the cooking facilities is time consuming and reducing valuable sleeping time. The waste water (black & grey) can only be disposed on a campsite. Recreation Vehicles are clumsy on the road.

Media-Vehicle (MV)

We will rent one Media Vehicle (7-Seat Van). Usually it is a DODGE TOWN&COUNTRY or CRYSLER GRAND CARAVAN. Almost perfect for our needs.
When renting a car, besides the media-crew, as many crew as possible will be registered as drivers to each car. In addition the inside & outside setup will be similar to the Follow Vehicles. This keeps us flexible in the case of unwanted brake down of a Follow Vehicle by just changing the vehicles.