RAAM at night.

It occurred to me the other night that it might be worthwhile to share with everyone what the after dark procedures are for RAAM racers and crew.

Safety is the biggest concern of everyone participating in RAAM. Riding a bike is dangerous because there are so many clueless motorists. Putting yourself on a bike from California to Maryland means that there’s a significant amount of risk. This race has seen rider deaths, and where possible, RAAM officials have been proactive about identifying dangers and ways to avoid them. One of the things that struck me while reading through the race rules this year was the fact that race management will create rules instantly if a previously unforeseen danger (or other need for a rule change) occurs. They have a documented notification plan for anyone on course, should this happen.

Here’s a look at RAAM’s night riding rules:

1. Night riding shall be considered:

a. from 7:30pm LOCAL time until 6:30am LOCAL time, or
b. any time when vehicles would normally have their night driving headlights on, or
c. anytime visibility to less than 1000 feet (300m).

2. If you have any doubt about the visibility conditions, operate as if it is Night time.

3. Racers may not proceed beyond the Follow Vehicle lights during Night time, even when displaying legal required bike lights. Racers must be no more than 50 feet (15m) in front of the Follow Vehicle at Night with no other vehicles between the Racer and Follow Vehicle. The Follow Vehicle and Racer become a single entity under Night riding conditions. Follow Vehicles may temporarily pull along side the Racer when conditions safely permit to conduct a handoff of food, water & normal supplies. The Racer must at all times be able to safely see the roadway in front of the follow vehicle lighted by the Follow Vehicle lights.

4. The rules for handoffs, city traffic, mountain climbs, and other difficult pacing situations must be modified at night so that the bicycle never leaves the Follow Vehicle headlights.

5. The Follow Vehicle may stop for a few seconds and the Racer may continue providing the Racer is still well lighted by the following Follow Vehicle headlights.

6, The Follow Vehicle must have all appropriate signage and lighting when operating under Night conditions.

If anyone has anything that they'd like to see covered or expanded on about the mechanics of the race, please let me know. In addition, if anyone wants to provide information about Team ViaSat racers or about the area that the team is racing through, or really anything race related - I'd love to hear from you!