Reto Schoch Wins RAAM 2012

Reto Schoch has won the men's solo division of RAAM.

His time of 8 days, 6 hours, 29 minutes is the fastest time ever for a rookie (but he is not the first rookie to ever win RAAM). He ended up beating Christoph Strasser by 3 hours and 5 minutes.

The first, unofficial victory celebration started at the point where the timed portion of the race ends, which is in front of the Ram's Head Roadhouse, just outside of downtown Annapolis.


At first, Reto and his crew weren't even 100% sure if Reto had won the race, because Strasser was still out on the course, but when we told them that Reto was far enough in front that there was no way Strasser could catch them, they all breathed a sigh of relief. It was a lot of fun to share that moment with them.

After about 45 minutes, Jody and I had the privilege of escorting Reto and his follow vehicle to the official finish line at Susan G. Campbell Park on Dock Street.

We were not around when Strasser made it to the finish line, but we heard that he had trouble walking and did not want to sit, because his butt hurt so much.

The poor guy had an amazing race but failed to win. He was simply beaten by a better man, Reto.

Unlike Strasser, Reto was in fantastic shape even at the finish. If you had just showed up at the stage to watch the victory celebration, I seriously doubt you would have guessed the guy just finished cycling across the entire United States.

As a matter of fact, if there weren't a medal hanging around Reto's neck (from 2010?), you would have thought there was some kind of photo shoot going on or you might have thought the guy was about to start a bike race, not finish one.

Even I still can't believe how happy and relaxed Reto was at the finish line, and that he did not appear to be sore at all.

I really think if the guy had to bike back to Oceanside starting today, he could do it.

I'm telling you, we got to see the guy riding up close and often and he was incredible.

Here's one last bit of "proof" regarding Reto's never-ending energy:


After he arrived at Ram's Head Roadhouse, Reto told us that there was some confusion among his crew as to where the actual finish line was.

According to what he told us, it sounds to me that he thought the finish line was Mount Airy, Maryland, about 50 miles from the finish. He said something like, "I gave it all I had to get to the finish and didn't think I needn't to eat anything else, but when I got there, my crew told me I had to ride another 40 miles."

That's hard to believe, considering he rode the last 9.5 miles in a blazing 28 minutes, which includes quite a bit of riding at about 30 m.p.h.

While watching him fly down the road to the Roadhouse, Jody said it best:

"This guy is a machine!"

Indeed, he is.

Congratulations, Reto!

Since we've made it to Annapolis, Jody and I also put an end to the liquid diet. Some of you may think that that was a big relief, but it really wasn't.

Even though the hotel's continental breakfast included things like bagels and cream cheese, oatmeal, and muffins and danishes, the only food I had for breakfast was one hard-boiled egg. Jody had two, plus some yogurt.

I'm telling you, I know have reservations about what I put in my body. I have too much of a sweet tooth, so if I am "allowed" to eat junk, I will. That's not good.

After breakfast, Jody and I both finally had a Swiss snack. He had a "Biberli" and I had an "Appenzeller Bireweggli." A little while later, we also both ate a banana.

I guess I should just try to stop eating junk food and concentrate more on eating healthy food. Wish me luck with that.

Between now and Sunday at 6:00 a.m., when I fly back to Japan, Jody and I are on escort duty. We basically sit tight at our hotel until we are told that a rider or team needs an escort to the dock and then off we go. Right now, we have quite a bit of down time, so we are just chilling and I am obviously back to blogging.

The female solo champion-to-be, Trix Zgraggen, is not due until 4 or 5 a.m., but I plan to go watch her arrive at the dock. After all, what's one more bad night's sleep, right?

See you at the finish, Trix!