Two Hundred Forty Three

Matthew Rider posting again because John is out on course pedaling away.
There's another article about John on the RAAM site.

"I've switched over to McDonald's and Burger King. It just sits better on my stomach!"

Man, there was a possible HUGE sponsorship idea there. McDonald's branded jersey and support vehicle. Get a member of the crew to dress as Ronald McDonald. Stop off at the occasional McDonald's on route and say "I'm lovin' it" to whomever will listen and get loads of cash in return. This single speed thing is drawing a lot of attention. Or Match.com - play off of the single speed bike and singles looking for a match. Maybe next year. What tie-ins could a fix gear bike have? I can only think of one and don't even want to know what branding would look like.

I recently spoke with Mike for just a bit and found out that the support crews are changing their strategy a little. The day crew is just finishing up a 24 hour shift and Mike and his crew are about to start a 24 hour shift. I'm not sure what prompted the change but it might provide a bit more continuity of support for John.

It's nice to look at the standings and see that John's average and current speed has risen a bit. As I write this he's between station 25 and 26 and if you look at the rider report you'll see John's between station average speed has gotten up over 12mph after a lengthy drop below 9. Of course the Rockies have affected his speed but it's got to feel good for him to speed back up and get some extra breathing room from the minimum speed cutoff.