Without a dedicated crew none of this could have happened. Dan and I had what had to be the best crew ever assembled! They were tireless in their dedication to the race and us, not a single negative word was spoken, and they were always there with whatever we needed. I started to think that they could read my mind.
This is what happens to your crew after they have followed you for 29 hours and 37 minutes...
Our crew chief extraordinaire, Tom Malamute Miller, dictated our pull times and exchange points. He was flawless in his calculation of our ability and condition throughout the race! He provided his own fully equipped vehicle, which saved us quite a bit of money.
My good friend James Shin, was the bike master. He pulled my bikes on and off the roof of the pace vehicle at every exchange without a single complaint! It was amazing to see how quickly he was able to get them up and down. Bike up…. bike down… bike up…. bike down…No the other bike...
My co-worker, friend, and man behind the camera Tony Bunting provided dedicated service to Dan. For the most part, I just saw his smiling face providing words of encouragement, thanks for that Tony. Tony also took some incredible photographs some of which you will see in this write up.
And
last but defiantly not least, my fiancé, Michelle Roberts (crew EMT).
Emotions defiantly come out when I think of all the support she has given
me through the months of training. She
would come out to Anza Borrego desert with me and provide SAG as I did training
rides and always provided encouraging words no matter what the conditions.
Would you believe she drove the majority of the course because she felt
it was her duty to be there for me, I am the luckiest guy!
