The ability to go without sleep is an essential factor in surviving the Race Across America. The tactic of riding through fatigue was introduced by Lon Haldeman in the first year of the race. Haldeman won the inaugural Great American Bicycle Race, and his tactics exhausted his opponents. When Haldeman’s competitor John Howard completed the race, he immediately went to a hotel room and was not heard from for two days. All serious solo

competitors now average 90 minutes to two hours’ sleep in each 24-hour period during the race. From the start line, they ride as long as they can, as much as 40 hours, before giving in to fatigue. “The three words which best describe RAAM are tiredness beyond belief” 1999 winner Danny Chew says. “Everybody gets tired on RAAM, but it is how a man or woman deals with the tiredness and hardships thrown their way that distinguishes them at the finish line.”