Day 1: Tim Case Gets Through the First Grueling Night

Editor’s Note: Tim Case has survived the first night of the Race Across America, a solo bike race that will have him cross the United States in about 10 days. He left Oceanside, Calif., Sunday morning and had completed a little more than 300 miles by 10 a.m. Monday. His team will be updating us each day of his trek. He is riding for Team Strong Heart to raise money and awareness for Camp Odayin, which is dedicated to children with severe heart problems.

We showed up yesterday, and it was super exciting. There were people everywhere. Tim got interviewed by five different media outlets. There was a huge parade through Oceanside. We were ready to go.

Then it got crazy. There was no amount of preparation that the crew could have ever done to be prepared for this. It was take off and just go. We couldn’t have direct contact with Tim until 7:30 that night. It was just crazy.

We were just thrown into it. So was Time. He basically rode completely through the night, into the sunrise this morning. He’s tired but in good spirits.

Now I am sitting in front of some place in the middle of nowhere Arizona, and waiting for him so we can give him some icy treats

We are in Aguila; we are literally just sitting outside this dive of a bar, waiting for Tim to show. He’s struggling. He’s definitely struggling. This is Tim working with Tim. It’s a struggle, and then he thinks about all the kids and all the people he is doing this for. It’s all the people in his life keeping him going. It’s gotta be 110 out here and there is not a tree in site.

Tim’s doing really well, but he’s letting conditions of other people wear him down. That’s the mental warfare of this race.

While he is struggling mentally—we literally have to tell him what to do, when to drink, how much to eat; he can’t make the decisions on his own—objectively, when we watch him on the bike, he looks amazing. He is so smooth. He is constantly just pedaling at 18 to 20 miles an hour. We’ve already gone about 300 miles in a little more than 24 hours.

He’s kind of up and down; there are times were he’s feeling good, and other times he is having self doubt.

He says, “I’m crazy; this is the craziest thing. I’m sure I’ll feel different when I get to Annapolis (where the race ends).”

This is a mental challenge of how far you can push your body

I can understand what he is going through. I’m one-eyeballed open. This is nuts. It’s the craziest thing I have ever done in my life, and I am not even riding. On a side note, if you want to lose weight, I highly recommend the RAAM diet. You almost have to force yourself to eat. It’s intense. You forget about food, since you are concentrating on Tim. One day down, nine more to go.

A bed sounds really good right about now.

—Michelle Pearl, Tim’s girlfriend and crew member. Dictated to Jacob Harkins

Other Posts:
Some thoughts from Tim
The Finish
Day 11 1/2
Day 11
Day 9
Day 8
Day 7
Day 6
Day 5
Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1