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 RAAM Weather Forecastby Dave Speelman, Meteorologist KAMR NBC Channel 4, Amarillo TX Outlook for Monday (Day 5): A 50/50 chance of thunderstorms in the TX Panhandle, with highs near 90. Farther down toward Dallas, expect another hot one: sunny, dry, and 101-103.
 Day 4 of the 1998 Ensure Race Across AMerica brought riders into the legendary town of Roswell NM, "home" of the alleged 1947 alien spaceship crash. Today, the town boasts an annual "Alien Encounter" during the first weekend of July, and is trying to capitalize on something that might have happened, but probably did not. The city has two museums dedicated to the UFO incident, including the one pictured above. While Roswell may or may not have its aliens, RAAM is not without the little green folks. Just ask RAAM's Executive Director Michael Shermer about his "experience" with the extra-terrestrials during RAAM 1983...the ones who were driving his motorhome and forcing him to ride his bike. Fortunately, no RAAM riders encountered any aliens this time around. But the night-long lightning show between Cloudcroft and Roswell occasionally gave pause to riders as they wondered what was going on around them. If only they could be abducted and dropped off near Savannah... Last evening many tackled Cloudcroft, the highest point on this year's route (over 8600 feet elevation). Only Gerry Tatrai, still firmly in the lead, was able to get up and over it in daylight. As nightfall came, temperatures on the mountain dropped, and occasional thunderstorms pelted the area. The 16-mile climb is steep, and rises over 4500 feet in the process.
 Steve Born continued to have a good ride, although he did drop back a few miles during the day. Still, he tackled Cloudcroft in good spirits. "I can't wait to get to Texas" was all Steve could say. He remembered well the wide roads and friendly drivers he encountered there in RAAM 1991.
 Danny Chew has spent much of the race trying to get back into the thick of things. A navigational error the first night saw him going off course for about 30 minutes, while a vehicle breakdown later caused more time lost. Unanticipated delays like these are all a part of the RAAM experience.
 Guido Acquistapace of Team Secure Horizons/SCOR, was having the time of his life as he took his pull up Cloudcroft. The four gents were steadily moving their way up through the pack of solo riders. What the foursome lacked in youthful speed, they more than compensated for in organizational efficiency (they never have to completely shut down for sleep).
 Andreas Clavedetscher continued to impress RAAM Officials with his climbing ability, as well as how well he is doing for a rookie. He tackled Cloudcroft with great aplomb, and continued to move up in the standings through Sunday.
 Tom Buckley also wowed everyone with his great ride. Just as the sun was rising, Buckley put it in overdrive and overtook Seana on Hwy 13 southwest of Roswell. He almost made it look easy, gaining the last two minutes on her in just two miles. It was impressive.
 Seana Hogan, on the other hand, did not fare as well Sunday as she did in previous days. She dropped in the rankings one position after another, until she was in fifth place in the overall Solo Division at Time Station #18 (Friona TX), and had also been passed by Team Secure Horizons/SCOR.
 RAAM's quiet man, Rob Kish, unassumingly moved into third place by Friona, and was breathing down Buckley's neck, only three minutes back. Kish just makes it all look so easy. After 12 RAAM finishes, the demons that haunt most RAAM riders are just good buddies to him.
 But it was Gerry Tatrai who was the first to make it to the Lone Star State. He covered the 90 miles from Roswell to Portales in under five hours, and then rolled 53 miles to Friona in three hours flat. He continued his torrid pace throughout the afternoon, blessed with a generous southwest wind as he made his way eastward through the southern Texas Panhandle.
   Tatrai was still smiling after 1200 miles of riding. He was especially complimentary to crew chief Chuck Giles for his ingenious pace van shower system that allows Gerry to have his own private raincloud whenever he wants it. And with two more days of Texas heat to look forward to, Tatrai was planning on living in the shower's stream. Gerry reached Tulia TX (1209 miles) at 5:15pm EDT, a little over 77 hours into the race, and had a large five-hour lead over Buckley. There he was met by an NBC film crew from Amarillo to interview the race leader for the evening news. With the mountains out of the way until southern Tennessee and northern Georgia, RAAM now settles in to the flat part of the country. If winds cooperate, average speeds should increase, and the goal of reaching Savannah will begin to look more realizable. Check back tomorrow for more pictures and stories!
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