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 RAAM Weather Forecastby Dave Speelman, Meteorologist KAMR NBC Channel 4, Amarillo TX More of the same for Dallas and east Texas: sunny, hot, and 102-104.
   
Day 5 of the Ensure Race Across America was held deep in the heart of Texas, a place where wide open spaces meet the horizon for 360 degrees, and boots and jeans are more common than Brooks Brothers suits. It is a state so big that nearly one-fourth of this year's RAAM route is in Texas--a full 670 miles.
Texas is a friendly place to ride, with plenty of wide, well-maintained roads, and the friendliest people to ever grab a steering wheel (OK, so I'm biased--what's wrong with a little state pride?!). The pace of life is decidedly slower here, with a few notable exceptions (DFW, Houston, San Antonio). For most of the towns that RAAM went through, we were the biggest thing happening in quite some time.
  The friendly folks in Quitaque ("kitty-kway") received our early vote for Best Time Station. Some 25 people were on hand to greet riders, who received a "goody" bag and the offer of warm showers (they had the fire department's tanker truck sitting in the sun for two days so the water would be warm!). A feast of homemade goodies beckoned riders, crew, and Officials alike to take a little time off from the race. Friendly conversation on top of all these things added the icing to the cake. Texas has been in the news lately for the intense heat wave gripping it. Today was no different. By mid-afternoon, it felt like someone had put Viagra in the thermometer. In Jacksboro, it was 105-degrees; in Bridgeport, 108. This was the 22nd straight day of 100+ temperatures, and it looked like it: vegetation was in various stages of whithering, and farmers were ready to just turn the soil over and forget 1998.
   The big news today is that Gerry Tatrai's five-hour lead on Sunday had withered like the corn in Texas. By mid-day, Tatrai's lead over Rob Kish was down to a mere 8 minutes, with Kish looking like he might make a bid for the leader's jersey. But Tatrai would have nothing of it, and picked up the pace. By dinner time, Tatrai's lead was back up to 1 hour 31 minutes, suggesting that perhaps Kish backed off a little while Gerry was accelerating, having had his fun knocking on Tatrai's door.
  Kish's rapid ascent to the front of the pack was impressive, to say the least. Whereas Tatrai had taken advantage of favorable winds Sundat afternoon and evening, Kish capitalized to the fullest extent possible. He covered one 100-mile stretch averaging over 22 mph, while Tatrai had strolled through comfortably at a little over 16 mph. Kish kept up his torrid pace through much of the night, and by daybreak was nearly in Tatrai's shadow.
 Riding a strong third-place, but on the verge of being in the unenviable "Shermerland" (attributed to Michael Shermer, who could never quite catch the leaders, but was well ahead of everyone else). But Buckley was one the verge of relinquishing the position to Danny Chew as daylight waned, for Chew had been slowly making up ground, and was only 1 hour 13 minutes behind Buckley. Stats from Day 5 as of 7pm EDT:
(Rider or Team name, last Time Station # in (), and clock time)
Relay Teams That Started Thursday:
Relay Teams That Started Sunday: Check back tomorrow for the latest photos and stories!
Use the menu below to check the updates posted each night during the race!
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