I’m writing this from behind a Ford dealership service desk in Washington, Missouri, miles off course from the RAAM route. Why? Boy, is this a story.

The crew transition between Jefferson City and Marthasville was already going to be weird, as Erica and I fell asleep in our respective vehicles (Follow and Rover) and woke up to different drivers and navigators. Let me tell you, it is really odd to fall asleep with Noe and Hanan up front as we cruise over Missouri’s rolling hills, and then wake up with Andy Hill and Scott Grensted pulling off briefly from an interstate a bit later. So when we met up with RVs in a corn field somewhere just up the road from Marthasville, the initial plan was to do an on-the-fly crew rotation somewhere down the road. The Follow vehicle would stay with the current rider, the Rover would pull up behind them, and then it would be fire drill time as everyone scrambles to get to the right vehicles and catch up with the riders.

The RVs are sort of like a home base for everything going on, and in spite of the pounding sun, there was definitely a buzz of energy. We know through calls back home Noe’s Blackberry that Team ViaSat is charging hard to catch us. Rather than discourage us, this gave our riders an extra surge of motivation — there’s no way they’re going to come close without a fight.

As our rider passed the RVs with the follow vehicle, crew and new riders waiting for the Shuttle cheered him on. There was a scramble to get the Rover vehicle ready, as it was going to carry out an entirely new crew for the Follow. While people scurried to bring in boxes of food and water, Ron Cameren fashioned a makeshift clotheline between the two RVs to quickly dry freshly-washed rider clothes in the overbearing Missouri heat.

Suddenly, war whoops and raucous yelling interrupted our efforts as a familiar red Ford Expedition barrelled Dukes of Hazzard-style onto the gravel strip where we were parked. All four doors swung open and our riders burst out to “Taking Care of Business” blaring at full-blast over the stereo system.

Team ViaSat, watch out.

The riders shouted encouragement to crew members and helped with packing the vehicle to make it as quick a transition as possible. The music, the yelling, the excitement, and the hunger to attack Missouri’s rolling terrain energized riders and crew alike, as did Joan’s delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheese with bagels. There was a call for more water for the rider Shuttle and rider RV (RV2), since the late morning heat was already taxing — the riders would definitely need as much hydration as possible to get through the afternoon. Packed up and good to go, the rider shuttle pulled out in a cloud of dust and another round of cheers, gone as quickly as it had come.

Stalled while some of the crew deliberated over who would be the new drivers and navigators for the Rover and Follow vehicles and who would get much-needed rest), we were interrupted by news from the road: one of our vehicles had a flat tire. Andy put the call in from the Follow vehicle, but cell reception was so bad, the call dropped before it was clear which vehicle needed help. Acting quickly, Noe — in spite of coming off a 10-hour shift — took the wheel of the Rover vehicle, followed by Aliotsy, Hanan, and Melissa, who were scheduled to rotate in as new crew, and Mark Thompson, who had chosen to sleep in the Rover vehicle in hopes of getting a better night’s sleep than he would in the bouncing bed of RV1.

Careening over the hills along 94E, we tried raising the Shuttle or Follow vehicles on cell phones, two-way radios, and Nextel push-to-talks, but were completely unsuccessful as signals kept getting lost in the rapid dips and rises. Talking it over, we came up with contingency plans for getting crew in the right vehicles, the tire replaced, and riders back on the road for both possible situations (a flat on the Follow or a flat on the Shuttle). Coming over a rise, we spotted the Follow vehicle pulled into a gravel driveway, with the Expedition pulled a little further up, all its doors open with supplies out — and a flat tire. Andy was already working as fast as he could to raise the Expedition with a jack as Scott came over to help, crew were already clearing out the vehicle, and riders were debating how to get themselves back on the road to spell Marc, who was already on the road. Fortunately, the flat was found during the rider transition, so if we could get everything done in Marc’s 15-minute shift, we just might be able to get our riders back in action without dropping the pace in the race.

A plan was quickly formulated — the Rover, with a spare bike rack, would race ahead to act as a temporary shuttle with two riders and most of the water and food while the spare wheel was put on. As Andy, Adam, and Scott bent over the wheel unscrewing the lug nuts, their foreheads poured large drops of sweat in the dirt as they worked in a concentrate, coordinated, quick effort. The Rover took off quickly, and a remarkable effort by Andy, Adam, Scott, and myself had the tire off and replaced with the spare quickly. Packing the remaining supplies into the Expedition and spares into the follow vehicle, we saw the shuttle off and raced back to the RVs with six people crammed into four seats.

The Rider Shuttle met up with Andy, Mark, and myself in a Marthasville gas station a few miles down the road to get more air in their tires. We were there waiting with a fresh bag of ice, more water and energy foods (more than they could ever need, in fact!), and adrenaline-fueled excitement, the riders couldn’t stop thank us.

“You’re the best crew in the world!” Justin exclaimed as he poured the ice into the cooler, and jumped back into his seat. Marc started the engine, I slapped the hood of the Expedition with a wide grin, and the Shuttle took off to chase down the rider already miles down the road.