-Erin Beresini

And the women's solo winner is...Barbara Buatois!

Hailing from just outside of Paris, the bicycle world speed record holder added two new records to her name this morning. When Buatois rolled across the RAAM finish line in Annapolis, she became the first French woman and the first woman riding a recumbent to finish RAAM.

Buatois, 33, returned to the finish line early in the afternoon to peruse the RAAM store. She had a ready smile despite a red-hot, flaky sunburn.

She said yesterday was the hardest part of the race for her. The mountains coming in toward the finish were the most difficult with the heat and the ups and downs. And yesterday she got tendoinitis in her left ankle, but that was her only real injury.

"There's a great ambiance within my team," she said in French. Her team included her husband, and her mother-in-law. "We laugh a lot," she said, and her team is always there for her.

Next up for the ultra star? The 600 kilometer Bordeaux-Paris race is on her calendar in six days! (That's another 372 miles.)

(Buatois at the finish.)

When cyclists cruise into the Mt. Airy Bike Shop (TS 52), they only have 54.6 miles to go to the finish line. But it's hard to soldier on when there's so much bike porn to drool over. Classic bikes. Mountain bikes. Tandem bikes. A traveling bike museum. There's even a Tangley calliaphone that bike enthusiast Chris Burkhardt is helping attach to a bike to ride in parades.

So before you make the final haul into Annapolis (or on your way home), check out the Mt. Airy Bike Shop. But leave more time than you think you need--this is no ordinary bike store!

-Erin Beresini

-Erin Beresini

Is a McDonald's by any other name just as bad for you?

-Erin Beresini

Team Bandwidth.com may be RAAM rookies, but they know a thing or two about traveling in style. "Three attorneys and a business guy" make up the team, said crewmember Lora Payne. They weren't taking any chances with their safety--or their comfort. Bandwidth.com's bus came with two professional drivers and a whole lot of leopard print! Check it out:

(Please excuse my extreme on-camera dorkiness.)

-Erin Beresini

Two years ago, Virgil Moehsmer was a member of 4-person RAAM team "Hole in the Wall" along with Steve Cottrell, Michele Hopkins, and Lee Van Norman. Although they're not racing this year (Cottrell hurt his hip when his pedals put a death grip on his cleats), they're getting in on the RAAM action.

Moehsmer and Cottrell, their wives, and Hopkins all stood guard at time station 35 in West Alton, Missouri.

The neatest thing they've seen so far? Barbara Butois. Hand's down. "She's unbelievable!" they said.

Cottrell remembered the toughest part of the race for him--"the bugs across Indiana!"

Those bugs didn't stop Buatois--she's on her way out of the Hoosier state right now!

Steve Cottrell

Virgil and Janet Moehsmer

TS 35