Doctor Andrews was impressed by my improvement and said that no X-ray is needed and the warm and dry air of Palm Springs should help me regain the full capacity of m lungs. So here we are in hot Palm Springs with Irma. After a long rest (with no training) I was so happy to stretch my legs. It felt so good, you do not know how nice it was. :)

Usually there are several RAAM competitors here in this district before the race, but this year quite a few decided for Borrego Springs. The temperature this year is more or less the same here as in Borrego and we like it so much more here. Our friend Valerio Zamboni is also staying here with his wife, so we did some riding together. I can tell you it is never boring with Valerio and our problems were quickly left behind ....

But it's RAAM, well, almost, I can tell you we are glad we haven’t started yet. Looks like, when it rains - it pours! There is a new big problem, we have been left without a motorhome 6 days before the race. This year, due to the uncertain financial situation we started very late to look for the RV rental tires and we didn’t get one, because none were available. We were lucky to get another rider from US offering us his RV, if we come pick it up in Chicago. So we agreed that Kevin, our American crew member, will pick it up and drive it to Oceanside. It’s a good thing he wanted to make it slow, as he had tons of problems. THe first one was a flat tire, and then waiting for tornado warning in St.Louis, which was then followed by more mechanical problems (AC, trnsmition, brakes). To make a long story short... sometimes they said to me that the free stuff can be the most expemsive, now I know what they meant... :( As we don’t wawnt to have such probems during the race, we decided to let the RV stay were it is and have his owner pick it up. And, we stepped on the gas, trying to locate a new RV. Two days of desperate chase and we located one in LA, but it has to be returned to LA. Any volunteers for a drive from Annapolis to LA? In three days?

Meanwhile, at the other end of the world the Slovenian part of a crew got on the plane. Crew Chief Andrej Petrovic from Ptuj, Denis Rautovič from Koper, Miha Pogačar from Sencur and Borut Osojnik from Ljubljana. They were transported with Van to the airport in Munich and then flew through Atlanta to San Diego. Also the American crew members come from far away ... Joni and Dex Tooke and Kevin Jones are from Texas (with Kevin appereantly already somewhere in New Mexico with a broken RV), Shawn Urban from Seattle. Yes, now it is really really getting closer. :)