Dave Green - Rider Bio

Sporting Background

I competed in Triathlons/Duathlons between 92 and 98, representing the RAF at major national competitions up and down the country. In 99, whilst being placed on a 9-month Surface to Air Weapons Instructor (SAWI) course with a lot of time away from home, I concentrated on distance running with the ultimate goal of completing an Ironman triathlon. After a few good 20 mile race results I was asked to represent the RAF at the London Marathon. Unfortunately I ended up with the flu in March and asked that my entry be passed to another RAF runner. However, nobody else wanted the place and so I turned out for the team and duly completed the course in 2 hours and 46 minutes finishing 4th for the RAF and 464th out of the 30,000 field. Having suffered from a painful Achilles for several years, I decided enough was enough with the running and turned my attentions to cycling, which had always been my strongest discipline in Triathlon. I averaged around 300 mile a week throughout the winter months to build a good aerobic base to give myself a platform on which to launch myself into the Time Trial scene. Once again after some impressive results in my first races, heads began to turn in the RAF Cycling Club (RAFCC) and the phone started to ring. I was asked by Steve Masters to compete in a Race Across America (RAAM), which thoroughly appealed to my sense of adventure, and pushing the body to its limits (someone help me off my bike please).

Race Across America (RAAM) 2000

RAAM is a 3000-mile race from the Pacific to the Atlantic that is open to solo, two or four – person relay teams. It began in 1982 and has taken place each year since often taking in different routes but always being around the 3,000-mile mark.

BAE Systems provided sponsorship for the team in the main. This arrived very late in the day with the team resigned to RAAM 2001. My CO gave me permission to go providing that I undertook some psychoanalysis tests to prove my mental state. This was probably due to my earlier history of an argument I’d had whilst out on my bike with a car. Needless to say, I lost – Car 1 Rider 0. I now had 6 weeks to train for what has been described as the toughest endurance event in the world when the other teams had been training for the last 6 months. This meant turning my normal weekly mileage on the bike from 200 mile per week to peak at 150 mile per day for the race! All this whilst instructing at the Joint Rapier Training Unit. Who needs sleep anyway?

The 15-man team (4 riders and 9 man support crew) arrived in the U.S.A on the 12 June and began practicing the drills to cover every eventuality and enable the race to flow with Military precision. Under the watchful eye of our Director Sportif, Steve Masters, these drills included rider changes and shift changes, night riding, town riding, actions on punctures, other mechanical problems and rider refusing to eat anymore power bars and demanding a Big Mac, large fries and a shake!

For me, training in relatively flat East Anglia, the novelty was always going to be the mountain stages. But training in the strong winds and in a big gear provided adequate resistance and I found the mountains to be no problem. The oxygen gets a bit thin at 10,000ft and it’s very hard work but you find a good rhythm and get to the summit. The tough part was going down them! Calling all adrenaline junkies out there, if you’ve never tried going down a mountain at speeds in excess of 55mph around hairpin bends with traffic coming in the other lane and on two very thin strips of rubber – I highly recommend it. When I finally stopped shaking and had changed my shorts, I requested either stabilizers be fitted to my bike so I couldn’t lean into the bends anymore or I be fitted out with head to toe Kevlar body armour!

This year RAAM started at Portland in Oregon and finished in Gulf Breeze, Florida covering some 2,989 miles with over 101,000 feet of climbing. A variety of terrain would be covered, starting with the Cascade Mountains in Oregon before passing into Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. In Colorado the route led us on to some 10,500ft climbs through Rabbit Ears and Hoosier passes. In the western part of the state Oklahoma was fairly flat, but a severe storm with strong head winds made the stiff climbs in the Rockies seem like a breeze. It was at this stage that a two and a half hour lead over our nearest rivals, the Kern Wheelmen, was cut to just 21 minutes! This was due to them riding on the edge of the storm and even being assisted by a strong tail wind. After a few good sized rolling hills in the east of Oklahoma and some hard pedaling we had re-established a 2 hour lead by the time we hit Arkansas and hopefully broken the spirit of the Wheelmen. The final 500-mile was rolling countryside with thick woods through the very hot and humid states of Mississippi and Florida.

We rode the last 5 miles as a 4-man team and crossed the finish line in first place with 5 days, 16 hours and 18 minutes on the official Festina time clock. A new course record and 2 hours in front of the next team the Kern Wheelmen from California. This was a resounding result for the RAF team of novices to beat the Wheelmen a very experienced team who had won the event 5 times and hold the record for the fastest ever crossing of 5 days, 6 hours and 4 minutes set in 1996 on a different course.

Race Across America (RAAM) 2002

I’ve always seen knowledge as power. The more you know the better you can analyse the ‘what went wrongs’ and the ‘what went right’ but more importantly how to train SMART. To that end I enrolled on the BCF Club Coach award in 2001, which I completed 6 months later and instantly began coaching a few of the top RAF riders culminating with them winning the Inter Services in 2003. I also competed in my first Best British All Rounder (BBAR) a competition where you post your fastest times for a 50mile, 100mile and 12 hour time trial. I finished in 24th place overall with an average speed of 24.2mph and setting new PB’s for all 3 distances. Rumours of another RAAM started to circulate for 2002 and I was asked to assist with coaching the potential selection riders and hold training meetings throughout the winter to assess progress.

The other 3 members of the winning 2000 RAAM team had had their fill and declined the offer of selection so the team was to have 3 novices plus myself (if I came up scratch of course). Out of the brave 15 riders we soon whittled down to a team of 6, the others though disappointed would form the backbone of the support crew so would still experience RAAM. As a side note, the support crew are the unsung heroes. Without them you just couldn’t possibly undertake such a mammoth task. The same applies to the ‘behind the scenes’ organization of Steve and Pete Wilson who made everything super slick and very professional.

This year we had gained 50K of sponsorship and purchased tailor made Steve Goff frames. After a bit of tweaking the bike was handling sweetly and led me to a 1.48 for a 50mile smashing my previous PB by over 2 mins. Things were going well and looking good. The main difference for the team this year was that I had experienced RAAM and new what to expect and being a coach – how best to train. You never feel like you have done enough but we had a strong team and fancied our chances of a second win. Focus determines your destiny and we were certainly focused on the task at hand. The organizers had set the same course as last year, from Portland in Oregon to Gulf Breeze in Florida crossing 9 states in the process. We already held the course record so set ourselves the ultimate challenge for the team and attempt to do it in 5 days. With 4 riders this equates to 600 miles per day, or 150 miles per rider at an average speed of 25 mph! Having tested the team to the max this was an achievable target, external elements permitting.

So on a fine morning on the 18th June after several interviews the race began. 10 teams from all over the world, including Germany and Switzerland were now racing for $7,500 of prize money and the prize of conquering the ‘Mount Everest’ of cycling races. Ahead of us was 3000 tortuous miles, 100,000 feet of climbing and 30 mad soloists who had started 48 hours earlier.

The first day saw us battling against the heat, showers and a strong head wind. We were averaging 22mph and equaling our time checks on the 2000 race but not hitting the goal speed. By day 3 we had opened up a 100-mile gap on our nearest rivals but were over an hour down on our previous stage times. Having just passed half way, I decided things were too easy and wondered whether we could still win with 3 riders, so I came off my bike on a bad railway line and shattered my elbow! At first I thought it was just a bad knock as I wasn’t in pain and felt I could continue but further x rays and surgery proved me wrong. Steve’s management skills would now be put to the test along with the other 3 riders but with the flatter states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama we were still optimistic on breaking the course record but the fastest ever crossing was now a distant memory. Still, after a supreme effort from the entire team, they finished in 6 days and 45 minutes earning a cheque for $7,500 (£5000), which was donated, to International Spinal Research Trust.

Race Across America (RAAM) 2004

2003 also became a wash out year with the 2nd Gulf War taking me to a much warmer climate for 5 months. I did manage a couple of end of season races setting a PB for a 10mile race and then setting a course record for a 50mile on the A11. Then at the end of the year I was asked about the possibility of doing another RAAM in 04 but this time for a TV documentary called ‘The Challenge’. This involved taking an armchair athlete who liked to watch tough endurance sports on the TV and thinking ‘I could do that’ and then giving them the chance. The guy they selected for our team was given coaching/testing by Olympic coaches and exposure to expert sports psychologists to prepare them for their ‘challenge’. Unfortunately, it was decided that in the interest of safety that he shouldn’t ride and a reserve rider was slotted into the team at the last minute.

We were up against it from the off on this new route running from San Diego to the ‘Boardwalk’ in New Jersey. The heat and altitude was oppressive and 2 of our rival teams were not only local, but also fielding professional riders. Suffice to say we took 3rd place. It was another fantastic adventure and one that pushed the riders and support team to their maximum limits. The strength of character and motivation built from such an experience is immeasurable. When I want to climb of my bike after 6 hours in a 12 hour race, it’s the fact that I’ve done much harder things like the RAAM that make me press on to the finish.

On my return I set about chasing a decent BBAR position. It was only my second attempt and I managed to take 16th place with a respectable 24.5mph average speed. I needed to work harder if I was to achieve my long-term goal and make it an average for the 3 distances of 25mph!

Despite a good training plan I just didn’t seem to get to the right course on the right day for my assault on the 2005 BBAR. I managed 22nd but my average speed was a disappointing 24.1mph, my lowest ever.

In the 2006 BBAR I produced my best average speed of 24.6mph improving on all my times for last year and including a PB of 3.49.19 for the 100mile. This gave me 23rd place overall.

In the 2007 BBAR I improved once again on my best average speed by hitting a long-term goal of 25mph with the main improvement coming in the 12hour event clocking up 268 miles for a PB at the distance. This gave me 20th place overall.

Hoping to improve on last year I set a target of 25.5mph for the 2008 season, which was again looking to be a challenge with the weather, or more pointedly the wind, being strong every time I was racing. However, I still managed to put together my best season ever riding being only a few seconds of my best ever times in the 50 and 100 events but it was the 12 that finally came good. I had focused most of my winter training on this event and despite a few problems and a less than ideal day I managed to cover 280 miles, a distance only ever matched by 32 riders in the competitions history and was a new military record. I’m currently in 12th place in the BBAR having exceeded my pre season target by achieving an average speed of 25.6mph

I was also getting well known as a coach both within the RAF and for civilians and had 2 of the top riders in the East of England, Peter Balls and Lee Bark being coached by me. Getting even more scientific in my training approach and using Power Meters as my main tools to bring all my riders on leaps and bounds with most setting new PB’s at all distances. I also became Head Coach of RAF cycling and began developing a coaching structure to include access for all club members to a qualified coach for advice, free Power Profile testing and training camps.