Saunders Whittlesey - The solo field took off at 5:00, Two man teams at 7:00, and the four man teams left at 9:00. Team Tartan first started catching the solo field a little before Mt Hood, but the place to be last night was at the base of Occaco, for it was here that the three teams converged, 4 man shark squad, 2 man tartan team, and Saunders. Yeah, and if that wasn't enough, if it wasn't for the streaks of sodium running down his jersey, shorts, and bike, one honestly could have thought Saunders was just out for a early morning hammer fest and not nearly 400 miles in to a record breaking race.

David Holt & Wade Baker- Team Tartan caught up with Dave and Wade dueling it out for second and third position between Service Creek and the nasty side of Monument. Both Dave and Wade were riding so strong that we seriously began to question our thermometers. Had it really been 111oF?

Ricky Martin & Scott Youngren – Last year I had the honor or riding with both Scott and Ricky at both RAO and race camp. At last years race both Ricky and Scott faced serious demons before finally DNFing. Where most people would have thrown in the towel, Scott and Ricky came back with an undeniable thirst to taste the fruits of a denied finish. In spite of the record heat both Ricky and Scott road to commanding finishes and have joined the ranks of the few who have claim to an official Solo-RAO Finish. From one solo to another, salutes!

John Spurgeon – When gearing up for the 2006 RAO, we heard rumors that Mr. Solo, himself John “Saber Tooth Salmon” Spurgeon was going to be returning to “Finish some unsettled business at the 2006 RAO”. At RAO 2006 John did that and so much more becoming the first person ever to finish RAO on a single speed, 44hr 34min.

Patty-Jo Struve - One week later, I'm still blown away by Patty's finish. Team Tartan pulled in Patty, chewed her up, and spit her out a little before Dufer. At the time I thought there was no way a rider we caught so early could possibly finish. Well, Patty proved me wrong and then some. With only 20 min remaining for an offical finish Patty cruised in to claim the title to the first offical solo RAO finish by a woman in two years. 47 hr 40 min.. Way to Go!

To Be Continued.