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Things are quiet right now, but come Tuesday night, they’ll start getting a lot more hectic at Time Station 31 at the Signal station.
“Wednesday and Thursday we’re going to be slammed,” Eric Johnston said. “Starting (Tuesday) night around midnight, they’re really going to start coming through.”
“They” are cyclists and crews in the Race Across America, an ultra-marathon bicycle race from California to Maryland.
Johnston and the rest of the crew at Time Station 31 are dedicated to doing everything they can to help out the riders and crew members as they pass through town on their way to the coast.
“We each just have our own role,” said Lena Herrera, who’s been volunteering at the station for five years.
Johnston and Herrera, along with Jim Glickert and Hunter Butler, have each been part of the machine that keeps time station 31 going.
“We just want to serve the riders in any way we can,” Herrera said.
Eric Johnston
Johnston has been working the time station since 2005, and he’s seen a lot of changes in the way the race has been covered over the years.
In the beginning, the time stations were set up so officials could keep track of the race and report it, Johnston said.
“Stations had to be at places where there were pay phones,” he said.
Things have changed considerably now, with live video, blogs, twitter reports and more online within the RAAM community.
Johnston himself has set up a twitter account for Time Station 31, to interact with others, including the official RAAM Twitter feed.
He takes care of all the press for the time station, and it keeps him busy.
Lena Herrera
Herrera has had a number of jobs at the station over the years, but her primary focus has been getting food to the crews that come through.
She tries to keep home-cooked meals coming, because crews don’t get a lot of that on the road.
“They’ll have McDonald’s or things like that, but most stations won’t have home-cooked meals,” she said.
She even tries to have vegetarian options on hand.
She said there’s something different every year she realizes they need at the station. In the past she’s done laundry, and this year, it’s requesting the service of a chiropracter.
“We’re full service here,” she said.
Hunter Butler
Butler has literally grown up with RAAM since 2005.
He’s gotten to know many people over the years who have come through, since he was just up to Lena’s waist.
With about 14 countries represented in the race, he’s met people from all over the world in his volunteering with RAAM.
Now, his main job is to run errands.
“I do everything,” he said.
Jim Glickert
It’s not difficult to see what Glickert’s responsibility is at the station, sitting under the tent surrounded by computer equipment, a video camera and wires galore.
Glickert is in charge of almost all things technology.
He’s been with the team for four years now.
Follow RAAM and Camdenton's Time Station 31 online at the following links:
Live updates from Time Station 31
