First all police biking team sets out for Race Across America

by 916Maverick | June 16, 2011 at 09:43 am

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Oceanside, CA | Part of Team SacPD arrived in Oceanside Monday evening for registration in the Race Across America (RAAM) event.

Six people affiliated with Team SacPD (Sacramento Police Department) headed to Oceanside Wednesday where the relay teams for RAAM will start on Saturday at Oceanside Pier. Other RAAM races began Tuesday. The race finish is in Annapolis, Maryland between June 24th and 27th at the City Dock. Fourteen additional Team SacPD members head to Oceanside Thursday.

Lt. Mark Greenlee, racer and crew members Carol Willis and Randy Hood go over registration forms for the RAAM check in at Oceanside. Participants from the Sacramento Police Department include: Chief Rick Braziel, Lt. Neil Schneider, Lt. James Beezley, Lt. Mark Greenlee, Sgt. Don Davis (Alternate), Sgt. Dan Nutley, Ofc. Skyler Baldock, Ofc. Paul Curtis, and Ofc. Matthew McPhail.

You may have never heard of “Team SacPD” before, and with good reason; the team was recently assembled and this is their first major undertaking. “As the name of the team may suggest, we are all police officers here in the City of Sacramento. While our day-to-day jobs vary from patrol officer to the Chief of Police, we do share one hobby… cycling! When we heard about another local team (Donate Life) who participated in the event, we decided to see if we, too, could compete in this incredible race. When we later learned that there had never been an all-police team, we were sold. It didn’t take long before we had assembled a team, picked a worthy cause (to recognize and pay tribute to fallen officers) and started preparing for the epic ride. We have no idea how this adventure will end, but we welcome you to share the journey with us,” the team states on their website.

Per RAAM, Racers must traverse 3000 miles across 12 states and climb over 170,000 vertical feet. Teams will ride 350-500 miles a day, racing non-stop.The 2011 race will be the 30th edition of RAAM.

Chief Braziel states, “The Sacramento Police Department is embarking on a unique adventure that will bring national attention to the nearly 19,000 law enforcement officers who have been killed while protecting the communities of this nation. Starting June 18, 2011, the Sacramento Police Department Cycling Team will be the first law enforcement team ever to compete in the Race Across America. The race is a 3,000-mile bicycle race from California to Maryland.”

You will be able to track the teams live location and progress via the “My Athlete Live” interface. On the right, you can scroll down to the teams and select “Team Sacramento Police”. Their GPS tracker will appear on the interactive map and the timeline that also shows the elevation they are racing at.

As we can, we will continue to bring you regular updates on the team’s progress and developments.