Sometimes the director behind the scene is the person who gets so little credit.
    Sara Kay Carrell, the daughter of Robert and Marsha Carrell of Wellington, was the crew chief for John Schlitter who made history on June 19 when he became the first recumbent bike rider to complete the 3,014-mile Race Across America road race.
    Carrell, who lives in Hays and works for Schlitter as manager of a recumbent bike shop called The Hub Bicycle Shop, was the leader of the "pit crew" for the historic event.
    The 27th annual RAAM event started June 8 in Oceanside, Calif., and ended in Annapolis, Md. 11 days later.
    Schlitter rode 3,014.4 miles in 266 hours and 50 minutes.
    The trip was grueling with races ranging anywhere from 100 to 400 mile days with days sometime lasting 23 hours long. The ride went through Kansas coming from Elkhart through Pratt, over to El Dorado, and eventually through Fort Scott before leaving into Missouri.
    Schlitter was the lone solo recumbent biker among 30 solo entries in the race. Schlitter told the Hays Daily News there were two others who attempted a solo recumbent ride in RAAM in years' past, but did complete the race.
    On a recumbent bike, the rider is in a reclined position, putting less stress on the body, Schlitter said.
    There have been recumbent two-man and four-man teams to finish the race, but never a solo rider.
    Carrell has been on support crews before, but hasn't been a crew chief. Their mission is to tend to the rider's every need, and monitor the rider's progress. There will be six crew members driving in two vans. The "chase" van will trail behind the rider, while the "frogger" van jumps around, running errands. It's a go-for van, Carrell said.
    Schlitter said before the race that he would ride 24-to-32 hours nonstop. Then, he would settle into a routine of three hours rest for every 24 hours on the bike. That rest period could be in one chunk, or could be divided into a couple of short power naps, followed by a longer break. During those longer breaks, the rider can use a sun shower, get a massage, eat and sleep.
    The crew members worked 16 hours, followed by an eight-hour break. Carrell said the race is grueling for crew members, too.
    "All they've got to do is turn the crank," Carrell said with a smile about the riders. "It's the crew that goes through the ups and downs of the day."
    Carrell has been on a crew three times previously, Her speciality was as a mechanic.
    "I found out there were other things I can do," Carrell said. "I can fix flats, air conditioning."
    Carrell, a successful mountain bike racer, rode with Schlitter in a "shorter" distance race in Oregon last year using a recumbent bike. They traveled 535 miles in 37 hours for a new course record.
    Now, Carrell is thinking about biking in the RAAM. Being a crew member first helps, she said.
    "You've got to see the race through the windshield" as a crew member first, Carrell said. "See what they go through.
    "I'm anticipating a team RAAM in the future," she added.
    Carrell, who has known Schlitter since she first came to Hays as a college student in 1998, took over as manager of The Hub Bicycle Shop four years ago, allowing Schlitter to concentrate on his recumbent bike company.
    Schlitter and his brother, Randy Schlitter, took one of their three-wheel recumbent sail trikes and turned it into a two-wheeler in 1979. In 2005, Bacchetta Bicycles was asked to provide a four-man team for RAAM, with John Schlitter an alternate rider; he eventually became the fourth rider on the team. He raced as part of a two-man team last year. To prepare for this year's race, Schlitter has been riding 15-20 hours a week and at times 500 miles a week.