Team Strawberry

Team Strawberry was a professional bicycle racing team that participated in experiments on human power/performance conducted by their primary sponsor, Balboa Instruments of Newport Beach, California. The Team was founded in 1988 by team captain Alan R. McDonald. It lasted 2 years for the purpose of testing Bicycle aerodynamics and power, human power measurement/logging, and competing in the 1989 HPV Race Across America (HPV RAAM). McDonald acquired New Zealand rider John Harvey, also an Ultra Marathon cyclist. They were later joined by Greg Ewing and Mike Haluza. During the 1989 RAAM, the team used the hi-tech prototype cyclocomputer called the "Power Pacer" designed by Balboa Instruments. The device measured each rider's individual performance (for the total 2911 miles) in terms of power output (in watts) and calories burned through an output device built into the rear wheel hub.

The four-man team was led by Ultra Marathon cyclist Alan McDonald (team captain). The four riders were:

The team's support crew was led by Crew Chief Karen Anderson, a RAAM veteran. Designer of the Power Pacer and mechanical engineer for Balboa Instruments, Steve Smith was heavily involved with the team performing data acquisition from the Power Pacer units. Smith also joined the support crew for the cross-county race. The team also had a masseuse, a mechanic and a sports physiologist.

Team Strawberry was formed for the sole purpose of testing the Power Pacer in competition and to compete in the Race Across America. After RAAM, the team disbanded and did not compete together again.

The team's name originated from an earlier race in which Alan McDonald was dubbed "The Strawberry Kid", when he and his support crew, during a race, paused to track down a group of drunk drivers in the mountain town of Strawberry, Arizona. McDonald contacted the authorities and had to wait for police to arrive before continuing in the competition. Consequently, McDonald lost his place in the race. News of this brief encounter spread and race officials dubbed McDonald as "The Strawberry Kid". Since McDonald organized the RAAM '89 team, team members elected to continue the use of the "Strawberry" name.

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