Here's my RAIN report. For those of you who don't know. RAIN--the Ride Across Indiana--is an annual event in my neck of the woods and a rite of passage for many. It starts at the Illinois/Indiana state line, just west of Terre Haute and ends 160 miles later in Richmond, Indiana. I should preface all of this by saying that I didn't really decide to do the ride until about two weeks ago, if that. I really didn't think I'd want or be able to with just a year of cycling under my belt. Without boring you with all the tedious details, I started thinking about at least doing the Terre Haute to Indianapolis leg. That plan fell through only to be replaced by a more ambitious one, thanks to a friend of mine whose own plans had changed at the last minute, leaving space for me. So, after a lot of last minute scrambling, we found someone willing to drive us to Terre Haute on Friday and to the start line at 6:30 a.m. the next day and another couple who were willing to be our support vehicle from lunch in Indianapolis to the finish in Richmond.
I should also mention that the weather was FABULOUS. We knew about a week in advance that the temperature for Saturday was going to be about 10 degrees cooler than last year (last year's ride was awful from most reports. Lots of people dropped out and/or got sick during the ride). By Friday, they were also forecasting a strong wind out of the west/southwest. Perfection! It was like riding a roller coaster for 160 miles.
We checked into our hotel on Friday night, which happens to be where all riders have to go to get their registration materials. Can you say eye candy girls? I have never, ever seen so many attractive, fit men. As a woman, you are in the minority at this ride. I'm all for Girl Power, but that's fine by me. ;) We checked in, hauled our bikes upstairs, visited with some people in the lobby and then (in theory) went to bed. I had a hard time sleeping, but I sort of suspected I would.
Our wake up call was at 4:30, and after eating and getting our gear together and our bikes back in/on the car, we headed to the start line. We got there around 6:30 or so and my nerves started to kick in. I felt some degree of confidence that I could do the ride, but my doubts and fears started to flare. Several of my cycling "mentors" looked at me a little funny when I said I was going to do it because no matter how much I've ridden this year, I'm still a relatively new rider. But between the weather and my riding partner, I felt like I should at least try to do it, knowing that with our SAG driver I could always stop if neccesary. I should note that Lisa, my "partner in crime" had done RAIN several times and just finished a 7-week cross-country cycling trip. She's experienced to say the least with endurance riding.
At 7 a.m., we were off. It was a bit chilly and the sun was in our eyes, but we had a safe start--which is saying a lot for a big ride like this. We purposely started near the front, which helped given that about 1000 riders were behind us. We immediately set a faster pace than what I had anticipated, in part b/c of the wind and in part because of our excitement. I was a bit nervous about that, and it took me a while to relax. Once I was warmed up, though, I started to settle into the ride and by mile 25, I felt fairly comfortable. It helped that we started to see some friends along the way too.
Lisa was adamant that we not linger at the stops, so we were in and out of the 40 mile SAG before I even had time to think about it. Same with the stop at mile 65. By the time we hit the outskirts of Indianapolis, I felt reasonably confident that the rest of the ride--barring an accident or something--would go well. We hit the lunch stop (mile 93) right at noon and our SAG was ready and waiting for us. I downed a PB&J, some nuts and a banana, changed into a fresh pair of shorts, reapplied sunscreen and was off again about a half hour later.
The ride through Indianapolis is arguably the worst part. Most of the ride is on Historic Highway 40. We essentially have full use of the right lane and it's mostly smooth pavement with just a few traffic lights. There are some rolling hills for about the first 65 miles, but it's fairly easy riding. In Indy, however, the route snakes through town hit a lot of traffic and lights. The road surfaces leave a lot to be desired to. The ride got a little tedious both before and after lunch. Lisa and I brought our pace down a bit and just tried to keep things light and fun.
By the 113 mile mark and an unofficial SAG, I had a hot spot on my right foot that was really becoming painful. Luckily, I then ran into a guy I met this summer through RoadBikeReview.com's forums, and he gave me some mole skin that helped immensely. I owe him a lot! With that pain under control, I felt a heck of a lot better. At this SAG, we finally got back onto U.S. 40. This section of 40 is really smooth and mostly flat. The wind was pretty strong by this point, and Lisa and I just got in a groove and stayed there. We were easily cruising at 22 and 23 mph without much effort.
We hit the next SAG at mile 132 and knew that we'd soon be done. I was starting to feel a little sad because it had been such a great ride; I didn't really want it to end. We got back on the road and in our groove until we hit a short detour with about 15 miles to go. The detour took us south--and into the wind that had thus far mostly been our friend. Yikes! What a reality check. Luckily, we soon turned east again, but then I got stung, presumably by a bee. The bugger didn't even bother to fly up my jersey, but stung my back through the material. I let out a yell and scared Lisa half to death. She had some allergy medicine with her so I took that and we were immediately on our way again. I had neither the time nor the inclination to nurse it more than that.
My back kind of hurt, but we pressed on. By now, the terrain had changed a bit and we had a few inclines and false flats to deal with. I was expecting it to be a lot more challenging by this point in the ride, but we did just fine. We then started seeing markers on the pavement at 10 miles, and then again at 3, 2 and 1. I had tears in my eyes we crossed the finish line. Frankly, I was so excited that I kind of missed my official time, but I think it was about 4:45. We averaged 19 mph on the nose and our actual ride time was 8 hours and 25 minutes.
A few other random "highlights:"
On our way through Indy, we passed a couple of people cheering us on, including the salesperson who sold me my road bike. I was so tickled by that. He did a great job finding the right bike for me and I owe him a lot!
I wore a neckless that Silver sent to me after the Horsey Hundred. I think it brought me good luck. Thanks, Silver!!!!
My friend from RoadBikeReview finished just behind us. Thanks in part to RAIN, I've made some new friends in both he and his wife. Cycling is good that way.
The person responsible for getting me into cycling in the first place passed me in his car on his way out of Earlham with about three miles to go. I gave him a big thumb's up. It felt really good to see him--even just in passing--near the finish.
The man who SAGed for us worked with my grandfather for years and has known my family since before I was born. I hadn't seen him for a long time until I took up cycling. The connection made me smile all day. I felt like my grandpa was watching over me.
I got my road bike the weekend of RAIN last year so this was a great way to celebrate my first year of road riding. And what a year it's been!
I can't wait to do RAIN again. Let's hope the weather gods smile upon us again in 2008!
Kate
