Shameless Begging

Okay, I read these forums for a year before I got up the courage to actually join because everyone else seems like a "real" cyclist, and I'm just... well... not so "real". Anyway, you're all incredibly good at cheering each other on and encouraging one another -- a big, strong sisterhood (with a nod to the males, also) of warm fuzziness, so to speak.

So, now that I've made it official and registered for RAIN 2007 (one-day, one-way, 160-mile ride across Indiana), and now that I'm doubting my sanity, and now that the voice in my head is starting to whisper (okay, more like scream) all those niggling, doubtful comments... any words of encouragement from all of you whom I look up to?

Honestly, you're all an inspiration!

I'm hardly a "real" cyclist, but I will say that a lot of cycling is mental. You'll get some great training advice from other ladies here that will help to improve your stamina, bike handling, pedal stroke, etc, but the first thing to do is squelch those doubtful comments in your head. You're going to have bad days. You're also going to have awesome days when you feel strong, empowered, and can't imagine having so much fun doing anything else. Hold onto those days, and learn whatever you can from the bad ones. There's no reason you can't aim for any goal on the bike that you choose to set.

When is your RAIN ride?

I'm thinking if you registered for and are training for that ride, you should seriously consider awarding yourself "real" status.

When is it?

Mr. is wanting to do this ride!

Tell us more about you and your training!

If you get on a bike and wear a helmet, you are a REAL cyclist, so let's not hear you say you're not again.....OK? ;)

You're a real cyclist :)

I know what you mean though, I look at some of the people here and feel so...amateur.

I also want to hear about your riding and your bike.

And yes, it is so mental. You need to be able to be on your bike for that period of time, of course, but if you tell yourself you can do it, you can.

I aspire to this ride...

Keep in mind that although it's long, Central Indiana is fairly flat.

I think that if you signed up, you are a sense that you can do it! I say go for it with vigor!

Commitment is 90% of the trick. Make sure you've got shorts that will go the distance (I'd highly recommend a chamois cream, like Assos, or Butt Buttr (or whatever it is called) or something), but you ARE a real rider, just to even consider it. Stay hydrated, and stay cool (dump water on your head on a regular basis if you feel yourself getting hot), and keep fueled. You'll be fine. More than fine, in fact. You will be a Cycling Goddess!!!!

OK... I don't and can't "do" RAIN... (location, location, location...)

but...

I need to say something...
I need to reiterate what some of the other women have said...


If you have a bike and want to ride it...
If you like to ride so much than soon after you finish a ride you start thinking about the next one...
If you like to talk about bikes... or about your cycling ventures...
If you commute, or race, or tootle, or cyclocross, or go off-road...
If you know that "drops" are a noun not an adjective
If you know that a "stem" holds your handlebars, not a flower
If you know that a post isn't part of a fence, it has a saddle on it - and that saddle does not fit on a horse...
If you have a bike and you ride it...

You ARE a real cyclist...
PERIOD

Enough self-deprecation ladies, we are cyclists, all with different interests, goals and intentions... but we are def cyclists... REAL cyclists...

I second the mental comments. It helps to have someone to ride with ... you can keep each other sane ... if any of us are sane that ride these distances! :D I have ridden this ride twice. It is an exercise in pacing and nutrition to go the distance. I've attached the stats from my Polar for my 2005 ride (I was out of the country in '06 and planned other events this year) as well as the Delorme profile. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Each ride is a learning experience no matter how many years I've been cycling!

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Originally Posted by RoadRaven

OK... I don't and can't "do" RAIN... (location, location, location...)

but...

I need to say something...
I need to reiterate what some of the other women have said...


If you have a bike and want to ride it...
If you like to ride so much than soon after you finish a ride you start thinking about the next one...
If you like to talk about bikes... or about your cycling ventures...
If you commute, or race, or tootle, or cyclocross, or go off-road...
If you know that "drops" are a noun not an adjective
If you know that a "stem" holds your handlebars, not a flower
If you know that a post isn't part of a fence, it has a saddle on it - and that saddle does not fit on a horse...
If you have a bike and you ride it...

You ARE a real cyclist...
PERIOD

Enough self-deprecation ladies, we are cyclists, all with different interests, goals and intentions... but we are def cyclists... REAL cyclists...

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Absolutely:D

Wow, I'm shocked at the elevation assent...guess it doesn't seem that way in a car!

I agree with all that's been said...I think you should train well and go for it!

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Originally Posted by Mr. Silver

Wow, I'm shocked at the elevation assent...guess it doesn't seem that way in a car!

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That is REALLY flat.

Flat is hard because you never get a break.

V.

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Originally Posted by Veronica

That is REALLY flat.

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I agree...what I should have said was I don't recall ever seeing a hill in Central Indiana....I thought it was totally flat;)

I can imagine how you wouldn't see it as a hill in the car. I don't think any ride is truly flat.

__________________________________________________

:D

V.

In the metric century yesterday, SilverSon and I had 2,800 ft of climbing in about 1/3 the distance. To me, while a couple of the hills seemed tough, they were only about 3% grades, and the difficulty came from the fact that I was going slow for SilverSon.

Seeing this, I'm wondering if we could shoot for RAIN this year????!?!?!?!?

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Seeing this, I'm wondering if we could shoot for RAIN this year????!?!?!?!?

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If you can ride 100 miles without undue stress, then I'd say go for it! The average grade is 1%. I don't consider myself a climber. You do see the hills but overall it is still flat with no steep sections. As Veronica indicates ... you get no breaks due to this ... which is why I said in my original post that it is an exercise in pacing and nutrition. It is very easy to hammer at the start but 100 miles later you still have 60 miles to go and you're spent. It would be a great learning experience. I would recommend that you have your own support crew. My husband does support and he loves it. He calls us all psycho-cyclists!

Susan

Thanks, everyone!

More to follow... but supper's cooking, I still need a shower after this afternoon's ride, the dryer's buzzing, and one of the cats has just puked a terribly disgusting mess. Aaaah, life is good!!

I've heard that there's a multi-day ride from South Bend to Evansville...but I can't find anything on the net.

Anyone know anything about this? Maybe I could shoot for RAIN this year and the other one next year?

I did RAIN a couple of years ago and I'm sorta thinking about doing it again (though I don't think it's enough momentum to make it happen). While I think I only saw one other toe-clipper the whole time and I got a few comments (but that's *my* attitude - I take it as a compliment when somebody says 'wow! sneakers and toe clips on a hybrid!' - duly note it's an aluminum "hybrid" with reasonably quick wheels and road tires - basically a road bike with flat bars) , there was a reasonably wide range of people doing the ride. Some were really racing it - a lady in my club who was the first woman in who wasn't on the back of a tandem (and she was 53, thank you very much... but she basically didn't get back on the bike 'til THursday) was 30th... I was 300th :-) I stopped and got in line and ate lunch and everything :-) I did the "bus sag" thing 'cause I was on my own and that worked out fine, since (to my surprise) the bus was at the stops when I got there so I could dip in and use its rest room and get another hit of sunscreen and that sort of thing. THen I got to hang around a cooler of drinks and wait for everybody to come on in.
I enjoyed it - rode with informal groups some of the time, by myself some of the time. It's definitely "real" - but you don't have to be competitive real to do it.
Most people told methe hardest part was around Indy, where there's traffic and you have to pay attention and you know you still hae a LOOONGG way to go. That was sort of true but the weather was so good that it simply wasn't that long a ride.

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Originally Posted by Kalidurga

When is your RAIN ride?

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RAIN is July 14th.

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Originally Posted by silver

Tell us more about you and your training!

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Miscellaneous info is in the Getting to Know You thread. As for training, I don't get in nearly the miles I'd like -- I homeschool our two girls (No, it's not for religious reasons, and no, they don't need to be socialized -- sorry, everyone asks.), teach flute lessons, tutor, and serve as editor for freelance-writer DH. An average week is 125-140 miles on the road, less when on the trainer. Ack! I HATE that torture device! I generally ride 4-5 days per week -- having been a distance runner for 20+ years taught me that I'm prone to break-downs if I don't have at least two "off" days per week. I know I should be stretching and doing other forms of exercise/weights, but have just never implemented the routine. :(

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Originally Posted by Mr. Silver

Keep in mind that although it's long, Central Indiana is fairly flat.

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I choose to believe that "flat" is a relative term, and it's not one I prefer to use when describing my corner of the world here in east-central Indiana. (But then, I'm old and cantankerous.) Mountainous? Not by any stretch of the imagination. But, "flat" is a term we reserve for northern Indiana, where I spent most of my youth running back-country roads. No, in this section of the Hoosier state, we prefer to describe the terrain as "gently rolling." :) Of the nine possible route beginnings from our house, eight yield a significant hill within the first three miles -- hey, in my book it's definitely a hill if coasting down it produces speeds of 28+ mph without the frantic let's-see-how-fast-we-can-get-going pedaling at the top. While they may not be the "killer" hills that some of you train on, they're all at least an 8% grade, and a couple hover in the 12-14% range, with the longest one being 1/2 a mile. I'm not trying to be argumentative -- it's just that if people insist on telling me that's "flat", then I'm throwing in the towel right now!

The attachment referenced at the bottom of the post is the elevation chart for this afternoon's ride, a 25-mile loop that was never more than 6 miles from my house. Most assuredly not what some of you would call hills, but I need to call them that so I can continue to pat myself on the back for having gutted it out once again. ;)

That having been said, RAIN is relatively (There's that word again!) flat, but it does have some rollers in the first 40 miles and the last 15 miles. DH rode it last year and assures me that none of the "hills" approach the grades we ride on, but there is one that's just east of Knightstown, at roughly 125 miles into the ride, that's a 1/2-mile long and seems to go on FOREVER! We live just five miles north of Knightstown and are quite familiar with the portion of the course that follows U.S. 40 from Indianapolis to Richmond -- that hill is the bane of my existence! :(

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Originally Posted by susan.wells

I would recommend that you have your own support crew.

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The girls and I were the personal support vehicle for DH when he rode RAIN last year. Probably one of the funnest things I've ever done! Three parties told us last year they wanted to provide support this year; now that it's getting close, everyone's backing out. Not a big deal -- still doable, but I figure my jersey's going to weigh pretty close to a ton once the pockets are loaded! (Okay, that's probably an exaggeration -- more than my bike at least!) DH bought a small digital camera to take with us (waterproof, drop-proof), otherwise there'd be no photographic evidence of my cross-state attempt at insanity. The hardest part will be knowing there won't be someone with a vested interest in my success waiting at each stop. Friends of ours will make sure our girls are at the finish. I think it's important for them to see that -- not that it's any more important than when DH rode, but they need to see women doing the same thing.

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Originally Posted by Geonz

Most people told methe hardest part was around Indy, where there's traffic and you have to pay attention and you know you still hae a LOOONGG way to go. That was sort of true but the weather was so good that it simply wasn't that long a ride.

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My fingers are crossed already for some of that "so good" weather. Last year's ride was 90+ degrees and high humidity. Someone (the infamous, nebulous someone) said last year's attrition rate was the highest ever. I swear, I spend eight months out of the year with my hands asleep from cold. I live for high temps; it's the humidity I'd prefer to do without on the day of the ride.

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and suggestions!! I'll keep looking up. (That's "up" as in maintaining a positive frame of mind, not "up" as in staring into the craw of another one of those pesky "flat" hills. ;)

Way to go Hoosier! I haven't gotten the courage to do any bike get-together, besides the rides out of the bike shop. Last week, the leader of the local shop ride decided we should go to Jamestown, Colorado from Boulder.(approx. 3600 foot elevation gain) Instantly, I became nervous because I knew what kind of climb that entailed...needless to say, I didn't make it...partly because of mind and partly because my legs felt like concrete! I decided to take the rolling hills ride and went 30 miles elsewhere by myself. I was bummed at first, but I decided I could ride by myself and have fun too. My challege became trying to beat the riders, who were going to Jamestown, back to the shop.

This past week, we went on the same ride. Fear and dread occurred again, but I decided I would try to make it farther then I did last week. I blew my own expectations away! That is what it is all about...suprising yourself, challenging yourself. You are a REAL biker if you have a helmet, bike, and desire. And by the end of the summer, bicycle tight tan lines too! :D

I look forward to hear all of your sucess stories; there will be plenty, so be prepared!

I don't think you will have any problem. We are in Richmond, and have worked the finish, it's really amazing to see people come in. Last year a 71 year old man finished at the 10 hour mark - awesome. Everyone hates the last hill, about 9 miles west of the finish, it's almost a mile long and might hit 5% grade, maybe 3% avg. The heat was the killer last year, hoping for cooler weather this year. Water will be your main concern, you may need to buy some along the way. DH added a rear tri bottle holder to carry 2 extra bottles. He did his first century last week training for the RAIN, everything went well, but he wishes he was faster. He doesn't plan to eat at the stops but rely mostly on Perpetuem from Hammer Nutrition and maybe a couple bars and some gel. A lot of the local riders have done it around here, many in under 7 hours, DH is shooting for 10 hours. Most say is mostly mental, but hydration and nutrition are key. Figure out what works for you and go with it, Hammer is excellent, if you are looking for good products. Anyway, you live in IN, gotta to it at least once. Best of Luck.

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Originally Posted by RoadRaven

OK... I don't and can't "do" RAIN... (location, location, location...)

but...

I need to say something...
I need to reiterate what some of the other women have said...


If you have a bike and want to ride it...
If you like to ride so much than soon after you finish a ride you start thinking about the next one...
If you like to talk about bikes... or about your cycling ventures...
If you commute, or race, or tootle, or cyclocross, or go off-road...
If you know that "drops" are a noun not an adjective
If you know that a "stem" holds your handlebars, not a flower
If you know that a post isn't part of a fence, it has a saddle on it - and that saddle does not fit on a horse...
If you have a bike and you ride it...

You ARE a real cyclist...
PERIOD

Enough self-deprecation ladies, we are cyclists, all with different interests, goals and intentions... but we are def cyclists... REAL cyclists...

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I am woman, hear me ROAR!

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Originally Posted by BadgerGirl

Way to go Hoosier! I haven't gotten the courage to do any bike get-together, besides the rides out of the bike shop. Last week, the leader of the local shop ride decided we should go to Jamestown, Colorado from Boulder.(approx. 3600 foot elevation gain) Instantly, I became nervous because I knew what kind of climb that entailed...needless to say, I didn't make it...partly because of mind and partly because my legs felt like concrete! I decided to take the rolling hills ride and went 30 miles elsewhere by myself. I was bummed at first, but I decided I could ride by myself and have fun too. My challege became trying to beat the riders, who were going to Jamestown, back to the shop.

This past week, we went on the same ride. Fear and dread occurred again, but I decided I would try to make it farther then I did last week. I blew my own expectations away! That is what it is all about...suprising yourself, challenging yourself. You are a REAL biker if you have a helmet, bike, and desire. And by the end of the summer, bicycle tight tan lines too! :D

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I cycle in awe of those of you who train on "real" hills!! And, I admit, even the hills in southern Indiana (Bloomington is the home of the Hilly Hundred) look like mountains to me. :eek:

Love those I-worked-hard-to-earn-these tan lines!! Especially the white-hands look, then the strip of tanned skin, then the inch-wide strip from the Road I.D. Yep, that's stylin'!!

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Originally Posted by SR500

Everyone hates the last hill, about 9 miles west of the finish, it's almost a mile long and might hit 5% grade, maybe 3% avg.

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I've ridden that hill, and it doesn't bother me nearly as much as the one outside of Knightstown. Go figure. Perhaps it's because I do the Ktown one more often and am intimately familiar with how bad I'm going to feel by the time I reach the apex. Of course, I've never attempted the the hill you refer to after having already done 150 miles. I'm sure that will drastically change my perception of the dastardly thing!!

Thanks for all of your advice -- it's much appreciated!!

OK, I think you've all convinced me. I've been going back and forth on whether to do this ride or not. If you can do it Hoosier, so can I. I've done a full century the past two weekends and have felt both times that I could have gone more if I had to.

I would have to sign up for the bus sag so that should make it a bit less stressful.

I better get signed up this week before I change my mind again.

May I say I am getting very interested in this ride? I have read every message in this thread with great attention and hope there are even more posts...

Way to go Hoosier. You'll do it!

I agree with whoever said if you can do 100 you can do this ride.

For those of you who are interested, here's the link to Ride Across INdiana (RAIN) 2007:

http://www.bloomingtonbicycleclub.or...rain/rain.html

Please note that if you register online with Active.com the fee is only $35, as opposed to the regular registration of $40.

I replied in the other thread but wanted to say go for it!

I did it last year with some friends in 12:41. This year, some of my teammates and I are doing it and hope to finish in less than 9 hours. I think we can do it if we get the pacelines going early. There's a few things I'm going to do different this year. I don't think we'll stop at the rest stops and hang out. I think we'll just have our sag vehicles meet us every so often to refuel. I'm more of the GU diet on the bike girl now, last year, I was more solid foods.

Water is vital. I had my camelbak plus two bottles. Camelback and one bottle were powerade, the other bottle was just water to dump on myself to cool me down. Our sag driver kept some smaller towels in the cooler and by the time we needed them, the ice had melted and we draped ice cold towels around our necks and backs when we stopped to cool our core down.

If I can be of any more help, let me know.

Jeni

Good luck HoosierGiant, TrekJeni and anyone else who's doing RAIN this year. I live in Indianapolis but have chosen not to do RAIN this year. I have to admit that it doesn't currently hold a huge appeal for me. That said, I know lots of people who look forward to it every year, and have described it as "fun." Of course, one of them is in week four of a cross-country bike ride at the moment and the other just finished a five-day end-to-end tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway, followed by the Assault at Mount Mitchell, so they like to ride lots of long, hard miles. Anyway, I think you've already gotten some good advice, HG. I've heard lots of comments from past participants and the ones that consistenty come up are: drink a good combination of both water and an electrolyte replacement drink. You'll need salt in addition to H20 if it's anywhere near as hot as it was last year. Put ice in your sports bra to cool down. Hook up with groups along the way and engage in shameless wheel sucking. Bring enough simple carbs with you, like GU; as the ride wears on, they may be the only thing your stomach can handle. Listen to your body. If you start to show any signs of heat exhaustion or the like, stop and get medical attention. Most of all, have fun with it. Maybe I'll see you there next year!

Kate