Shameless Begging

[SR500]

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.

[HoosierGiant]

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.

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!!

[SJCzar]

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.

[pll]

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...

[maillotpois]

Way to go Hoosier. You'll do it!

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

[HoosierGiant]

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.

[TrekJeni]

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