This Was How Our Day Began. .

Dear BBC,

Last year my high-school daughter rode in a sag vehicle for her friend. He finished this event called a RAIN ride and shared about his experiences. I thought he was insane. Later that summer he asked my son, daughter and I to join his family on the HOPE ride. My family got on our cheap bikes and muddled through. I found it very enjoyable. I decided if I wanted to participate in these organized rides I should buy a new road bike. In February of 2003 I purchased a Specialized road bike and a trainer. I set many goals for myself over the course of the next 5 months with the dream of participating in the 2003 RAIN ride in July. My first road organized “ride” experience was the St. Patrick’s Day ride in Terre Haute in March. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I put 1000 miles on my bike in the spring enjoying every bit of the training. In June I rode my first century ride and finished with a good time and still loving the experience.

As July 12th neared the weather in Indiana was stormy, hot and humid. Whenever possible I tried to get in a quick 20 miles. I was never able to stay hydrated with the two water bottles I carried. I quickly began to doubt myself and my abilities to complete such a grueling task as the 160-mile RAIN ride. Knowing I would need to have a riding buddy on this trip, I asked my brother to join me in this inanity.

This was how our day began. . .

0315 = We both got up and readied ourselves for the trip to Terre Haute.

0521 = We arrive at the Drury Inn just missing the registration pick up deadline and decide to fill our water bottles, etc.

0545 = We arrive at the access road and begin the unloading and assembling process.

0628 = We send our PSV ahead and begin our day.

I know what you are thinking. We were none to pleased about our unfortunate start time but were determined to try to make the best of it. The day was absolutely gorgeous with a cool breeze and slight tail winds or northerly crosswinds. Given the past week’s hazy, hot and humid conditions, we felt these were nearly ideal. Psychologically speaking, being the last to start was a bit depressing. For the longest time we saw no other riders and wondered if we ever would. Slowly but surely we began passing a few people here and there. My brother and I knew we needed to keep our heart rate relatively low and over-hydrate if we had any chance of completing the day successfully. The early morning coolness combined with the light tailwinds helped us keep our average speed around 17.5 - 18mph. We considered this good for two mid to late 40ish people on our first mega-event. By the first SAG stop near Putnamville I was ready to get off my bike for a rest. Our PSV restocked our packs and bottles and food and we were off again, this time with hundreds more riders.

This second leg of the trip was highly enjoyable for me. I was able to ride on my aero bars (with which I never felt comfortable) and increased my speed to 20mph. My legs felt good and somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered reading where a sustained average speed of 11 – 14 mph was necessary to ride this particular ride. I knew I could never maintain this speed but enjoyed the short time to Plainfield when I felt like everything was working together well.

As a resident of Indianapolis, I had ridden many of the roads used for the RAIN both east and west of the city. I knew this would not be my favorite part with all of the residential stops and starts. By the time I got to the lunch SAG at Franklin Township Middle School, I was beginning to feel some fatigue. I was only 5 miles from my house but am pleased to say the idea of quitting never crossed my mind. My brother was not feeling particularly well at the lunch stop so we remained there a bit longer than I would have liked. I always am ready to get on with a ride. “The sooner I get back to riding, the sooner the destination appears.” We met up with the guy who got me interested in trying to do the RAIN in the first place. He joined my brother and me for the remaining 70 miles.

The hardest part of the trip was the ride to Dunreith. This is when I knew for sure that a big part of biking is a MENTAL thing. The temperature had increased and I was beginning to resemble a salt lick. I was fed up with Gatorade (which I deplore under all circumstances) and “power bars” (which began tasting like flavored sawdust). The winds were more northerly and a bit stronger at times adding to my frustration. My brother experienced spoke breakage before reaching Dunreith. Trading out the nice Trek 5500 for his old bike took a bit of time and energy that was already beginning to diminish. Not 15 miles later a rear spoke broke on his bike he was riding leaving us within thirty miles of completing our day and no way for us ALL to finish.

This leads me to the next reality of biking that I have found to be true no matter with which organization I ride. Other riders and SAG supporters are as interested in helping a rider finish a ride as they are in finishing it themselves. Immediately after his spoke broke, a PSV for another group of riders saw us wave at our PSV who had just passed us on route to the Earlham College.

She stopped to see if we needed anything. She gladly gave my brother the use of her wheel, which was compatible with his Trek. She told us to finish the ride and see her at the finish line.

This meant another bike switch and more exertion of energy at a time when it was waning. Eventually we had the bikes switched out. . .again. . . and were on our way.

Adrenaline and the knowledge of nearly completing my goal was the only thing that got me up that long, low-grade incline somewhere between Dunreith and Richmond. I am sure it was not as long as it felt but it was the most grueling part of the day. I knew I still had a few hills form Centerville into Richmond but also knew I would take them and be done with the ride.

After completing my first century in June I tried to set a time goal for the 160-mile RAIN ride. No one but me would be proud of this but my brother and I finished the ride in less than 9½ hours (seat time), which was under the 10-hour goal I had set for myself.

Thanks for all of your organization, food, and support throughout the day. My brother and I had a day full of memories we will cherish for a long time.

Sincerely,

Martha Collins Cook