RAIN Ride Post

Sorry that it's taken me so long to blog on here . . . I put this blog up on Facebook about a week ago but then remembered that I do have a few folks who read this blog and aren't on Facebook I'll attach a few pics at the bottom, too.

So I am finally getting around to typing up a little bit more about my RAIN ride experience this year. B's been on vacation and we've been resting, relaxing, and playing the past few days. I just put an album of pics up on here, so feel free to breeze through those.

So we spent Friday evening gearing up, traveling to Terre Haute, eating and preparing for the ride. I think I crawled into bed around 11:30 PM or so. The alarm went off @ 4:45 AM with Jerry Reed singing "East Bound and Down" (think Smokey and the Bandit) which B and I thought was appropriate for the day ahead. We took off for Terre Haute at about 5:30. It was COLD outside. I had to borrow a sweatshirt from my mama. It was also pretty dark and foggy but most of it had burned off by the time we got to TH.After a quick bathroom break @ Starbucks, we zipped onto 70 and crossed into IL. We got off @ the first exit and you could see the trail of cars with bike racks and many bikes already on the road. With ~1200 riders, you tend to notice a sight like that.

At about 6:55 AM we headed toward the startline but not too close. I perfer to stay @ the back just b/c I don't want to get run over at the start. 7 AM, we flipped our cyclometers on and waited for the line to move (which took a couple of mins). I nodded goodbye to Dad and B and took off. The ride through TH was quick and easy. This year's police escort was excellent. We rarely had to stop for a light or stop sign all the way through Terre Haute. Brian and Dad were standing @ the corner of OH and Fruitridge @ Deming Park, waving me on which was a nice surprise.

I love the ride between TH and Brazil up 40 because it's easy and smooth and you begin to get your legs under you. From Brazil to the first rest stop in Putnam County is a bit more challenging as the hills are huge. I capped out at 31.0 mph on the one near the prison (I think I wanted to get by quickly as there were plenty of prisoners in the yard). This year it wasn't as hard to get through the hills thanks to training simple awareness that they were coming up. The first restop (around 41 miles) was a quick one this year. I used the portapot (ewwwwwww), ate a meal bar, sucked down some gatorade and hopped back on. Somewhere in the hills, I hit a bump that knocked my cyclometer loose and a small bolt fell out so B and dad took a good look at it and set off to find a replacement to get it repaired at the next stop. I hopped back on the bike.

The next leg was probably my quickest of the day. It was still pretty cool (probably in the low 70s) and there was a great tail wind. I was riding between 19-22 mph most of the 26 miles of this leg. Felt great. Made it to Plainfield (~66 miles into the ride) in good time where the rest stop was at the high school. I sat down for a few, put a couple of bandaids on my toes where it looked like blisters were beginning, refeuled, used the nice INDOOR restrooms, enjoyed the breeze and the shade.

Kristi, Dave, and Blake Bennett dropped by and said hello and I visited with them for awhile. I think I ended up spending 45 mins there, longer than I had intended, but I was rested. The wind picked up quite a bit on the next leg as I rode through the Camby/Mooresville area and across the southside of Indy. I saw Angie and Kaitlyn Petrow, Anita, Ally, and Ryan Beach as I turned from Bluff onto Banta. I guess Holly Rodgers had just stepped inside for a minute when I rode by. :( She had been out all AM waiting on me. Amanda Ennis was there, too but had to leave 30 mins before I got there. These are all great girlfriends from church and their kiddos. It was so encouraging to see them and it meant a ton that they came out, sat in the sun, and cheered on so many other riders, encouraging them. I had to kinda blink back tears but pulled it together and finished out the ride across the rest of the city, making it to the lunch stop (Mile 91) around 2, I think. B and Dad fixed me up and I ate and reapplied sunblock and stuff and then got back on for the next leg of the ride (the same leg where I begged for God to take me home last year). I decided to iPod up and have some music to distract myself with for the next few miles. I rode pretty much in isolation for awhile through the country. It was relaxing and I made it to 112 (an unofficial rest stop on the other side of Greenfield before you get back on 40) around 4 PM.

I again refeuled and rested for a few seconds and then jumped back on the bike and went the right direction (last year I made a wrong turn that made me give up the ghost at this point) on 40. 3 miles up the road, I stopped again quickly @ Jason Bean's parents house. Kim, Jason, Ethan, and Abby (and Jason's mom) all greeted me in the yard and had an ice cold bottle of water. It was great to see all of them and they graciously let me use the restroom (I had not wanted to use the dirty ones @ the park at 112). I visited for a few and then got back on the bike for the next 15 miles. The rest stop @ 130 was very nice and there were a lot of riders there (it felt like I hadn't seen anyone in an eternity). I sat down a bit longer but got back on the road somewhere in between 6 and 6:30 to finish the final 30 miles. I told B I wasn't sure I could do all 30 miles without a short break so he and Dad met me about 15 miles down the road to make sure I was doing ok. I didn't get off the bike, just stripped off my iPod which had finally died, sucked down some gatorade, and started the final 15 miles. There were a few killer hills but with every mile that passed I kept pushing myself to finish the race. I pulled across the line at about 8:05 PM, feeling like I'd ridden 160 miles (my cyclometer actually said 165, but whatever) but not in too bad shape. I was a bit seat sore and my legs were engaged but not sore if that makes any sense.

The recovery has been great and I was back at spinning Monday night with no problems at all. I'm not sure if I'll ride it again next year or not but I'm so glad I conquered the beast. Thanks for all of your prayers and support (sorry for the long post, believe it or not, this is abbreviated).