News From Terre Haute, Indiana

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Get the details on RAIN ride

The 26th annual Ride Across Indiana will be take place Saturday, starting at 7 a.m. from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. More than 1,300 bicyclists will ride 160 miles across the state, primarily following U.S. 40.
RAIN is sponsored by the Bloomington Bicycle Club. Online registration is $47 per rider, while mail-in registration is $52 per rider. Registration and ride details can be found at www.bloomingtonbicycleclub.org.

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July 16, 2012

Bicyclists guarantee RAIN coming Saturday

Howard Greninger The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — More than 1,300 riders are already registered this year for the 26th annual Ride Across Indiana (RAIN) event, slated to start at 7 a.m. Saturday from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College.

It is the second year the race has started from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. About 300 riders will stay in Le Fer Hall, a residence hall at the college, on Friday night to be ready for the early Saturday morning start, said Julie White, coordinator of special events at the college.

“Some riders also will camp out” on the campus, White said. “We will have a hospitality room for the team for Wishard Hospital and will serve breakfast at 5:30 a.m. to the riders who stay in the residence hall” as well as campers, White said.

The college sold out of dorm rooms, which range from $45 to $60. Registration for the ride is $47 per rider online and $52 per rider for mail-in registration. Registration can be done up to midnight June 21 at www.

bloomingtonbicycleclub.org.

The hospital team is comprised of 42 riders who are participating in the 160-mile ride in support of Wishard Hospital’s Palliative Care Program. “This is the biggest group who have registered for our ride, but are using their team effort to fundraise for Wishard,” said Keith Vogelsang, president of the Bloomington Bicycle Club, which sponsors RAIN.

RAIN, Vogelsang said, helps fund bicycle-related events in Monroe County, such as bicycle helmet and safety programs as well as bicycle rack programs. The club also gives $1 per rider — more than $1,300 this year — to the state’s Bicycle Indiana program.

Riders will be escorted from St. Mary-of-the-Woods through Terre Haute by the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department, at about 25 miles per hour, Vogelsang said.

The RAIN ride will be held rain or shine, Vogelsang said, even if during very hot and dry conditions, as has been typical in this year’s drought-laden summer. “We just go for it,” he said.

Riders will primarily follow U.S. 40, with some detours near Indianapolis. There will be five rest stations, located about every 30 miles, where riders can get water and snacks. Many bikers prefer to carry their own supplies, but all bicyclists must be self-sufficient and must be able to repair any flat tires or mechanical breakdown during the ride, Vogelsang said.

“Most riders bring along a tool gadget bag with a pump and a spare tube and sometimes a spare tire,” Vogelsang said. “Many other riders will bring a crew in a personal support vehicle, somebody that they can phone and have spare parts and also provide them with water and other provisions.”

At 93 miles, bikers will be served a lunch at Franklin Middle School, Vogelsang said.

“That is where we lose many riders who decide to stop after lunch, depending on how they feel. Ninety miles is a long ride,” he said. “Others get their second wind after lunch and feel pretty good and say they will go for it.”

The ride draws a variety of bicyclists as well as tandem bicycle crews and people riding recumbent bikes, where the rider sits in a reclined position. Those bikes are very efficient on flat terrain, but lose a mechanical advantage on hills, Vogelsang said.

Strong tandem teams can complete the trek across Indiana in 61⁄2 hours, while a majority complete the trek in 8 to 11 hours, Vogelsang said. The finish line is at Earlham College in Richmond and timed rides are ended at 9 p.m.

“We record times, but we don’t want riders to treat this like a race, but just treat it as a timed event for their own personal best, if they want. For many riders, the goal is just to finish, which is a huge achievement,” said Vogelsang, who has ridden in RAIN three times, once on a tandem bicycle with his 12-year-old son. That ride took 13 hours to complete, he said.

Vogelsang said riders usually begin training in early spring, logging hundreds, if not thousands, of miles to build up both physical and mental endurance. “You need the mental endurance to stick it out, possibly 10 to 11 hours or more on a bike” and be physically trained to do that, Vogelsang added.

Howard Greninger can be reached at 812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.

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