"We had everything but snow." That was the assessment of a Ride Across INdiana (RAIN) participant who arrived in Richmond at 5 o'clock, having survived 80 degrees and humid at the start, 100 degrees and humid at the unshaded 80-mile, lunch stop, 20 mph tailwinds from Cumberland to Plainfield, 30 degree temperature drop, driving rain, hail, 25 mph headwinds, thunder, lightning, and swarms of gnats. Can you believe this was said with a big smile?
RAIN '95, successfully completed at 1:08 pm by Phil Scheidler and Bradford Rex from Lexington Kentucky, or at 7:59 pm by Jim Holland of Bloomington, was a huge challenge, successfully met. It provided an unmatched sense of accomplishment to these and the 372 other participants who crossed the state from Terre Haute to Richmond, one way, in one day, on a bicycle.
Invariably, they expressed similar thoughts about their accomplishment and personally thanked Barbara and me, who want to pass their thoughts and expressions on to the rest of the Bloomington Bicycle Club. Steve Merry, who had been organizing RAIN since Nick and Becky Gerlich left for Texas several years ago, also deserves a pat on the back for the efforts he put forth to build the event from the first six-person crossing in 1987 to what it is today with 732 participants from 18 states.
Because of the heat wave, only 650 participants picked up their registration packets, and some number less than that were at the state line at 6 am to start the ride on Saturday morning. 379 riders crossed the finish line next to the Ohio border. The RAIN '95 crossing time was one minute faster than RAIN '94. Dave Tanner, who finished third with six other riders, said the leaders, unlike previous years, "Stopped at all the stop lights." Congratulations from the ride organizers and the BBC officers to the participants for demonstrating responsible riding. The continued success of the event requires that we are welcomed in the communities we pass through, and responsible riding is the only way to maintain that welcome. Thank you!
Barbara and I had the great pleasure of congratulating each participant as they crossed the finish line, giving a RAIN medallion to each and logging their finish time. It was a long day for us (4 am Saturday to 1 am Sunday) but we survived and the event survived. Barbara and I hope to be offering advice and help to new RAIN organizers in 1996. I hope to be back on my bicycle crossing Indiana with the other RAIN '96 participants.
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