The following is a press release written by Anthony Cherolis for Central Indiana Cycling.
Endurance athletes and cyclists from across the US will be traveling to Indiana to complete the June 27th Ride Across Indiana from Terre Haute to Richmond in one day. This year RAIN added a double century route (205-miles) for those that think the 168-mile route is too easy. One in four riders signed up for the longer journey.
As dawn breaks over the mighty Wabash in Fairbanks Park, the bicycle riders contemplate the miles ahead and make sure they’ve got their water bottles filled. The ride leaves Terre Haute at 7:00 am sharp with a cacophony of shouts and cowbells as friends and family members cheer them on.
A police escort leads the group out of the city, and then the riders split into pace groups. Some riders will be pushing themselves, working in groups, and taking turns at the front, trying to best their time from the prior year. The fastest riders average well over 20 mph and rarely get off the bicycle. Other riders are just trying to finish, pedaling 12 to 14 mph, fueling up at the rest stops, and hoping they don’t end up on the sag wagon. Each rider is taking on their own challenge, and we celebrate them all.
The two routes split at mile-138 at the Dunreith Fire Department, where riders rave about the pickle juice and snacks supplied by volunteer firefighters. They’ll need this energy boost as they get into the final stretch. The updated 168-mile route then drops south of US 40 and continues on rural roads until emerging back onto US 40 for the final stretch into Richmond and the finish at Earlham College.
The double century riders head north from Dunreith and link up with the Cardinal Greenway near Muncie. Volunteers from the Cardinal Greenway will be running that final rest stop for the 205-mile route, and riders check-in for a 200-mile RAIN sticker on their number tag to prove they finished the longer route.
RAIN riders will be finishing on the Earlham College campus between 1:30 pm and when the finish line closes at 10:00 pm. Those that cross the finish line will get a commemorative finishers medal made in the USA by Indiana Metal Craft in Bloomington, Indiana. We invite Indiana communities and neighbors along the RAIN route to cheer for these intrepid pedalers on Saturday.
