Ultra

Main Entry: 1ul·tra
Pronunciation: \ˈəl-trə\
Function: adjective
Etymology: ultra-
Date: 1818
: going beyond others or beyond due limit : extreme

RainStorm is considered ultra-marathon cycling. Tonight at registration as 1400 other cyclists arrive for the mere one day RAIN event (albeit 160 miles from Terre Haute to Richmond!) I overheard many comments about how (take your pick here) heroic/nuts/amazing the riders on RainStorm are.

Today was probably considered an "easy" day but still a fair bit of climbing, heat, and 104 miles. And at this point, everything (yes EVERYTHING!) is uncomfortable making 6.5 hours in the saddle difficult. Lots of squirming today!

You do meet amazing people on a trip like this. Tom who was done the Race Across America, the couple from Ontario (who are now quite tired of cornfields and soybean fields -- welcome to the midwest!) and Sue. Sue is the only one with her own personal sag (and all of us took advantage of them on occasion!). She is staying with her Mom and her sister and her husband, and her niece and her boyfriend are along for the ride as well -- staying in Brown County camping each night. They are so supportive, ultra supportive if you will, great fun, and obviously enjoy spending time with each other. And Sue is a very strong rider, riding solo most of the time.

Saved a turtle from the road today just in time as a car was coming. Saved a butterfly from a gas station stop just before a car pulled out. Had 2 dogs out, 1 slipped in between me and Jim which was a little dicey. We were visted by two cute little dogs while we were waiting for one of the group to fix a flat -- getting licked and fawned over is much better than being chased by a dog!

Jim and I beat Heidi in today -- we are quite proud of our accomplishment. Remember it's the overall time right? Steady Eddy's are we -- but towards the end we had to stop alot for cold water. Warm steamy water from the bottles doesn't quite quench the thirst.

Are Teamroll: mates showed up tonight for RAIN tomorrow. Fresh legs, hammer heads all -- should make tomorrow interesting. They have promised not to drop me. I'm not sure they understand how difficult that may end up being!

Well almost there -- hopefully I can finish all 160 miles tomorrow. If not Mike Perakis is pulling SAG and I have a ride to the finish if need be!

Hey did I mention Jim and I finished before Heidi today?