BBC Double Century 2011

By Eugene Kase SAG Driver

Dateline:  June 18, 2011

We initially had 5 riders for the 200+ mile ride and three for the 100+ ride, and one rider meeting us in Terre Haute and riding to Sullivan. The ride was to start around 6:00am. But with the weather not being friendly and yours-truly not liking a ride in the rain, it dwindled down to 5 riders....Jim S., Tom S., Paul T., Stan E., and Dan H. I need to point out that at this time, we had an abundance of SAG navigators/drivers. My daughter and her friend, as well as my 12-year son wanted to come along. Yes, 2 teenagers and a pre-teen, waking up at 5:00am on a Saturday morning to support biker riders for a long period of time, I was surprised. But, I sent my daughter and her friend home in my car (with my bike...mistake #1) while my son Michael and I would handle the SAG duties in our Odyssey.

At 6:30am the 5 riders left the First Baptist Church in Ellettsville with plans on meeting the SAG vehicle in Clay City, about 33 miles away via bike. It was in Clay City that the rain started to let up and the skies started to clear. It was also where most of the rain jackets came off of the riders :)

After the brief stop at Clay City, the next stop was at 3rd St. & Cherry St. in Terre Haute @ mile 61. It was this stop where Paul was ready to go without his helmet, leaving it sitting in the grass! We all quickly pointed out that he was missing something on his noggin.

So off to Subway restaurant in Paris, IL. The riders did a ride thru Saint Mary’s of the Woods College (this years starting point for the RAIN ride) on their way to Paris. The stop in Paris is about 24 miles from their break in Terre Haute. The route from TH to Paris was quiet and almost traffic free. These roads are straight, pretty flat, but without ‘dan-henry’s’, I waited at questionable intersections to make sure they stayed on course. I was envious watching them in the rear view mirror in a perfect pace line. A couple of times I asked my co-pilot Michael to count and make sure there were 5 back there, so not to lose anyone.

The stop in Paris is where substantial food consumption and relaxing at the picnic tables took place. It was also where one rider asked “where is that Gatorade?”, and the answer was “it’s in the blue cooler”. I think there were 7 blue coolers in the van.

From Paris it was off to Marshall, IL, near mile 108. The riders would hit the century mark right around Clarksville, IL.

Clouds did show up around mile 93. The winds picked up and the temp dropped. I stayed close ahead of the riders thinking any minute it was going to come down. My co-pilot even asked if we might have a tornado. This big cloud literally passed right in front of us. A few drops hit the wind shield, but that was it. The stop in Marshall, IL was quick and simple. Drinks, snacks and back on the road, off to Hutsonville, IL. about 26 miles away. At about mile ~125, Dan H. decided he would join me in the car. As I loaded Dan’s bike on the van, I told this other 4, to stay on course into West Union and make a left on HWY 1 and we’ll meet up in Hutsonville. Hutsonville (mile 134) is where Dan treated the pilot and co-pilot to a soft serve ice cream cone and a large root-beer float.
After Hutsonville, the riders by-passed a stop in Sullivan and headed east on route 54. I waited at a Casey store at the top of a hill in Dugger, IN, at mile 158.

The stop at Dugger is around the 3/4ths point of the double century. Our next stop would be in Worthington. But we also decided I would pull over every 10-12 miles to make sure the riders were still alert, there was enough light, etc. The stop in Worthington was quick and un-eventful...other than a rider demonstrating the process of embrocation while the gas station attendant observed outside her window. From Worthington to the church in Ellettsville, it’s about 30 miles. It was getting late and the riders were chasing daylight. At this point the four riders broke up into two groups (Tom, Stan, Paul in one and Jim in another), so Dan, Michael, and I decided we would leap frog. I would drive up wait for all four to pass me and then drive up ahead of them again, never more than a few miles in front.

The SAG vehicle pulled into Ellettsville a few minutes ahead of the riders, allowing us to locate a “beverage store” to purchase a cold “recovery drink” for the riders. The final rider pulled in the church parking lot around 9:30pm.

A few notes to re-cap:

• Stan went through 13 gu packs.
• Tom ate his potato stew at almost every stop. He may want to patent that recipe.
• I didn’t get lost until Dan took over the co-pilot duties from Michael. Next time, let’s not wake Dan up.
• Michael was content in the van for 13 hours with his Kindle, Nintendo DSi, word search book, and a Harry Potter DVD. 
• At one point I had the camera around my neck, the route map on my lap, and my phone/gps in my hand...and as I rider mentioned “our lives in your hand”.