Good Job, BBC!

By Kathy Cummins

I successfully completed my first RAIN ride because of the experience of fellow rider CE Taylor and the strong day experienced by second-timer Ken Dau-Schmidt. CE has already posted a report for our group -- to his report, I would add another HUGE thank you to his and Ken’s wives, Letha and Betsy, for their hard work in our support vehicle. Their attention to our needs was amazing and speedy. I just had to express a wish and it was immediately fulfilled. Near the end, as I was saying “ow, ow, ow” every time we had to restart after a stop light, because the legs hurt, Letha and Betsy were also near the end of their ropes after a very long and busy day for them. Thank you so much!

A very fun part of the ride was seeing the BBC volunteers at every rest stop. All of them were working hard while being cheerful and helpful. Thanks to all who helped make RAIN a marvelous club event, especially Mark, Keith, and the committee leaders. You did an exceptional job as we moved to our new all-volunteer format for the ride.

As someone who finished near the end of the official day, I would also like to thank those finish-line volunteers who stayed well after the end of the ride to greet the late finishers. If I had been one of those who arrived after 9:00 pm, I would have been extremely happy to still have been greeted with my medal and an appreciative reception from someone at the finish line of my long day and accomplishment.

As much as I would love to ride RAIN every year now, I think I will take my turn next year as a volunteer. It is worth it, and also something to be proud of as a BBC member.