by Keith Vogelsang
An impressive group of club members showed up last week at Jennifer’s house to sort apparel and stuff rider packets. I stopped by briefly to pick up some RAIN items, and decided to take a few photos:
Steve Holbrook and Andrew Hettlinger sort rider information cards. Anndra Morgan, Andy Loeb, and Janice Arvesen work in the background.
I had improperly configured my camera, so several other shots I took did not turn out. But with the exception of the bathroom, there was a crew stuffing or pasting in every room of the house! Jennifer informs me that their work ended up filling two truck beds, stacked three boxes high. Mark Villanova and Jennifer each transported the load to Terre Haute. Nearly 1600 envelopes were filled and would be distributed in roughly four hours at RAIN packet pickup at the Drury Inn in Terre Haute. Seeing this much club enthusiasm to make RAIN happen was exciting to witness, and Jennifer reports that the action at the Drury was even more intense.
And our efforts have been noticed by riders and other participants. Here’s a brief sampling of some of the comments we’ve received from the weekend’s events:
“ Just a note to let you know what a wonderful experience I had on the RAIN ride. All of the volunteers deserve a standing ovation. They were all kind, helpful and polite. I was even more amazed that, even though we arrived at an incredibly late hour, you searched for us, gave our our finishing medalion and cheered for us as we came in. I know that you did not have to do that. You could have closed up by 9:30 or 10:00 and gone home to much deserved rest, yet you did not. You waited. I am very greatfull for all you did. Thank you all so very much.”
“Finished my first RAIN ride yesterday, hopefully, at 64, it would be the first of many more to come. Yes, I have heard this before, that to ride the RAIN once, you are a hero. Twice? You are an idiot. I don't believe that. I can't thank the Bloomington Bike Club folks/volunteers enough for a great event well done, please convey my gratitude to all.”
“First off, thanks for putting together RAIN this year...It was hard, but a pretty good ride nevertheless. However, there are 2 comments I have to make regarding changes. One is big, the other is just small.
1. Lunch. Please don't try to make this like Hilly. Most people don't want to have a picnic lunch with hot macaroni, beans, and hot sandwiches. Bring back the cold cuts (Ham, turkey) & Veggies, Chips, etc. I know some of the problems people were having were due to the heat but i don't think lunch helped out either. And having people serve us, in 1 line, waiting in line in the hot sun, is something all of us could have done without. The 2 tables of self service lunch is better in my opinion. That was we can get in and out asap.
2. If we start out at the college again, make the starting line just the one driveway, and block off that 2nd driveway where people were merging into from the left. It just slowed things down like crazy right at the start. Anyways, I will probably be back again next year, so I hope to see you again then.”
“John,
My wife and I wanted to thank you for retaining us and allowing us to help with the wonderful RAIN event. We feel you did an outstanding job. I was very impressed with your organization and the improvements you made to the finish area. Please let us know if there is any way we can be of service for next year's event. As you and the BBC determine dates, simply contact us so we may free-up our schedules. I look forward to working with you in the near future. Please give my regards to your wife Sue, as well as Keith, Mark, Jennifer, Ted and all those who helped make it such a memorable experience. Thank you again for your support of Earlham and its campus.” Nick Johnson
Nice job, BBC!
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