Well, less than 24 hours from the start of RAAM and RAW (they stop at Durango, CO), so I should look at all the teams and solo's that hopefully will be travelling through Bloomington, INDIANA next week.

By the time the solo's arrive here, they are pretty much zombies.  The crews are looking for some civilization and Bloomington is the place to be.  We are the largest city along the RAAM route and the time station is across from a mall and there are lots of nearby restaurants.  The famous loop de loop is still on the route so be carefull just after the time station.

CREWS: DO NOT USE THE RAAM HANDBOOK'S ALTERNATE ROUTE THROUGH BLOOMINGTON.  IT GOES THROUGH OLD TOWN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THERE ARE T'S AND JOGS - VERY HARD FOR LARGE RV'S.  JUST AS YOU ENTER THE METRO AREA OF BLOOMINGTON AND TRAFFIC TURN LEFT ONTO CURRY PIKE AND THEN FOLLOW THE RIDERS' ROUTE.

SOLO RIDERS:

Well, it looks like the favorite is past winner Christoph Strasser of Austria.  He did not race last year as Pierre Bischoff of Germany won, and he is not racing this year.  I'm always pulling for Marko Baloh of Slovenia - a classy guy that's been racing for a while.  Other notable internationals are Chris Hopkinson (UK) Gerhaud Gulewicz, (AUT), Henning Larsen (DNK), Mark Pattinson (UK).  There's one US soloist that I need to mention.  Joel Southern from California, and an adopted Hoosier has raced and hold records in more classifications of RAAM than anyone.  This year he's attempting solo, and two Hoosiers, Steve Gerbig and Dave Tanner, are in Joel's crew.  Another US soloist is Tom McKenna, who has RAAM legend, Lon Haldeman, on his crew.

There are a handful of women solo's, and again the most notable is veteran Seana Hogan.

I see Sandy Earl, originally from Ft Wayne, is racing a 2 person recumbent team.  4 Dudes Race 3000 miles for a Cure" includes Chris Clemons, a "digital nomad" but claims Geneva, IN as home.

There's a 4 man team from SC named Bike Law, and is promoting a national hotline of Bike Attorneys.  Check out their website.

And finally, we have a 8 man team mostly from Columbus, Indiana and are sponsored by Southern Hills Youth for Christ of Bloomington,  I'm sure there will be a big crowd at TS 39 when they come through.

Just riding on campus (IU) and stopped to listen to Hoagy!

Hello Ultra Distance Cycling Enthusiasts:  Bloomington, Indiana is alive and well.  We are still "the shangrila of Indiana", a liberal college town always bucking heads with the current political landscape.

The city is now a GOLD level League of American Bicyclists Bike Friendly City, as we are striving to get to platinum one of these years.  A few causes will help us achieve this.

USBR 235 is a scenic spur of USBR 35 in Indiana and for the past couple of years, along with Adventure Cycling and INDOT I have been trying to get official recognition of this by all jurisdictions along the way.  When completed this will be quite a scenic and bicycle historic route that starts in Indianapolis and through Martinsville, Bloomington, Nashville and ending south of Columbus.

Our Bloomington Bicycle Club is promoting the building of a bike/ped bridge over the soon to be completed Interstate 69.  This I-69 divides our metropolitan area and we feel we need a safe passageway for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The city and county continue to add bicycle facilities but too slowly by my account.  We have been working with both governments in achieving this bicycle mission.

Sylvia and I just saw the filming of 3089 Miles Across America up in Indy along with a film about the US/UK 8 man team record holder in RAAM.  They were both well done and inspiring.  I was honored to be included in the credits along with the other time station captains.

We're the largest metropolitan area along the route, so we have everything to offer here.  We encourage all the crews to stop and we'll assist you with whatever you may need.  I always take a break from cycling during the 5 days of RAAM here in Bloomington, and again we strive to be there 24/7 for y'all.

See you in June.