I've honestly never done the NITE ride. All my friends do it, and it seems like they have fun, but I think that is in large part to the "pre-ride" festivities...relaxing and chilling with cycling buds. I'm a little less interested since they have moved the start from Major Taylor Velodrome to IUPUI. I liked the idea of having ride like this that also served double duty in promoting different aspects of cycling.

With respect to RAIN, "training" really depends on what you want to do. If you want to finish high, a personal SAG is a must. If you want to be with the fastest group, it is almost going to mandate you take hand-ups from the SAG. It's fun and challenging, and for me was always about beating the previous time. You need to be comfortable riding in a pack, because I'd estimate 100-150 riders stay together for the first 50 or so miles, and you will be averaging 25-28 mph. The cool thing is that you will do almost no work for that 2 hours. The worst part is getting around Indy...traffic, stop lights, crappy pavement. Once you get back on 40 (around New Palestine or Greenfield), it's flat, straight, and relatively good pavement...

If you do it, it's definitely worth staying at St. Mary's. It's cheap, the rooms are decent, and you aren't running all over the place to get to the start. BTW, start placement is critical if you want to be in the fast group. If you aren't near the front at the start, it's going to be almost impossible to fight your way up there. Plan to be at the line an hour before the start if you want to be with the initial lead group.