What is the 200 mile Nightmare Challenge?

I love (1) riding my bike really long distances and (2) eating pizza.

The year 2007 was excellent for desire #1, but in 2008 I have found it much easier to focus on perfecting #2. Since I'm goal oriented I've been looking for a fun way to motivate myself and share my love of cycling with others. With that in mind I've challenged some friends from Maple Grove Mennonite, my church, to compete with/against me in the Nightmare ride in Lancaster County on August 16th.

Here is the challenge. I will ride the 200 mile bike ride solo with a 15 minute head start while the Maple Grove 4 person cycling team rides relay style. One team rider will ride 30 minutes at a time while the team car shuttles the resting teammates ahead on the course. The question is, will my experience count for anything? Can Team Maple Grove work together to finish the Nightmare 15 minutes faster than my solo ride?

We are riding to raise funds and awareness for Bridge of Hope, an organization that specializes in motivation and personal turnarounds. Our challenges in participating in the very difficult 200 mile Nightmare ride pale in comparison to the obstacles that single mothers face in Bridge of Hope.