A Better Way Through Indianapolis

It's funny how things work out.

I started the day in Logansport and headed South on hiway 29. Winds were light, but more head than tail. Temperatures quickly rose and I had several Powerade stops. I have gotten to the point where a quart of Powerade is a typical stop. Fortunately, with the Burley, its no problem to keep a 2-3 qts in reserve.

In Michigantown, I finally got an Indiana map. I dreaded the idea of riding through Indianapolis and planned to take hiway 38 East and then take hiway 9 South past Indianapolis. Hiway 38 was just wonderful with almost no traffic. In Sheridan I stopped for another Powerade and banana break in one of the city parks. There was a Little League baseball game being played and so I took my time and watched a couple of innings. The home team put 6 runs on the board in the third inning, but the visitors were chipping away at the lead when I left.

Five miles out of Sheridan, hiway 38 was closed and I had to take a detour South on 31. It was about 2 p.m. and I was just about to make the turn back onto the 38. First though, it was time for some lunch: Taco Bell. While there, I met Dan, another cyclist. He asked me about my intended route and thought I could save several miles and avoid lots of traffic by taking Monon trail to downtown and then hiway 31 South. It so happened that the Monon trail began just a couple of blocks from the Taco Bell.

So off I went on the bike trail, saving miles and having a very pleasant ride. When I got downtown, it didn't take long to find hiway 31 South. This is a 6-lane urban hiway and for the first few miles the traffic flow made for challenging riding. It definitely not something I'd want to ride everyday. Nevertheless, after a while the traffic lightened and I was riding at a good pace. Still, I stopped twice for Powerade breaks. When you're riding in traffic, the most important thing is to be alert and have some power in your legs when you need it. The breaks really help.

So, if I hadn't gotten the map, I wouldn't have taken hiway 38, and if hiway 38 wasn't closed and rerouted onto 31, I wouldn't have stopped at the Taco Bell and met Dan and rode that wonderful city bike trail. Funny, in a nice way, how things work out.

The trip is winding down and while I'm looking forward to getting home, I'm also going to miss the daily mini-adventures.

Today I rode just over 8 hours and covered 105 miles. I'm just 33 miles shy of 3000 for the total trip.


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Location:Franklin, IN