- Distance: 77.80 mi
- Elevation: 1,421 ft
- Dedication: My uncle Tim and his family
- Ride group: Julia, James, and Mike
- Host: Chapel Rock Christian Church
Today was arguably harder than yesterday– it’s one thing to bike 100 miles, it’s another thing to wake up and bike 75 miles the next day!
We decided to sleep in a little after two long days with very early wake-ups. The route wasn’t as hilly as the day before and the team was definitely lacking on sleep. We didn’t roll out until almost 9, which will probably never happen again, and headed out in to the farmlands of Indiana. It was a very nice day but we had either a headwind or crosswind most of the day which was unfortunate.
My team was moving pretty slowly until lunch, and we got slowed down even more by some miscommunication about when and where our water stops would be. We spent a little bit of time in Shelbyville, which didn’t have a ton to offer (their postcard features a picture of the public pool lol) but did have a nice little center square area where I grabbed a coffee and some snacks.
My team was a bit smaller after lunch so Julia, James, and I picked up the pace for the last 20 miles to our host. We were cruising for a while but were seriously slowed down by the conditions of the roads as we approached the city. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever biked on rougher roads before and they didn’t really have shoulders, so we were either holding up traffic or just sending it through potholes most of the way. I sadly lost the pepper spray that was mounted on my frame to a bigger bump :(
We did have a few miles in bike lanes and audibly cheered when we saw them. Unfortunately they weren’t in much better shape than the road, but they at least gave us some buffer from the cars. At one point we went under an overpass in a bike lane that was protected by a curb, but the entire lane was filled with several inches of sand that had washed out into the road. It was really dark but I managed to see it at the last second and slow down– I seriously don’t know how we all made it through without wiping out. We also ran into at least three detours which were confusing because we had somehow gotten ahead of our water van, so the route wasn’t chalked and our bike computers were struggling to recalculate the route. As we really got into downtown Indianapolis we were on a bike path that was nice but also very crowded with pedestrians. Julia, James, and I made a few stops for water, bathrooms, and photo ops thinking that we were well ahead of the rest of the team because no one had passed us, but arrived at the host to find that with all the detours two or three groups had gotten ahead of us and beat us there.
We arrived late to the host but we all sat down for our FIRST Chipotle meal of the trip! I can’t believe it’s taken this long to get it, but Chipotle can be pretty stingy with same-day donations and we usually lack the foresight to call ahead :) Our host, Chapel Rock Christian Church, was so awesome in terms of the physical space and their kindness. Their building was huge and they were so kind to us!
After dinner, most of the team went back into the city. My teammate Bryce had been talking all day about the allegedly famous Thunderbird cocktail bar in Indy so we hung out there for a while and it was a ton of fun. Bailey rejoined us today after flying home to get her knee checked out by her doctor and it is so nice to have her back! Back at the host we goofed around a little and went to bed way, way too late, but I didn’t mind because I knew I’d be in the van the next day. Good timing!
Until tomorrow,
Lauren
Lauren Bikes America 