Day 37 Crawfordsville, IN to Indianapolis, IN
This 10 Jul 06 ride was a mere 65 miles and appeared relatively easy from the outset. Having just experienced my easiest day yet on the ride into Crawfordsville, I was feeling relaxed and enthused about today's "tour." Most of the rode would be extremely flat, have great roads, and included a slight tail wind. With perfect weather and a song in my heart, I was ready for the ride a tour of the Roark Bike Factory, my first trip to the Indy 500 speedway and a few laps around the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indy.
I rode the first 30 miles cruising at 19-20 mph with Tim Trelfa. We solved all the world's problems and relished the chance to roll on a glass like pavement surface. We strolled into the rest stop and then moved about three more miles down the road for a cappacino at the local BP gas station while we waited for the other riders to arrive for the Roark Bike Factory tour.
Since Mike Munk, our ride leader, rides a Roark bike, he arranged a factory tour that was informative and fun. Within this machining factory is both a bicycle manufacturer and an aircraft engine parts manufacturing plant. Kind of cool to see both finely machined bicycles and B-2 afterburner sections in the same area!
The Roark bike is made of titanium, an ultralight yet strong, durable material. Since this company custom makes each bike, they strive to emphasize the word "customer" in customer service. The certainly impressed me during this one hour and thirty minute tour.
We then departed for the world renowned Indy 500 speedway, just 15 miles away. Just riding up to this famous place got me fired up. As we approached the oval on Georgetown road, we could hear the roar of a few cars and see the tops of these machines zoom by. Pulling under the track and into the far end of the oval was like driving into the center of any mega stadium. At full capacity, this place holds 400,000 crazy fans. We watched about 30 different NASCAR racers turn practice laps and tire test laps at about 175 mph. As 8-10 cars zoomed by multiple times, I felt a rush of adrenaline and a smile stayed plastered on my face (and no, alcohol was not a factor!).
The next step on the tour was about 10 miles down the road at the major Taylor Velodrome. This was my first ride at a velodrome with its steeply banked turns and I took about 20 laps around this 1/3 kilometer concrete track. We all enjoyed the chance to experience this unique cycling experience that most of us had only seen during televised Olympic events.
We made the last 10 mile push to the Days Inn via bike paths that wound around Indy. While I almost ruined the day of a 12 year old girl camped on the bike path, one of our riders, Mary, faired even worse when she fell and fractured her shoulder. Sure hate to see her go, as I greatly admired her dogged determination.
After hitting a quick shower at the hotel, Tim and I enjoyed a refreshing shake at the Chocolate Cafe in Indy town center. The magnificent war memorial that commands this area is surrounded by a plethora of shops and eating establishments. Later, Larry Bob and Bill peddled by and stopped for some lunch as Tim and I sat outside watching the world pass by.
Dinner was at the Spaghetti House and then I introduced Alan and Debbie to Jillians, an indoor adult amusement park. They were excited to see that kayaking, skiing, and skateboarding can be accomplished with no risk of injury while playing these state of the art video games. I think they'll give them a shot on Wednesday.
I rode the first 30 miles cruising at 19-20 mph with Tim Trelfa. We solved all the world's problems and relished the chance to roll on a glass like pavement surface. We strolled into the rest stop and then moved about three more miles down the road for a cappacino at the local BP gas station while we waited for the other riders to arrive for the Roark Bike Factory tour.
Since Mike Munk, our ride leader, rides a Roark bike, he arranged a factory tour that was informative and fun. Within this machining factory is both a bicycle manufacturer and an aircraft engine parts manufacturing plant. Kind of cool to see both finely machined bicycles and B-2 afterburner sections in the same area!
The Roark bike is made of titanium, an ultralight yet strong, durable material. Since this company custom makes each bike, they strive to emphasize the word "customer" in customer service. The certainly impressed me during this one hour and thirty minute tour.
We then departed for the world renowned Indy 500 speedway, just 15 miles away. Just riding up to this famous place got me fired up. As we approached the oval on Georgetown road, we could hear the roar of a few cars and see the tops of these machines zoom by. Pulling under the track and into the far end of the oval was like driving into the center of any mega stadium. At full capacity, this place holds 400,000 crazy fans. We watched about 30 different NASCAR racers turn practice laps and tire test laps at about 175 mph. As 8-10 cars zoomed by multiple times, I felt a rush of adrenaline and a smile stayed plastered on my face (and no, alcohol was not a factor!).
The next step on the tour was about 10 miles down the road at the major Taylor Velodrome. This was my first ride at a velodrome with its steeply banked turns and I took about 20 laps around this 1/3 kilometer concrete track. We all enjoyed the chance to experience this unique cycling experience that most of us had only seen during televised Olympic events.
We made the last 10 mile push to the Days Inn via bike paths that wound around Indy. While I almost ruined the day of a 12 year old girl camped on the bike path, one of our riders, Mary, faired even worse when she fell and fractured her shoulder. Sure hate to see her go, as I greatly admired her dogged determination.
After hitting a quick shower at the hotel, Tim and I enjoyed a refreshing shake at the Chocolate Cafe in Indy town center. The magnificent war memorial that commands this area is surrounded by a plethora of shops and eating establishments. Later, Larry Bob and Bill peddled by and stopped for some lunch as Tim and I sat outside watching the world pass by.
Dinner was at the Spaghetti House and then I introduced Alan and Debbie to Jillians, an indoor adult amusement park. They were excited to see that kayaking, skiing, and skateboarding can be accomplished with no risk of injury while playing these state of the art video games. I think they'll give them a shot on Wednesday.
posted by Steve King at 5:18 PM
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