Ride 18: Indiana
The Hoosier State
State: Indiana (#18)
Area: Indianapolis
Route: Loop around the city core and an out-and-back segment through the northern suburbs; mostly along the Monon Trail with stretches on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Central White River Trial, and Central Canal Towpath
Final Mileage: 50.26
Date: May 11, 2024
Friends! It’s been a minute. Since our previous two rides last fall, a lot has happened. Most importantly, Alex welcomed a new member to his family—a baby girl named Annabelle! Needless to say, as life has gotten busier for both of us, the rides are slightly harder to squeeze in than they were at the beginning of the project. But we’re as committed as ever to keeping things rolling (heh).
For this one, we decided to go east from Alex’s adopted hometown of Springfield, IL, to the land of the Hoosiers. And once again, we were joined by Bing, who has now officially come along for 3.04 rides!1 Before setting sail for Indiana, Bing and Michael went to Springfield for a couple of days to hang with Alex and his family, check out an excellent local cidery, play some simulated golf at Eagle Golf and Grill, grab dinner at a fancy lil’ country club to which the good doctor (Alex) now belongs, and eat a gluttonous breakfast at a local diner.
On a Friday morning, we took off for the great city of Indianapolis. Our official destination was Broad Ripple, a hip neighborhood slightly north of the city center that is home to some great food, bars, music, and more (including our Airbnb). However, we spent Friday evening closer to downtown. First, we scoped out a duckpin bowling alley:
Afterwards, we stopped by one of the top-rated restaurants in the city, a Thai joint called BOHDI, which in addition to an excellent dinner menu also had a fantastic assortment of cocktails. If you ever find yourself in town, we’d suggest making this place a priority.
Our final stop of the evening was the nearby Garage Food Hall to secure some ice cream and watch the Pacers win Game 3 against the Nicks with at least 50 cheering locals. After a resounding success of an evening, our crew headed home for a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, we set out for our ride, which would begin on the famous Monon Trail—a 27-mile line that runs down the middle of the city from its northern suburbs to downtown. Almost all of the ride would take place on this trail.
After hopping on the trail near Broad Ripple, we headed south toward downtown, where we joined the Indianapolis Cultural Trail and rode by a few classic Indy sights.
As we passed by the Indiana State Museum and downtown canal walk on the west side of town, we connected with the Central White River Trail. This took us north until it became the Central Canal Towpath, a crushed gravel trail that runs alongside the White River all the way back to Broad Ripple near where we started (and allowing us to rejoin the Monon).
Our loop around downtown had already put us at 20 miles. At this point, all that was left was to ride north on the Monon for 15 miles and then come back. So we hopped back on the trail and worked our way toward the community of Carmel.
For those unfamiliar with Carmel, it’s a suburban town that offers a possible look at the future of American suburbs everywhere. It became famous for adopting roundabouts throughout town, which have reduced traffic and traffic-related accidents while making the streets more bike- and pedestrian-friendly. Its central Arts and Design District, a major commercial hub, was also designed to allow cyclists and pedestrians to easily navigate the area alongside cars.2
After stopping for lunch at a Mexican joint called Social Cantina (which was great!), we finished our outbound stretch of the Monon by riding to Westfield, at which point Bing’s quads realized they’d had enough of this ride:
Coincidentally, this was also our 15-mile mark, so we promptly turned around and did our best to coast the final 15 miles back. Once we’d completed the ride, we took some time to recover by heading to BRICS—home to the best ice cream in town and located right along the Monon in central Broad Ripple.
We continued the recovery with a round of drinks (and a couple rounds of Hive) at Center Point Brewing in Broad Ripple, followed by an incredible dinner at Half Liter BBQ, which featured a live blues and country band on a back patio. We then capped the evening with one last round of drinks at a nearby dive bar called Red Key Tavern. We highly recommend all three of these places.
And that’s about it! Thanks for joining us on our 18th ride. We’re finally filling out the Midwest part of the map, which feels great for a team of guys whose roots are there. Stay tuned for more of them in the not-too-distant future!
This includes a two-mile stretch of our Kansas City ride.
Of course, Carmel’s ability to overhaul its infrastructure was thanks in no small part to its immense wealth: it was ranked the second-richest city in the Midwest as of 2016—and its median household income has only grown since then.
Love these bicycle travelogues-I learn so much and add places to visit on my list. We were in Carmel for a wedding and laughed at the crazy amount of round-abouts! I have forwarded this to Jake as he has spent a lot of time in Indy for work.