It was 70 degrees Monday night. A chilly 70 degrees, but 70 degrees nonetheless.
After arriving home from spending the day at the Nine13sports office, I had a decision to make. Spin class or real bike ride? I chose real bike ride. So I tossed on the bike shorts and jersey, pumped up my bike tires, filled up my water bottle, put my shoes on, grabbed my helmet and gloves, and out the door I went with my bike. Riding down my street, I was trying to decide which route I was going to take. I chose the 19 mile loop my husband and I created/discovered a couple years ago. I’ve ridden it a lot, it’s our go-to weekend bike ride.
Ashley is an avid cyclist and participates in numerous cycling events throughout the Central Indiana area each year, including the Tour de Upland and Tour de Cure, among others.
Off I go, I leave my neighborhood, 1 mile east, and it turns to country roads. It’s amazing. Low traffic, and everything is a grid. The only downside is the wind. It whips across the cornfields, especially on days early in the season before the fields are planted. I haven’t ridden this route in about 9 months. Busy fall turns into winter. Going by memory, the route looks different when there aren’t leaves on trees and flowers aren’t in bloom. About 10 miles in, I had my head down fighting a nasty headwind from the south (which is rare) and I missed the right turn that turns me around to head home.
I realize it about a half mile later. “I’ll catch the next right turn,” I tell myself. Only there isn’t another right turn. I cross over the I-74 overpass. Now I debate. Turn around, or wing it.
I chose wing it. I stopped on the south side of the I-74 overpass, pull out my phone and come up with a general route to get me home. It was starting to get chilly, and I was now racing the sun. These roads I found all because of a missed turn made it worth the extra miles I was about to put in. I rode through two small communities that I had no idea existed. I saw some deer. A raccoon scurried out of a drain pipe. Geese were in the fields. I saw many horses grazing in pastures. But the most noticeable thing was a sound, not a sight. One road I ended up on for a few miles meandered along a creek. If I wasn’t racing the sun, I would have gone much slower and taken it all in. But what I did hear was the sound of tree frogs. Hundreds of them, all chirping to each other. A Sound loud it overpowered the rush of wind past my ears. It was awesome.
Getting thousands of kids on bikes each year throughout Central Indiana is something Ashley takes great pride in.
My 19 mile bike ride turned into a 31 mile bike ride. I’m tired, hungry, probably going to be sore tomorrow, but I’m super glad I took that “If not now, when” moment and rode with it. So glad, that this accidental route has added itself to the weekend rotation. As I pulled in my driveway, the street light turned on. According to my childhood, that meant I was home by dark.
This is why I love riding my bike. I saw parts of Indiana I would have never seen had I been in a car. I heard the tree frogs, and the horses burning off pent up energy galloping and bucking across the field. All the sudden the headwind I rode straight into for 5 miles (long, long miles) was worth it. And not just because I had a sweet, sweet tailwind as I made the turn for home.