Let's Explore Indy by Bicycle!
Details
Fall is here! Let's go for a bike ride!
The Plan:
We'll meet at Rusted Moon Outfitters in Broad Ripple (Indianapolis). We'll ride some trails to downtown while checking out points of interest along the way. We'll have lunch at The Rathskellar (German food!) and then head back to Rusted Moon.
Details:
We'll meet at Rusted Moon Outfitters at 6410 Cornell Ave. to check them out. They have all kinds of outdoor gear for different activities. After we check them out, we'll start our ride. We'll hop on the Monon trail for a block or two and then head over to the Canal Towpath.
The towpath runs along an old canal that runs parallel to the White river. The Indianapolis Museum of Art has an outdoor exhibit in the space between the trail and the White river that we can ride through. We'll continue on the Towpath to where it meets the White River trail. At this intersection is the old Naval Armory. This is a beautiful building on the White river that used to belong to the Naval Reserves. A private high school purchased it years ago. It's still a really cool building.
The White River Greenway will take us to downtown. We'll have some things to see along the way, including a stop and Long's Bakery. This is their original store and it's been there since the 50s. Once we head back to the trail, we'll continue towards downtown. Once we get down around the IU Indy campus, we'll cross to the other side of the river and ride past the zoo. We'll ride some of the Cultural Trails downtown and head down to check out the canal.
After we're done exploring, we'll head over to The Rathskellar for lunch. This is a great place to eat in a historical district near where we'll catch the Monon trail to head back to our vehicles.
These trails are all flat and paved with the exception of the Canal Towpath. The Towpath is crushed gravel and is packed well. This should not be an issue for any bikes. We will be riding what I call 'conversation speed' and stopping as needed.
WARNINGS:
This ride is approximately 17 MILES without going off trail and exploring. If you aren't sure of the distance, I can meet you at the restaurant so that you can park and finish your ride at the restaurant. This will make your ride approximately 10 miles. Let me know.
Some of these trails DO NOT ALLOW ELECTRIC BIKES of any kind. If you have one, please don't bring it.
This is a long bike ride for some of us. PLEASE BRING PLENTY OF WATER.
Rentals are available.