A few weeks ago a friend called and asked if I would want to do a midnight ride through Indianapolis. A big group of local bike riders meet at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds and ride throughout downtown with crazy lights and glow sticks. Being the somewhat avid biker that I am, I was super excited. I paid my $31 entry fee, signed up and looked forward to the new adventure.
My friend who found out about the ride signed herself and her husband up along with me and my boyfriend. She sent me the confirmations and I immediately noticed a lot of VERY important information she left out:
- All riders must wear helmets. I am not against helmets, however, I do not own one b/c my top speeds are typically around 7mph. And, I normally take the sidewalk or cultural trail.
- All riders must have light on their bike. I am not against bike lights, however, I do not own one b/c I do not ride when its dark outside or venture into areas where I need a strobe light to see my path.
- All riders must be able to ride 20 miles. Yes! One I think I can do.
- All riders must be able to ride 20 miles in 2 hours. WAIT – what?! I can ride 20 miles, but in two hours? I have a hybrid bike, aka a step up from a cruiser with gears. It’s not a fast bike, certainly nothing like the Jimmy John’s delivery bikes. Also, I typically cruise right around 5-7 mph.
At first I was dying laughing, but quickly thought: I’m paying all this money to do something that I don’t even know if I’ll able to do! My loving boyfriend said he’d be my coach. So night 1 of training we did 8.5 miles in fifty-eight minutes. I was beat red and extremely exhausted, which made me even more nervous. I made a promise to myself that I was going to train for the next couple of weeks leading up to the ride. And, honestly, I only ended up biking one other time. Training is hard!
