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At least once a year I try to go to Indianapolis and do a long bike ride on the Monon there. The trail isn’t quite as convenient for biking as the one I typically ride on, but I really enjoy the Monon and enjoy mixing it up from time to time!
Last week I decided to head out early in the morning for a Monon ride, looking forward to sunshine and nature! I decided to start off in Broadripple, knowing that there are lots of restrooms and restaurants nearby if needed! I took a departure from my typical audiobook listening, and decided to catch up on Jillian Michaels’ podcast (I think I might have listened to 5 episodes?).
The morning was crisp (well- in comparison to the 100 degree days we had had the few days previously!) as I headed off, and my legs felt SO HEAVY. My turn over was rough, and my legs ached. Almost every part of me wanted to quit, and I was grinding out miles at 5:30 per mile. UGH. Since I took so much time off for my injury, it feels like it’s taking me a bit more time to warm up while biking. Ironically, I went up a hill around mile 6 or 7, and that was what loosened my legs up enough to get moving! RELIEF!
The monon crosses several streets along the way, and sometimes those are bigger intersections (with lights to stop at), and others you can just dart across. In between are stretches of trail surrounded by woods, and it is beautiful.
Around mile 11 I stopped to snap this picture with some beautiful flowers at an entry point to the trail! I turned around at mile 12.5 and headed back towards Broadripple, going past my car to head south towards the fair grounds. The trail opens up more here, with less woods, and it’s sort of a nice change of pace. I enjoyed watching all the people out catching pokemon, as the miles around Broadripple are filled with Pokestops. Haha!
My legs stayed pretty loose the rest of the ride, and my pace picked up about a mile a minute which felt really nice. The sun came out and the heat of the day really kicked in, but the nice thing about biking is that the natural breeze created while riding keeps me a lot more cool! I hit 40.5 miles for the day and decided that that was good enough! I am so happy to be back into some long rides (now that my ability for long summer rides in winding down- boo!) but am happy to have gotten some in already for the summer!
I feel like my hydration and fueling game has been good this year so far. Here’s what I did:
- Mile 8: 3 shot bloks (Margarita: 2x the sodium)
- Mile 17: 1 honey stinger waffle
- Mile 29: 3 shot bloks
- Hydration: 50 ounces of nuun ( 30 ounces were Nuun Plus in addition to a nuun tablet)
Normally I eat a bit more during long rides, but I just wasn’t feeling it this ride, which was fine!
Now it’s your turn to share! What do you enjoy most about biking in the summer? Are you playing Pokemon Go?
I live in Shelbyville but have never biked the monon. I’m a runner but biking a ton these days due to knee injury. I do love biking, but it was always my crosstraining. However, right now it’s my main training! No pokemon for me 😉