N.I.T.E. Ride 2005

My wife and I attended the Navigate Indy This Evening, or N.I.T.E. Ride, on Saturday night. The ride leaves from the Major Taylor Velodrome at 11:00pm and meanders through the IUPUI campus to Monument Circle. After a SAG stop at the American Legion Mall, the route heads north on Meridian and Washington streets, cuts through Butler University and the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art before returning to the starting point.

[Click Here for the route map]
However, this isn't about the route or the town, it's about my wife's first bike ride over 10 miles. I bought her the bike back in April so that she could ride on the N.I.T.E. ride with me. I've been there 3 or 4 times before, and she said it sounded fun. Somehow, I talked her into it.

It takes a long time for the ride to start, so it was 11:30 before we left the park. She was riding around 8MPH, so we were passed by most of the riders behind us. It was when the volunteers (green shirts) started passing that we started feeling like the last riders on the route. We eventually got to the SAG, and found it very crowded. We took a short break and took off before the rest of the crowd did so that we wouldn't be last. My wife decided to ride a little faster, and we started passing others. It was fun!

Once we hit 46th street, we noticed that the police officers directing traffic were disappearing, as were the green shirts that should have been posted at the turns. It was then that I noticed the marks on the street indicating the route. We encountered few of our fellow riders for the last six or so miles.


Back at the Velodrome, we got in line for our supper. Cold, soggy pasta from Fazoli's does not hit the spot after a two hour ride! We drank a soda and bought some ice cream for the ride home. We arrived back in West Lafayette around 3:30 and hit the hay.

My wife is very proud of herself for finishing the ride, although she says she probably won't do it again.

Miles Ridden: 20.1
Total This Year: 238 + TBD