The Indianapolis Speedway and the Velodrome

July 8 Day 37 65 miles

We rode a zig zag path to Indianapolis, via the Indy Speedway, and later, the Indy bicycle velodrome. I'll let you guess which was the more popular.

The morning was cool and skies clear, as we launched out onto country roads, that became steadily busier as we neared the city.

The speedway was an entertaining diversion. There was no race activity, though the onsite museum was doing a steady business with tourists. By contrast, we had the velodrome to ourselves.

We were directed onto some riverside paths for the approach to Indianapolis, which gave us a break from the traffic until we were mid city, near the hotel.

We head out of Crawfordsville on a beautiful morning. Much of the group gets bunched up on the way out, as we wait for a train.

Scenes of countryside and towns look familiar by now.

Brownsburg has a bigger water tower than anyone else. (the town name on the tower didn't come through in the photo)

There is just one SAG stop due to the short ride today.

Today's route followed a more relaxed course, so we were able to ride through Eagle Creek Park.

The Indy Speedway is one big piece of real estate! We could see across a mile of parking lots as we approached.

We ride under the speedway to reach the visitor center. They were very accommodating, even to us cyclists. The entryway gatekeeper turned the fountain on and came out to take our photo. The museum here is seeing plenty of business and selling a lot of NASCAR swag.

OK, I'll tell you. The velodrome was the big hit of the day.

Stephen poses next to the entryway; Sean tries out his stuff in the upper right; Zach reaches for a speed record, while Alan and Michael are lined up for a race; the race committee (bottom right) meets afterward to discuss the results.

We enjoyed an off road, riverside approach, that got us most of the way into Indianapolis.

We are getting used to the semi-industrial location of most of our hotels. Alan (one of the Brits) says he can tell we are getting close to our hotel when he sees an Auto Zone car parts store.

Tomorrow is a day of rest!