League Night

It's Tuesday, and the trails are soaked. It's hot, dark, humid, wet, and windy. Those just happen to be terrific ingredients for a gigantic city ride. Grab the bike with the fenders and a bell, strap on the lights, and grab a rain jacket. Pack tons of food and drink. Stir and bake for four hours. Whoila! The recipe for an urban classique. We started downtown, headed through Fountain Square, took a fast lap around Garfield Park, and then took the Pleasant Run through Irvington. We headed northeast and rode counterclockwise around the outside of Ft. Ben and grabbed a cup of Fourbucks at 56th and Emerson. Then we took Fall Creek to the Monon and back downtown for a couple of laps around the circle and a post-ride beer on the river. Whoosh. We rode all types of surfaces; pavement, concrete, brick, gravel, packed gravel, grass, mud, slurry, deep water, and pothole minefields that made me appreciate my sturdy steel bike with durable tires. What a fantastic ride. We worked like dogs, mixed it up with traffic, and had an absolute blast. Not bad for a league night trail substitute.