LOU CITY
I got a call from a friend in Indianapolis , and everything changed .
My bike riding friend Logan asked me when I expected to be in the city and if I wanted company on my ride through Indy . I was planning to cut across the state before I would get there , but he offered me a place to stay if I made it to his house . At that point , it was 2:30 p . m . and 60 miles separated me from my destination . If I made it , I would cover 120 miles in all , eclipsing a “ Century ,” the ultimate goal for many amateur cyclists .
The second half of that first day was quite taxing . My legs were getting heavy , my right Achilles was bothering me , the roads I found myself on were unrefined and coarse , but I was determined to get to Indy and have a roof over my head . I made it in by 7:30 p . m ., blowing my own mind and shattering my expectations .
The next day , I woke up with sore legs . Logan rode with me to the coffee shop he works at and gave me coffee and breakfast before directing me onto the Monon Trail , a rails-to-trail project that led me out of the city and into plains of central Indiana .
On my way out of the city , I contemplated whether I would press the advantage I had made the previous day and try and make it to Chicago a day early or keep a conservative pace and stay at a campground that was recommended on the north side of Lafayette about 75 miles away . The wide open vistas that greeted me between the end of the Monon Trail and Lafayette were exactly what you would expect : mind-numbing expanses of corn fields with the odd soybean lot thrown in . The roads got a little bit better , most of it was asphalt with an odd bitumen road thrown in . I didn ’ t know what was awaiting me on the second half of this leg , though .
The second half of Monday was the worst time I have ever had on a bike .
At my lunch stop in Frankfort , Indiana , a truck driver spotted me in my cycling jersey and noted he passed me on the way into town . He suggested a route into Lafayette that I had already considered , and I headed that way after I recharged my batteries . The route into Lafayette , IN-38 , was a four-lane concrete highway on which the speed limit was 55 . I was stuck on the shoulder for 20 odd miles , and it was both tedious and unnerving , magnified by the fact that I forgot my earbuds in Indianapolis . I got off as quickly as I could and made hasty my advance to the north . It was 4 p . m . when I came up on the campground I was advised on . If I stopped , I wouldn ’ t be able to make it to Chicago by Tuesday , so I pressed on , unsure of where I would spend the night .
Indiana is generally flat , but the majority of roads still had small grades . The gently rolling hills wore on me , physically and mentally . I would come up on a slight hill , only to crest it and be faced with another batch of inclines . After I got off the nightmare in Lafayette and pressed on further north , I googled a hotel in Remington that was within my grasp , and was exactly 100 miles from Bridgeview , Illinois . I figured if I could make it to Remington , I deserved it .
The last 10 miles of that day were fueled solely by the promise of an ice bath and a bed once I reached the hotel . Having completed another century , it was every bit as rewarding as I envisioned .
July 16 was basically a victory lap . I had 40 miles to cover on the road before I made it to another rail-to-trail affair that would lead me into the city . These trails were a shelter from the incessant passage of traffic that would blow by me at varying distances and speeds , but each car that blew by me would chip away a small piece of sanity and sense of security . The majority of the day was mostly a blur , to be honest . I remember a challenging headwind between 10-14 miles an hour impeding my progress , but after I had decided that I wanted to make three centuries in three days , I told myself , repeatedly , that nothing was going to keep me from making it to my destination .
I made it into Bridgeview just before 7 with a celebratory bottle of prosecco in hand , a la Tour de France . A third century made it a hat trick , and that was very gratifying .
The journey was demanding . It was tough , but I never regretted the choice . Even when I watched LouCity lose the match to Chicago .
In the end , I ’ m glad that I didn ’ t seek out any advice beforehand because I probably would have been dissuaded . I was ultimately underprepared , but as I told myself , verbally , nothing was going to stop me . It wasn ’ t easy , be anything worthwhile rarely is .
Kevin Kernen , who hitched a ride home from Chicago with the Louisville Coopers , the amazing LouCity supporters , has been covering the local soccer scene for Extol since January 2017 . He is the current radio color commentator for Louisville City FC and co-hosts the Soccer City Radio show on Saturday from 9-10 a . m . on 790 KRD .