Drive All the Way to Indiana to Ride A Bike ?

The Hancock Flat 50 in Greenfield IN

I first started seeing an advertisement for this event on my Google news aggregator. I’m always on the lookout for racing and other events and Google’s algorithm creeped on me just enough for this event to pop-up.

The first thing that tweaked my interest was the word ‘flat’. While I do fine biking on hills, I’d rather not have to do any. My two previous Iowa RAGBRAI rides were relentless with hill after serious hill. I’d just as soon avoid those if at all possible.

The second point that I noticed was that even though it was a ‘timed’ event, there were many that were doing it just for the fun of it. That would take off some of the completely unnecessary pressure that I put on myself when doing these races.

We arrived at our hotel late Friday afternoon for the Saturday 9:00 AM start. After checking in, we drove to downtown Greenfield where the race would start and end. I checked in at the registration tent, got my number and swag. We started looking for a place to eat in the downtown area. Every place seemed to be busy but we decided on Griggsby’s Station on Main St.

We thought Griggsby’s would be just a bar/pub and it was but clearly they’ve upped the game from the standard bar menu. They had the standard wings and nachos fare but also steaks and porkchops.

Griggsby’s was well worth the short wait-good service and really good food. Highly recommended.

The next morning, we headed back downtown where the ride would start and end. Traffic was heavy but we found parking on the street with just a short walk.

We lined up, there was the requisite playing of the national anthem and I think there was even a prayer and the horn sounded. That’s when it started getting a little sketchy.

This ride, like many events, was chip-timed meaning your time doesn’t start until you go through the start line. As you go across the line, the RFID chip on the back of your race bib is read. I held back a little and then people started falling over with their bikes.

Most riders doing long distance road rides use special bike shoes that clip into the pedals. The shoes generally have a rigid sole that supports your feet enabling you to pedal harder and more efficiently. The ‘clips’ on the pedals are spring loaded which lets you ‘snap’ into them or, with a twist, snap out of the clips. That second part is key. You have to anticipate when to ‘get out’ of the clips. If you stop pedaling and then stop rolling, simple physics takes over and down you go. I’ve done that a few times and while you usually don’t get too badly hurt, skinning your knee or elbow can ruin the rest of the ride.

As I stayed back from the bottle-neck start, I watched the falling start. Coming to a quick stop or even bumping into someone can create the slow motion fall. There were several riders who hit the ground. Everyone got back up and continued on but I wanted nothing to do with that. So I waited back for a while then clipped one shoe into a pedal and started moving forward. You can see in the video that many of the riders are doing the same thing. It’s almost like skateboarding-scooting along with one foot.

Once I got around the corner, I clipped in my other shoe and I was on my way.

I met and talked with several riders along the ride. One was from Florida, another was a local. There were multiple water and break stations along the way. I skipped the stops and kept pushing on.

Looking back, that was one of the best ‘long-rides’ I’ve completed. It was 65 degrees at the beginning of the race and finally reached the mid seventies just as I was finishing. There was almost no wind. There were a couple of hills where some people got off their bikes and walked up, but otherwise it was indeed a flat fifty miles. My time, which I claimed wasn’t important, was just at three and a half hours and just under 15 mph. I was ok with that.

After the finish, we were both hungry so we got in line for double cheeseburgers. It took a while but the burgers were excellent. We packed up the bike and drove just a short distance to Lawrence IN to Brickhouse Coffee and meet with family.

I’d like to do the ride again in 2026. It’s scheduled for August so the weather could be nice again-who knows. I’ll try to recruit a few friends to ride with me. Fifty miles can be intimidating so if they come along maybe I’ll promise to stop at a couple of SAG stations this time. Oh, and also, I’m starting farther back in the group next time.