#KOKOMO BREAKAWAY BIKE CLUB FULL#
#KOKOMO BREAKAWAY BIKE CLUB REGISTRATION#

The Nickel Plate line was sold numerous times over the years, finally to Norfolk and Western (N&W) in 1964. Eventually, railroads too would lose steam.

By the time the economy recovered, the railroad had become the dominant mode of transportation, and the canals fell into disrepair. The rail line was originally built to work in conjunction with the Wabash and Erie Canal, but a depression from 1839 to 1843 forced a work stoppage on the waterways. Photo Courtesy Mike Kuepper A Brief History of the Trailīefore the Nickel Plate was paved for two-wheeled (and -legged) locomotion, it went by a variety of different names, including the Indianapolis, Peru, and Chicago line. (All joking aside, Doc Hill’s Clown Alley is named after a beloved local physician who moonlighted as a clown in the local circus.) Luckily, that missing section of trail will be completed in the coming years, says Mike Kuepper, president of Nickel Plate Trail, Inc., the nonprofit that helps operate the trail. Even so, passing a sign for Clown Alley makes many riders pedal that much faster. Peru is well known in Indiana for its circus roots and even has a school to teach aspiring performers trapeze and other skills. Nickel Plate riders currently have to make a 3-mile detour on Peru city roads before reconnecting to the trail. The trail stretches 37 miles from Kokomo, about an hour north of Indianapolis, to Rochester, passing through farmlands and woods, crossing over the Wabash River and the remnants of an old canal, and even passing by dozens of decommissioned fighter jets and military planes at the Grissom Air Reserve Base just south of Peru. “The Monon Trail in Indianapolis has a lot of cool action happening around it, great places to stop to grab a coffee or for social interaction, but the Nickel Plate allows you to detach from everyday life, to really escape from it all on a bicycle.” “It passes through so much beautiful rural scenery (that Indiana has to offer),” See said. The Nickel Plate Trail offers picturesque views of northern Indiana farmland. Zac See, owner of Breakaway Bike and Fitness Shop in Peru, also loves the Nickel Plate, and not just because it’s brought thousands of new customers into his shop. “We can’t wait to go back and do the entire trail.” “It was a wonderful ride the (Nickel Plate) really shows off Indiana’s character,” Dyas said. The trail’s gentle grade, light traffic and perfect pavement made it ideal for Ellie’s longest ride ever, a 53-mile journey from Peru to Rochester and back. Indianapolis resident Greg Dyas recently rode the Nickel Plate with a group of friends and his daughter Ellie, 14.

#KOKOMO BREAKAWAY BIKE CLUB FULL#

But in the spring, when the corn shoots up from the ground and the trees are full of life again, the trail really becomes a thing of beauty. With the crops long since collected, and the beech and walnut trees devoid of leaves, many riders only see gray skies and Indiana’s notorious flatlands for miles and miles. Pedaling the Nickel Plate Trail on a chilly winter afternoon, riders might be taken aback by the barren landscape. “Nickel Plate allows you to detach from everyday life, to really escape from it all on a bicycle.' Held under American Bicycle Racing (ABR) event permit.Photo by Robert Annis Trail of the Month: March 2017

(no advance registration)įor additional information contact: Francis Manfred Sign-in, entry fee, and release form on day of race. $10.00 (all categories/distances) Check or cash accepted. Standard Road Bike/Eddy Merckx Class (20km)

#KOKOMO BREAKAWAY BIKE CLUB REGISTRATION#

(IN S.R.22) Registration and parking is at Wallace Elementary School – 2326 W Jefferson St, Kokomo, IN (pending approval from school). From there, you will be directed to the start spot. 20km riders start after the last 40km rider. (INDIANA IS ON EASTERN DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME.) Start order for 40km riders is in order of registration (first-in-first out). One traffic light will be monitored by the local Emergency Management Agency.

Terrain is flat to gentle rolling with some excitement near the 40km midpoint. An out-and-back course on IN S.R.22 between Kokomo and Burlington.

Kokomo breakaway bike club