NITE Ride

I have volunteered as the photographer for the Nite Ride for 3 years. I tried to ride it with all my gear the first year and that was a mistake, lol. but the route is amazing. The planning that goes into this ride is impeccable. The leadership from my great friend Jon Clahan over the years really shows with how successful and safe the ride has been. There are so many volunteers and so much planning that goes into this ride. Everyone always comes back with big smiles on their faces. It is definitely a must do if you live in Indy and have a bike! And its great for the whole family!

Great event! The 2018 ride started at City Market and rode north mainly on Illinois. We rode past the children's museum and cut over to Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse for the midway stop. Heading south we went through the Butler campus, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and along the White River past Riverside golf course and Riverside Park down to the IUPUI campus and finally back downtown for a loop around Monument Circle!The ride is police escorted and most of the roads are closed. The only exception was (I think) 38th St after IMA. Bikes were in the slow lane with frequent cones blocking traffic from the lane. There was a lot of car traffic here at midnight. The ride seemed very safe with EMTs and Ambulances posted along the route. Bike repair was available at City Market and Hinkle Fieldhouse.The event is well organized and congestion is minimal after the start. It's impressive from a logistics perspective. The atmosphere is festive with live music before the start.The route and start location varies year to year. Given my experience you can bet it will be well organized regardless of details. This was the 25th annual NITE Ride.

**Full disclosure, I volunteer with the NITE Ride and co-chair the Route Guide committee**So obviously, I am biased, but I volunteer because I have such strong opinions about how great the NITE Ride is. Chicken and egg, you know.Most of the reviews are from the perspective of participants, so my review will be from the viewpoint of behind the scenes - where the magic happens, if you will. It really takes a village to put on the NITE Ride. Here's just a small window into the coordination and logistics that are considered. A week before the event, construction was scheduled near IUPUI along the route. We knew this because our fearless leader, Yelp Elite's own Jon C., has been in contact with the city for months monitoring the route. Construction is considered, potholes are noted, the route is ridden many times to review and mitigate road hazards. So back to IUPUI. Because of pending construction that may not be completed before the ride, an alternate route is created. We are in daily contact with the paving company to see if they will be able to pave before the ride. Because paving is completed timely, we keep the main route and scrap the alternate route. One little road paving causes days of logistic considerations. I love having this insight because I participated in the ride for years. I mostly loved it, but I had minor complaints here and there. Now, after seeing all the big and little things that go into making the ride a success, I am absolutely amazed and impressed that the event goes so smoothly. And rider safety is paramount - so much effort goes into keeping riders safe, including IMPD blocking traffic, first aid at the ready, and SAG vans to provide mechanical support and bring back disabled bikes and riders. If you've never attended a NITE Ride, you are missing out. And if you've ridden before, join us sometime as a volunteer. I promise, you will have a great sense of pride having a part in putting together this iconic event for Indy.

Fun event great for all ages and abilities. This is not a race just a ride with 2,000+ riders. Starts at city market with a rest stop at hinkle and back downtown for a pizza party. CIBA takes extreme measures to ensure route is safe with police all over the route. They do there best to make sure streets are in good condition and street lights are working. You can decorate your bike with lights and enter a contest. You can arrive early and do a dinner ride (bring money for diner) usually the ride is in june

Janice beat me to it! Fantastic review! ;)Last night was my first Nite Ride and what can I say? It was a BLAST. First off, the weather couldn't have been better. The volunteers and enthusiastic spirit of the 4,000+ riders is contagious! Can't wait to pimp my bike out for next year's 17 mile ride. The leisurely ride kicks off at Iupui at 11pm and makes its way throughout downtown before heading north to Butler's Campus. Once there, everyone can socialize for a minute, grab complimentary cookies (heyo, fig newtons) and water. One of my favorite parts along the ride is those who stand on their porches and sidewalks changing and cheering us on. At the end of the ride I couldn't help but think, wow, what if we all rode our bikes like this on a daily basis? What would the makeup of Indy be like with masses and enthusiasm like this. Amsterdam knows what's up. Why not this flat grid city in the middle of the heartland too? :)

Seriously one of my favorite events of the year.Seeing the city in the middle of the night on a bike with 3000 of your friends is an incredible experience. I've done this ride a couple of times and it is always a great time! Before the ride starts there a lot of vendors as well as opportunities to get your bike tuned up and chances to win a new bike. There is also a light your bike up contest which is a ton of fun and makes the ride a colorful one.The night starts at 11 pm and is an 18-mile ride around the city, up through Butler and then back downtown for a loop around the circle. Once the ride is over you get a few slices of pizza and then head home for a restful night. The best thing about this ride is the variety of people. All walks of life come together to share this experience. I would recommend this ride to any locals in Indy and anyone visting the city (bike rentals avaialbe).See yo next year!

Very well organized event that started and stopped at the city market downtown. The weather was being a bit unpredictable so we waited to register on the evening of the ride. You can register early and save a few bucks and get a free T-shirt too. We arrived at 9 and the ride started at 11. Bikes continually came riding up positioning themselves on market street facing east. The band, "Pork and Beans" played upbeat New Orleans style music while we waited for the ride to start. Mayor Joe Hogset was on hand to lead the ride and he said a few positive words about the organizers and the state of Indianapolis. The more than 2500 riders were released on this approximately 16 mile ride in groups to avoid overcrowding. The streets were all ours and police were present at every intersection so we never had to stop due to traffic, stoplights or anything. At the 7.5 mile marker, which was Butler university, was a planned break spot complete with snacks and bottled water. We were not really ready for a break so we just kept riding. The course took us to the IMA and IUPUI. It was cool seeing the city lit up at night from so many different perspectives. At the end, back at city Market, the organizers had cold pizza and bottled water for the after ride "party". Not much of a party and certainly not a festive or healthy food choice. We had fun and plan on doing it again next year.

This was my first time attending NITE Ride and I absolutely loved it! I wasn't aware how big this event would be. I enjoyed seeing all the bikes customized with lights. The ride was very humbling and therapeutic in a way. Seeing the city in a different way was pretty cool. I do believe communication could have been better between the organizers, volunteers, and bikers. I'm not sure the raffle prize winner was announced and I wasn't aware of the different starting points for the different color wrist bands. All in all, I enjoyed this event and look forward to attending again next year!

This is the first year (2015) the start of the NITE Ride has been held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. I have to say I'm a fan. I've experienced the previous 2 venues (Major Taylor Velodrome and Carroll Stadium at IUPUI) and the Fairgrounds blow those 2 away.Why? For one, the availability of a vast indoor space for registration/packet pick-up/vendors. Depending on the year, the weather in late June can be pretty nasty. Some years it will be rainy. Other years it could be 95 degrees or 50 degrees. Having the indoor space mitigates all those factors.Another advantage of the fairgrounds is the parking situation. When I heard that the NITE Ride was starting from here, I worried that I would have to pay $5 for parking as I do for just about every other event at the fairgrounds. However, when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see that no one was collecting money at the entrance. I guess the parking fee is baked into your registration which is fine.

I really feel bad not giving one of my favorite events a 5 star review, but I really can't.It's a very fun event. Very social, you get to see our wonderful city from a unique perspective at a unique time of night. Support by the SAGS and IMPD/other departments was absolutely stellar.Being a nite ride veteran from several different starting points, I gotta say City Market is my least favorite. Parking can be problematic, at best. There was very little communication from the organizers to the riders, which I found a bit troubling.Case in point. Wristbands of one color started on Market Street, wristbands of another color started from another street. We were unaware of this (perhaps we missed it somewhere??) but were told at the last minute. Thank goodness we were in the right starting position, but many others weren't and it resulted in a lot of last minute confusion and jostling when folks were trying to get to their proper starting position.Sound was absolutely inadequate. If you were more than a few feet from the sound system, you were unable to hear any announcements, which could be a potentially a huge issue in case of bad weather or some other emergency situation.Still, a very fun event and it's been going on for so long, I have high hopes they'll continue to improve and make a great event even better!