It’s nearly 7 a.m. when I roll up to the starting line of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Next Sunday, the venue will fill up with some 300,000 cheering fans for the Indy 500, the most popular auto racing event in the world. But today the stands are empty, and the only spectators are a few pit-crew members and track staff preparing for an action-packed day of practice. Even so, my neck hairs stand at attention. I may be in the saddle of a Giant TCR Advanced road bike, not an IndyCar cockpit, but it’s a special moment nonetheless.

For fans, the 2.5-mile oval is the high church of auto racing, and I’ll be riding with the current holy trinity of the IndyCar series: Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, and Alexander Rossi. Between the four of us, we’ve won three Indy 500s and one Lawrence Criterium cat 5 race. Ironically, perhaps, I join the ride on Bike to Work Day. The three drivers just happen to work this month in the world’s most famous racetrack.

I spent the night before in a restless sleep. Riding with a pack of strangers is always a nervous adventure. You don’t know how they’ll ride or how they’ll react to another rider just off their hip. I was terrified of crossing wheels with one of the drivers and causing a crash. Knocking Kanaan, winner of the 2013 Indy and the most popular driver in the series, out of the 500 with a broken collarbone? I’d be the most hated man in Indianapolis.

I’m no stranger to the Speedway. Six or seven years ago, I did a century here, looping around the oval 40 mind-numbing times. I grabbed the circuit’s Strava KOM for a little while, but soon enough someone with a Garmin and access to an IndyCar destroyed my lap time by about 200 mph.

IndyCar drivers say bicycling helps improve their endurance, reflexes, and focus. Chris Owens/INDYCAR

Yet I’m a newcomer to this particular ride. About half a dozen IndyCar drivers are also serious cyclists, so during the run-up to the 500 they’ll do something special: On most May mornings, they’ll gather at the Speedway and bike around the oval for an hour, averaging between 21 and 24 mph. Kanaan came up with the idea a few years ago, and venue management graciously set aside track time for the rides. Cycling helps increase drivers’ endurance and improve their reflexes and focus, Kanaan says, while the track provides a safe haven away from the general public.

Participating drivers are typically allowed to bring only one guest per day, which keeps the group from growing too large and unwieldy. Outsiders usually aren’t allowed on the ride, but I’m able to call in a favor or two and snag an invite.

There’s no time for small talk as the group of about eight riders quickly rolls through the pit exit and pedals toward turn one. Just like in auto racing, they’re not waiting around for anyone, and it looks like I’ll be starting from the back today. I put in a dig and catch up to Benito Santos, Kanaan’s right-hand man. We have a quick word, then it’s back to work.



“Racing is my job, but cycling is my passion.”

Santos and I latch onto the back of the group quickly, and I’m able to observe its dynamics for a lap or two. Comfortingly, it’s the same as virtually any other road ride I’ve been on. Kanaan and 2008 Indy winner Dixon establish themselves as the alpha dogs of the group. As in the actual auto race, they spend much of the time in front, driving the pace. A few other first-timers are just off their wheel, looking almost as nervous as me. A couple of guys, including Santos, complain about their fitness, only to rip off massive pulls at the front.



Rossi, who won the Indy as a rookie in 2016, stomps the pedals of his disc-brake Cannondale, but it’s obvious that something is wrong with the brand-new bike. He drops out about halfway through the ride. I half-expect to see a pit crew grab the bike, adjust the derailleur, lube the chain, inflate the tires, feed him an energy gel, and send him back on the track in a matter of seconds. (It doesn’t happen, much to my disappointment.)

IndyCar racers who bike the Indianapolis Motor Speedway average between 21 and 24 mph. Chris Owens/INDYCAR

Kanaan, who’s been sponsored by Trek for the last eight years, rides a 2016 Project One Madone, with the Speedway’s signature bricks painted on the underside of his front fork and its logo displayed on both his seat tube and carbon-fiber Bontrager wheels. His custom cycling kit features Trek and other sponsors like saddle maker ISM and power-meter manufacturer Pioneer. (Both Dixon and Rossi are sponsored by local carbon-component maker Zipp.)

During the off season, Kanaan bikes about 300 miles per week—accumulating 8,000 miles for the year on Strava—and competes in Ironman-distance triathlons. Leading up to the Indy, he’ll average about 150 miles per week at about 75 percent of his usual intensity. “Racing is my job,” he says, “but cycling is my passion.”

As our time on the track winds down and we reach the final straightaway, I position myself behind Dixon, preparing for a final sprint to the line that never comes. Instead, we coast off the track, congratulating one another on a fun, safe ride. I came half-expecting a winner-take-all hammerfest befitting professional racers, but am rewarded instead with an enjoyable (albeit fast-paced) morning ride with a good group of guys. The real race, the one that really matters, will happen soon enough.

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