Amishland and Lakes 2026

2026-07-26 3:31 PM

#cycling #amishland #lagrange

Yesterday, I spent the day participating in the Amishland and Lakes ride in LaGrange, IN. My father in law was invited to ride by a friend at church and he, in turn, invited me. It's a sanctioned ride put on by the Michiana Bicycle Association and was way bigger than I expected. It's not a race - the whole point of the ride is to show up with friends and do as much or as little as you want.

There were five routes ranging from about 20 miles to a full 100. The routes were well marked on the road and took us from central LaGrange through some really beautiful rolling Amish country. About 8 miles into the ride, I realized there were no more electrical poles on the road. We were pedaling through farms that have been in place for multiple generations and enjoying the quietness of the day. Families had set up tables with everything from lemonade and cookies to root beer floats and soft pretzels to sell. Some of the houses were as busy as the official sag stops.

Speaking of stops, they were incredibly well stocked and well staffed. We had a wide selection of snacks from salty to sugary with plenty of very cold water and Gatorade to top off water bottles. There was a lot of laughing, discussing different cycling jerseys, and bike oogling. Each stop felt like a small neighborhood party.

We did 50 miles total and I actually left feeling like I could have gone longer. It was a really nice time with some friends and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year.