MTR 2026 Pre-Tour: Deli, Donuts and Ice Cream

One year ago, we were in Westfield, Indiana for the Midwest Tandem Rally (MTR). This year the rally is in Kalamazoo, Michigan. On the way to MTR 2026, we have returned for a few days of cycling in Westfield. The cycling infrastructure in this part of the state is amazing and we are here for it! 

Our first stop is in downtown Indianapolis at Shapiro’s Deli.  It must be good because they have been around since 1905! We order and share a full slate of Jewish comfort food.

The sandwich is a combo of pastrami and corned beef (cornami) on marble rye. Matzo ball soup, potato latkes, and vanilla fudge cake complete the feast.

Westfield is around 25 miles north of Indianapolis. It boasts its own member of the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame, the Monon Trail. We’ll get to that trail in a moment, but first we hop up to Kokomo for a ride on the Nickel Plate Trail.

This trail is a part of the Great American Rail-Trail, which will eventually go cross country. Probably not in our lifetime though.

We ride from Kokomo to Peru and back. Fun facts: Peru used to be the winter home of the circus from the late 1880’s until WWII, and composer Cole Porter was born in Peru in 1891.

This is Cole Porter’s 1955 Cadillac, which is housed in a local museum. The red leather seats were a $350 option.
There is also a yummy bakery (the real reason we are here in Peru)!
We share this apple fritter as our snack.
Enjoying the shade on the Nickel Plate trail.
Crossing the Wabash River.

Day two of our pre-tour features a ride from our hotel with Tim and Vickie. We ride with them frequently and we discovered that we were both planning to ride the Monon Trail the day before heading to Kalamazoo for the rally. We made a plan to meet in Westfield for a day of fun.

It’s a hot day, and we are thankful for more shade on the Monon.
Posing in beautiful downtown Carmel.

We had lunch at a bakery, but did not indulge in any of these cookies or donuts!

We were saving ourselves for Graeter’s Ice Cream!

A delish end to a hot day!

On Thursday before MTR we drove the 180 miles north to Kalamazoo, MI. I must share a picture of lunch from The Mason Jar in Benton Harbor, MI, on the shore of Lake Michigan..

Pancakes with fresh Michigan blueberries baked in, and on top!

Coming up, we join about 240 tandem teams for a weekend of riding, eating and socializing!

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5 thoughts on “MTR 2026 Pre-Tour: Deli, Donuts and Ice Cream”

  1. OMG!! This is making me hungry! Great post! Commentary and photos make me feel like I am there (without the physical exertion😁) Yum! I’m going to make lunch now.

    Joanne Flournoy 355 Meeting Street Marietta, Georgia 30060 joanneflournoyga@gmail.com 770 722-4200

  3. Why do I always get hungry after reading your posts and seeing your photos? I want those blueberry pancakes!! Looks like so much fun, looking forward to your recap of the MTR – – I hope to do that one year, but it’s such a bother to pack and unpack the tandem for such a short trip. Hope to see you soon on the left coast!

  4. I always enjoy reading your posts and looking forward to the next one. I’m just curious. Are you two interested in doing the NWTR in Port Angeles, WA next Sept?

    1. Hi Sui-Yuk,

      We will not be attending NWTR next year. It’s very strange but MTR (always Labor Day weekend), Possibly ETR (usually summer) and NWTR may all take place within a week of each other. Not really great for the tandem world!

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