Cycling in Bloomington

Bloomington’s cycling identity is inseparable from the Little 500, the collegiate relay race Indiana University has run since 1951 and the setting for the 1979 film “Breaking Away.” The League of American Bicyclists rates the city a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community (renewed 2023), and IU is a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly University. Riders base themselves downtown on the B-Line Trail, a 3.1-mile lit asphalt rail-trail that runs through the center of town and links to the Bloomington Rail Trail for roughly 5.1 continuous miles. For dirt, the real draw is about 35–40 minutes east: Brown County State Park near Nashville is Indiana’s flagship mountain-biking destination, with flow and technical singletrack including the well-known Hesitation Point descent.

For lodging, the Graduate by Hilton sits on Kirkwood Avenue steps from IU’s Sample Gates and a short spin from the B-Line, and travel listings report complimentary house bikes for guests. To ride, downtown rental convenience is limited (the campus-adjacent shops mostly sell and service rather than rent), so most visitors rent for the trails: Brown County Bikes in Nashville rents full-suspension, e-MTB, gravel and e-commuter bikes and runs a trailhead shuttle, while IU Outdoor Adventures rents mountain bikes and cruisers to the university community. Guided trail rides and skills clinics are available through Brown County Bikes for those new to the state park’s terrain.

Each April, Indiana University hosts the Little 500, the largest collegiate bike race in the country — four-rider teams circling a quarter-mile cinder track at Bill Armstrong Stadium, drawing tens of thousands to town for the weekend.