Carl Fisher, one of the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was a man of limitless ideas and a marketing genius. In the 1880s and 1890s, he was very involved in bicycling and bicycle races including on a regional (Midwest) basis. In 1891, he and his two brothers, Earl and Robert (Rolla), started a bicycle repair shop in Indianapolis. It soon occurred to Fisher that there was more money to be made in selling bicycles than in repairing bicycles.

In 1893, Fisher’s bicycle shop promoted its first “turkey run.” The race was not for the faint of heart. The starting location was on the north side of downtown Indianapolis and the midway point was at Crow’s Nest. It followed the old Michigan Road which was laid out in the 1830s for horse drawn carriages.

The route was relatively flat for the first three or so miles. After it crossed Fall Creek, the road became a firmly packed gravel road which was in “excellent condition.” It ran along the west side of Crown Hill Cemetery where it reached its first big hill on the north side. There was a small valley and then the road went up the next hill and then two additional hills before it crossed the Central Canal. Between the Canal and White River, the road was no more than a tow-path spanned by a covered bridge whose floor was in bad condition. After crossing the river, the rider faced a “long, steep, and in places, rough grade that will try the mettle of any rider indeed, if it can be ridden at all.” At the top of the hill, the rider was rewarded with a view of the White River valley. The rider would face two more hills before reaching Crow’s Nest.

An April 18, 1896, newspaper article in the Indianapolis News, described the difficulty of this route, “The Michigan road is rather in ill repute among cyclists, on account of the many bad hills which mark its pathway for several miles out of the city” and cautioned that it wasn’t suggested for any cyclists other than expert hill climbers.

In the 1895 turkey run, twenty live turkeys awaited the top riders in the back room of Carl Fisher’s bicycle shop located at 112 N. Pennsylvania Street. Just imagine the fun of trying to capture a live turkey after a challenging bicycle run! Of the forty-nine riders who began the race, forty-one finished. After riding up the Crow’s Nest hill, the riders faced a downward ride at the end of which was a sharp curve. Some riders decided to walk their bicycles down but the braver rode. One rider struck a dog and rolled into a ditch. Several others fell off their bicycles. The race was won by W. D. McCarty with a handicap of 6 minutes, 30 seconds. Rolla Fisher was the top scratch rider to finish the race with a time of 28 minutes, 25 seconds. Since he had waived all claims to the time prize, the second-place time winner Joseph Carson, who finished 15 seconds later, was awarded a diamond medal in addition to the turkey.

The race was always on Thanksgiving Day regardless of the weather or road conditions. In 1896, about three hundred people gathered at the beginning of the race to see the riders off. Sixteen participants fought for the eight turkeys. After the riders left the asphalt road, they encountered all types of mud. One rider’s bicycle got caught in the mud and he lost a rim. Another rider was thrown from the bicycle and was brought back to town in a wagon. L.O. Watson, a scratch rider, won the time prize and in addition to a turkey was awarded a diamond ring.

The 1897 and final “turkey run” attracted racers from outside of the Indianapolis area with four participants traveling from Brazil, Indiana, about sixty miles west of Indianapolis. The eighteen cyclists faced pelting rain and a cold, raw wind. Thirteen riders finished the race with Charles Riddell of Brazil having the fastest time of 27 minutes, 18 seconds.

Happy Thanksgiving!