“Wer glaubt das Betonsperren Sicherheit bringen. Sicherheit wird nur ein Wandel im Geiste bewirken.” See ALT

It’s a miracle! Well - it’s a *partial* miracle. Only 18 months after a driver crashed their car through the fence and after I reported the damage to Mayor’s office, #Indy DPW hustled out this week to make a partial repair of the wooden fencing along 56th street’s section of the Eagle Creek Trail.

Donate to Mirror Indy so they can write more puff pieces about local randos. Too many clicks are generated by all the shit wrong with the world. Click on feel good articles, donate to independent journalism, and go out and do something to make your community better.

I just learned from an Eagle Creek Park Foundation's November newsletter that Citizen's Water intends to begin laying pipe soon in support of Lebanon's LEAP project, pumping 25 mgd (million gallons per day) from Eagle Creek Reservoir. That's the reservoir's entire volume drained out every 200 days.

Nov 16th

Seeing lots of good #Indy area aurora photos on BlueSky tonight. I just happen to be out in Hartford City tonight with a nice dark sky. Never saw the northern lights in my 66 years of life - just spectacular.

Since today is Veterans Day, here’s a piece I wrote ten years ago about the history of the holiday we now mark every Nov. 11. I was fortunate to write several articles for We’re History, one of @hcrichardson.bsky.social’s great public projects. Go to werehistory.org to read lots of great articles.

Presumably the Fell for It Again wing of the Democratic Party is unfamiliar with the arc of the Whigs, who had many similar beliefs but went poof into the dustbin of history when it kept insisting on compromise instead of fighting on the critical, polarizing moral issues of their time.

A photo I took today at the ‘Bear Overlook’ at Eagle Creek reservoir in Indianapolis. This Spring, park admins kindly added a restroom for trail users at this trailhead parking lot. Sadly, placing the Porta Potty right beside the signature sculpture was, aesthetically speaking, a truly crappy idea.

Today’s #Indy area #bike ride started from Eagle Creek Park area and included riding on the 71st Street Connector east to the Monon, North to Westfield, east on the Midland Trace, south on the Nickel Plate and back west to the Monon on 106th. A loop ride that wasn’t possible until very recently.

I thought I'd share some photos from my bike ride Friday (10/31) on the newest section of #Indy's Eagle Creek Trail. While @bikeindy.bsky.social's web sit lists this trail portion (Phase B1) as NOT OPEN until mid-2016, I'm here to tell you that this trail is fully rideable and in beautiful shape.

It was a great afternoon to #bike near my neighborhood with my spouse. A short 1.5 mile section of the Ronald Reagan Parkway near Brownsburg is finally about to open so we took advantage of the still-closed roadway to check it out. The trail connects N-S with both the B&O and Vandalia Trails.

Please read this! “When all the data centers in New Carlisle (Indiana) are built, they will demand more power than two Atlantas.”

When I see kids bikes getting thrown away I take them and fix them up, and then give them to neighborhood kids that don't have bikes. Throwing away bikes is insane.

Some great journalism from Mirror Indy's @peterblanchard.bsky.social

So what’s up with the WTHR site on iPhone? It flashes the headline about Braun “… calling Special Session…” and then they immediately conceal it.

What To Know About Data Centers https://theonion.com/what-to-know-about-data-centers/

I agree 💯! (gift link)

Purdue’s Exponent - a real class act! Maybe other Indiana media groups should be pitching in too.

It’s a fine afternoon for #cycling in #Indy. Autumn colors are starting to show in #EagleCreekPark.

Here is the feedback I provided to #IndyGreenwaysForAll I'd love to see what others shared with the city. My perspective is based on my riding experience on NW side. link>'https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/eee4987a084d4fcc989a4d3d12f110e6?portalUrl=https://gis.indy.gov/portal

If you are enjoying the B&O’s new section of trail as much as I am, consider biking this week to your nearest post office and mailing off a contribution to either the B&O Trail Association or Speedway Trails. (See ALT). #Indy #Bike

Bespokeless bicycle?

Mayor Joe Hogsett was once named “Mr. Clean” by a watchdog organization for his tough stance on government corruption as U.S. attorney. A Mirror Indy/IndyStar investigation finds that the mayor ignored conflicts of interest involving millions of dollars in city incentives. https://bit.ly/3L8OOBe

my bicycle takes me places my soul could never reach

A fantastic day to #bike! I took the B&O west from the Tilson Trailhead to the trail’s end then continued west to McCloud Nature Park, then north over a “closed” iron truss bridge, then on to North Salem, and finally back to the B&O. 34 miles.

Attended my first Indianapolis Bike Party last night. It was a perfect mix of community, kindness and anarchy. It was nice surprise to run into G.R. for a second time. This WFYI 'Across Indiana' segment from 2024 about Bike Party is really good.

Yesterday was indeed a joyful day for Indy westside cyclists.

This turns my stomach... "Purdue’s grant application conflicted with federal civil rights law and the department’s policy of “prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education.”

"I’m not arrogant enough to think I can fully avoid this kind of decline—the indignities of getting older are relentless, and it doesn’t take much to break someone down. But then I think about learning to ride a bike, and I remember: It’s still possible to grow and change." Great essay in The Sun

This recent interview posted to YouTube by @wttsfm.bsky.social shares efforts underway to improve public access and use of the White Riverway System in Marion and Hamilton Counties. Worth a listen for those in #Indy area. Exciting to see this long-abused (200+ years) resource finally get some love.

I’ve recently returned from a week in Acadia National Park in Maine - cycling with my family on the park’s amazing carriage road system. #biking #AcadiaNP

It's Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) migration season in Texas. At least 90% of all southward migration passes through Texas, either along the coast, or through central Texas. They'll overwinter in Mexico, then return. Let's talk about the utter weirdness of generational migration.

what a story!

This intersection is the junction between two bike/ped trails I assume the driver provided the speed estimate for the police report, which is likely to be an under-estimate. Anyway, the speed limit in this area appears to be 25mph, not 30-35mph. Trails, hospitals, apartments, schools - slow down!

Sickening story…

I mentioned getting hit by a car while riding my bicycle. Here's what I learned from that. open.substack.com/pub/ramblean...

Just got back to #Indy from Chicago after spending a perfect morning cycling in Bike the Drive.

I learned today about a plan to restore and relocate a decaying, yet historically significant, covered bridge from its current location on the NW Side of #Indy to #EagleCreek Park. I thought I'd share here with my meager following a thread of what I've learned so far with more in ALT (1/4)

Just thought I’d post a few photos from my just completed, overnight down-N-back #bike ride from #Indy to Bloomington. We started near I-465 on south-side and ended at Upland Brewing - total mileage ~100. I had forgotten how much fun the hills were in the Hoosier National Forest on Old St Rd 37.

Only learned about this 11Aug25 murder last night. The cyclist was a friend of my neighbor. Something for bikers to be mindful of every day as they mount their #bikes: stopping at a red light is optional for some drivers.

I attended a very interesting lecture this afternoon at the Central Library given by @edfujawa.bsky.social covering the history of #Indy’s Eagle Creek Reservoir.

Only public execution in Kenosha if you don’t count what Kyle Rittenhouse got away with

I don’t know how anyone can look at the first year of Vision Zero in Indianapolis and think… Oh yeah, this is going great! 🫠 Disappointing, but not terribly surprising. (Council passed the Vision Zero ordinance on August 12th, 2024)

Just now Mitzi and I finished reading @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social's "Is a River Alive?" I read it through to its heart-rending epilogue “and I find tears in my eyes that I did not put there but the river did“.^ #books ^page 295

Chalk trail graffiti seen this morning biking the Eagle Creek Trail. “No Concentration Camps”. #Biking #Indy #ECT

A portion of my 20 mile cycle route to the Indiana State Fair yesterday afternoon. Except for the first mile or so (not shown) my plan was to ride the remaining distance on our trails. I didn’t count on getting turned back on the B&O Trail by the trail construction guys 🔴 for 2mi detour #bike #Indy

Two good follow-ups to this story would be 1) what process was used to select these projects? 2) how did councilors share (or not share) these plans to their constituents? I’m not aware of Maggie Lewis sharing any of her plans with my district. Her choice seems good but her process is very poor.

Two better names: Trump’s Treblinka Braun’s Buchenwald