Jeffery

Thinking back to that 1970s cycle fad. Back then there was talk of bike trails and bikeways, too. Following the trend they built a dedicated bike path in Louisville, where it languished for decades after the fad subsided. Now in some places the cycling fad became part of the local culture…in other words it stopped being a fad and started being “something we do in this town”. You saw that happen in Davis, CA, where cycling became part of the local identity, “what we do here in Davis”. And I think it happened in Dayton, too. Unlike Louisville, the idea of having longish bike paths really caught on here; the initial bike trails from the 1970s were added to over the years, rather than forgotten and left to deteriorate. So here in SW Ohio we have an excellent and extensive bike trail infrastructure in place already, while in Louisville they are all about urban cycling, cyclovias, vintage bikes, "fenders and fixies" (mercifully no tweed rides...yet!) and the "Louisville Loop" (and are probably 20 years away from finishing that loop). When I talk to Louisvillians about cycling and they start to wax eloquent about what a big cycling center they are I just look at them and tell them they havnt got a clue....then describe what you can do on a bike here vs there....

Yeah, pretty sure it is! Like the 1970s bike fad. But that one left a residue of long term riders who do sport riding...mountain bikers (which came out of that 1970s boom), roadies, etc. So we might see more utility cycling come out of this fad. But in general yes. bicycle hipster! Excellent! The ironic thing is cycling is more connected to BEER than to coffee. I read that one of the founders of an early craft beer operation, Sierra Nevada was a cyclist and a wrench, working in a bike shop before he opened Sierra Nevada.

...and I should say I was always interested in this place or what it was about, ever since I saw the Gowanus creek snaking its way across western Brooklyn in this old 1940s' era map of of the borough that i had. Doing a quick google search reveals a lot on the place. Here's an interesting one, though I dont see the 'greening" aspect as too appropriate for the site (access, yeah, I can see that) http://www.gowanuscanalconservancy.org/ee/index.php/about/

This would be a great place to explore on a sunny cold Sunday morning. Or during gray and gloomy weather. Yet thers' a sort of funkyness going on that you pick up on. Maybe not quite gentrified, maybe sort of eccentric/old hippie or something. some interesting stuff....that old cream or white colored Buick was the model year they put the fins on the front of the car as well as the back.

I usually get the diet coke (or whatever soft drink...if I don't have a choice, since I prefer iced tea or coffee), so try to avoid all that sugar. I get way too much in my diet already.

Yes, thanks. I seem to end up here whenever I'm in Cleveland....in some ways this place embodies the soul of Cleveland; the genus loci is strong here. It's also the quintessential old-school "Great Lakes city blue collar neighborhood" ...seen similar in Buffalo, Milwaukee, Chicago, etc... And I noticed there still are some surviving Polish food places....and...last time I was up there the place in red brick was, I think, a little coffee shop that also sold donuts. A frendly place: Slavic Village reminds me a lot of my old neighborhood in Chicago, though St Stans is way beyond my St Stans in quality and detail. That church is in excellent condition!

So....what is planned to go in next to The Current?

Yes, I noticed that, and on two levels, too! I also noticed they have these little wood planters on wheels, which makes me think they could wheel those out to extend their seating area, which would be nice. @@@ I do like that there is now a continuous park system of sorts all along the riverfront...Sawyer-->Yeatmans Cove--->Smale. ...and I happen to like Sawyer Point (and Smale Park, despite my gripes) better than that Riverfront Park in Louisville, which is too high-design for my taste. They seem more the traditional park (esp. Sawyer Point).

Me, too!

Somewhat off topic, but this Sunday finally made it to the Banks. Walked from Belleview Park all the way down to the river. Is it just me or is this development somewhat underwhelming? I get the concept of a aftergame party space for the stadiums where those bars/restaurants are, but that park is lacking somehow. Dont understand whats up with that Lawn House (?) restaurant next to the Freedom Center. Is that really the right building for such a prime time location? And there seems there was a possibility of doing something really good with that elevated grassy terrace and walk between the Morlein Ale House and that fountain thing by the Robeling Bridge (which is neat & probably interesting at night with the lighting).....maybe something more like Fountain Square, with tables and chairs so you can sit and watch the park and river....a true terrace with maybe cafe/waiter service like you'd have in Germany. I am really interested in how they deal with the 'city side' of the park. So far there is The Current (doesnt look finished on the ground floor yet), but there is a lot of open space to build on toward the ballpark. How that edge is addressed by whatever new building is going to be interesting. I did see they made the pedestrian connection with Yeatmans Cove by that Steamboat Monument. Funny how the Smale Park riverfront walk sort of ends at...a little pine tree and some landscaping, then you take a little bend and are on the sidewalk along that roadway. The lawn area and that civil war garden was nice, though. Be really nice when they finish it off on the west side of the bridge. I need to come back here on a nice weekend afternoon to see how this place is actually used. The Ale House could be great for a beer, if they have terrace seating or open the windows.

Fixies, or fenders? The messenger thing was the parent of the fixie fad, yeah, I can see that.....but I think this larger"urban cycling" trend is hipster-driven. And this is bikes with fenders, etc. Not so much fixies. Stuff like retro Dutch bikes, Boda-Boda cargo bikes, "Momentum Magazine' (which is Etsy meets Cycle meets Hipster chic)etc. You really see this bigtime in Louisville, which has totally glommed onto urban (AKA hipster fad following) cycling (tho the city has cr@p cycling infrastructure)..why they even have a cyclovia event! How cool is that! (j/k) Now here in pragmatic Dayton urban cycling is a bike you get at Don's pawn shop, usually some used hybrid or bmx, and sort of a ghetto/briar thing, whith a few odd coots like me around who sort of fit between the hipster/briar thing (the old eccentric guy with the long white beard, basket in front, milk crate tied off in back, with a US flag wired on for good meaure...you get the picture). The hipster "fixie or fender" urban cycling thing hasnt really caught on in the Miami Valley (like lattes and cappuccions havn't really caught on)....yeah there are a few....but you do see a heckalota roadies and recreational riders out on the bike trails....and occasionally on the roads, too. I play in that pool as well, as a Sunday Driver cyclist.

This would also describe us 1970s people (the people who went to Jr hgh/middle school & high school in the 1970s). The 1960s was the time that came before, more a childhood memory but then something that really informed the culture of the 1970s....the world of our older brothers and sisters or the world of the people who later became first-wave yuppies. But 1960s afterglow to the point of becoming lamestream & tired, which begat Punk Rock (AKA "death to hippies!"). Not so much neo-beatnik, not yet for my age group (tho we read the Beats). Read more: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=27586.560#ixzz32Ii3T3f0

...pretty much whatever is playing on WNKUs Sunday Morning "Front Porch" show. This is my bike riding music..but also "appointment listening" (along with "The Golden Road" on Sat. Night, since Im sort of a jam band fan). Also been listening to the Hard Working Americans. "Down to the Well" is become my theme song. But theres a great cover of "Wrecking Ball" as the close on this album. Been starting to notice Sarah Jarosz, too.

28th June and 12 July seem pretty open for me, too.

Thank you for this. I always wondered what this place looked like. Gloversville (and nearby Amsterdam...but more Gloversville) was the inspiration for a novel from back in the 1980s (but set in the 1960s, as the glove industry was petering out)... Mohawk, by Richard Russo: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12368.Mohawk