Balkmusic

Cleveland saw a substantial drop in violent crime during 2024 "The city of Cleveland saw a dramatic drop in homicides in 2024, according to numbers provided by the city’s data dashboard. As of Tuesday, the city’s total for 2024 was 105 homicides. That is well-below the recent high of 180 in 2020 and the 2018 total of 116."

I loved the diner location, and I do not think S. Taylor will be an improvement. However, since sharing the space with Abundance, the byzantine seating arrangement/schedule made the whole situation untenable for both operations. I had altogether stopped going because it was to frustrating.

The water pumps were still there, but they had signs saying not to drink it. Didn't bring any filtration/tablets so didn't risk it. We did have a detour just a few miles before Connellsville where the trail was closed for utility maintenance. I was prepared to road-ride around it, but the shuttle was right there waiting for us so I hitched a ride.

I wish I hadn't chosen a week that was ~100 degrees. The ride was very enjoyable, long stretches that were a lot more isolated than anywhere on the OTET it felt. Obviously being railroad/towpath grade it was very flat (until you needed to climb out to go into town). The GAP had plentiful access to potable water, the C&O not so much. The GAP literally when through a bunch of towns, the C&O was more of a "green tunnel" and felt very samey at times, although it was naturally very beautiful. The surface of the GAP was totally smooth, I rode it with 32c tires no propblem. The C&O trail was much rougher, and after a rain even doubly so. I found myself wishing I had a more substantial set up when the trail became rutty, rocky, doubletrack. Overall it was a great experience, loved starting in a large city (Pittsburgh) and ending in a large city (D.C.). Also loved taking the train back home, bikes aboard (which obvioulsy you can't do on the OTET).

That section already feels safe, and is already heavily used. Seems like a Marginal gain.

My wife and I just completed the GAP/C&O trail two weeks ago. I was leapfrogging a group of riders for a couple days. While chatting they learned I live in Ohio and they wanted to know all about the OTET. I think I convinved them it should be their next adventure.

I don't claim to know all the budgetary nuance here, but as a taxpayer supporting CHUH Libraries I don't like the idea of money earmarked for the Library being used to subsidize other organizations using this building. The building is not open to the public, as I would expect a library funded endeavor to be. Some of the businesses within the PEACE building collect payment for their services, which is antithetical to Library ethos. It seems like a mismatch of visions to be honest, not good bedfellows. It's too bad the building is under such a restrictive covenant that it can't be used more creatively.

The Metroparks has installed what I believe is their first disc golf course - https://www.dgcoursereview.com/courses/the-cardinal-dgc.14329. I played it yesterday and was amazed by the quality and thoughtfulness of the design. It appears to be an abandoned golf course. The tees have not been poured yet, but are boxed in and graveled. The signage is fantastic, making the course easy to navigate.

Once that bridge is complete you'll finally be able to bicycle from Detroit to Canada.

I was pleased to learn that Lachlan Morton won the 200 mile event. I've always been a fan of his, he trully seems to love cycling in any form. I also find it fascinating that Emporia, Kansas, a small town in the middle of knowwhere, somehow became the center of mass for two growing, but still fringe, sports: gravel cycling and professional disc golf.

This New York Times article has Cleveland as #5 in converting Offices into Appartments https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/realestate/office-hotel-residential-conversions.html

uh, I think that building fell over https://neo-trans.blog/2024/05/14/ambassador-theatre-building-collapses/

The CMA has a number of diverse, interesting exhibitions going on simultaneasly: The abvove mentions Monet in focus - https://www.clevelandart.org/exhibitions/monet-focus and the above mentioned Korean Couture - https://www.clevelandart.org/exhibitions/korean-couture-generations-revolution there is also an immersive exhibition titled "Into the Seven Jeweled Mountain" which is being jointly displayed at CMA and the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul - https://www.clevelandart.org/exhibitions/seven-jeweled-mountain-immersive-experience Africa and Byzantium, and exhibition jointy organized by the Met and CMA - https://www.clevelandart.org/exhibitions/africa-byzantium as well as Fairy Tales and Fables in the print galleries - https://www.clevelandart.org/exhibitions/fairy-tales-and-fables-illustration-and-storytelling-art

The Cleveland Museum of Art is number 100 in the rankings of most visited art museums in the entire world: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/03/26/the-100-most-popular-art-museums-in-the-world-2023 - (soft paywall) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-visited_art_museums - same information transposed to Wikipedia It ranks number 30 for most visited art museums in the U.S. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-visited_museums_in_the_United_States

The apartment buildings on the other side of the street have the same flat roof style 🤷‍♂️