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 🤷‍♂️

I think maybe these Ohio cities are the worst place to rent, because the numbers all indicate that owning is the more affordable option in most of Ohio's cities.

Syracuse's 15th Ward, desroyed by I-81: https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/racism-by-design-the-building-of-interstate-81#:~:text=After the mid-century extension,country had ever embarked upon.

This channel does short videos about North American cities and finally covered Cleveland:

I called that line of defense carbrained, not you, so there is no homenim being ad-ed. I'm not trying to offend anyone here, and know you were presenting an argument that may not be your own. I should have said "the argument is" instead of "you are arguing." In any case the argument that cars should be able to access a bicycle lane to store their defective personal property isn't compelling to me. I personally value a physical, permanent barrier that protects the more vulnerable road users.

You are arguing that cars need access to the bike lane so they can block that stream of traffic in the event that they break down? That is a very carbrained defense.

Nothing on that street is Victorian. Neoclassical and Tudor Revival would describe them better. Victoria died in 1901, most of the buildings on that street were built in the 1910s and 1920s. sorry, I get frustrate by folks referring to every old building as "Victorian."

If you want to get away with murder in the US, the best way is to use your car as the weapon and chose a victim on a bicycle. Even in cases of DUI, excessive speed, repeat offenses, these murderers almost always get off with a slap on the wrist. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/31/why-so-hard-charge-motorists-cycling-deaths

Well, I just completed my second ride of the OTET (I did it first in 2020). I went: Cleveland -> Millersburg Millersburg -> Columbus Columbus -> Cincinnati Some things I noticed: * The detour around the waste treatment plant near the Botzum trailhead in CVNP has been removed. * Just before Summit Lake, there is a closure where the trail used to go under I-76/I-77. You have to go under the overpass on surface street sidewalks. * The trail connecting the Heart of Ohio Trail to Sunbury is complete and is a huge improvement. The on road section in Sunbury is now just a couple blocks. * I still hate the connection from the path through Westerville to the Alum Creek Trail. * There is a major bridge out near Easton called "Champion Bridge." There is no detour so I just walked across the creek on some rock bridge created by the construction crew. Not sure that would be possible on a weekday. * The 670 bikeway is the worst. * The sidewalk riding on Georgesville Rd. sucks. * The construction at The Cartridge Factory, mentioned above, is still ongoing. I just rode through the construction site and ignored the detours. * The rerouting through Cincinnati is an improvement. You no longer have to go on road through Mariemount, up that giant hill.

I don't pay for the Wandrer subscription, so this is only fairly recent activity: And Cleveland:

I'm a little conflicted here. That road is very low traffic, has no four-way intersection, and is a low speed limit, making it very safe to bike on as-is. On the one hand I feel like creating a bikeway in an area that is unbikeable would provide more value. On the other hand, I do understand the appeal of formally connecting the "Lakefront Bikeway." I would love to see some wall or barrier seperating this bikeway and Marginal Rd. from the insane noise and pollution of the Shoreway.