Pedal & Pub II: Electric Boogaloo

Saturday morning, a group of three hardy cyclists (one of our number having punked out) departed the vicinity of Roseholme Cottage in search of the craft breweries of the Fountain Square neighborhood, just southeast of downtown Indianapolis.

Well, first we took a quick mile-and-a-half detour north for breakfast at Public Greens, laying a good foundation of protein and carbs for the day's exertions, then we turned south...

Our navigatoring was thrown off by the fact that the Circle City Classic parade route bisected downtown at the time. Then we took a detour for one of our number to pick up shaving supplies at Red's Classic Barber Shop downtown. I waited outside and took pictures of the trim on the building.

Our first stop of the day: Chilly Water Brewing. Your correspondent enjoyed an Indy High Bines Fresh Hop Ale.

From the Monon up at Broad Ripple Avenue to the Cultural Trail through Fountain Square, the bike paths of Indy were liberally festooned (get it?) with chalked Bernie Sanders graffiti and the occasional Bernie sticker on a light pole or utility box. Notable by its absence: Hillary graffiti.

The next stop on the trail was New Day Meadery in the heart of Fountain Square. Note more Bernie graffiti. A small glass of Washington's Folly cherry mead was quaffed there. The staff was discussing that newfound darling of the Progressive Left, Pope Francis. A Bernie/Francis '16 ticket would be a juggernaut. The GOP better thank its lucky stars he doesn't have a Hawaiian birth certificate.

The eponymous fountain in the square, which is actually a sort of triangle.

 Next stop: Fountain Square Brewery.

 Love the decor. And the Star Trek: Voyager video game.

I had a pint of their Hop For Teacher pale ale.

We turned northwards again toward home. Where the cultural trail overlapped the street in Fountain Square, the bike lanes were separated from the traffic lanes by low concrete walls and bollards and had their own traffic lights. It was a much nicer setup than the life-in-your-hands cycling experience of Broad Ripple Avenue proper.

Back downtown, across from the City-County Building, lies the City Market, a sort of ⅔rds-scale Quincy Market. On the upper deck was the Tomlinson Tap Room, featuring a rotating menu of Hoosier craft brews. It was there that we decided to remedy an oversight of our previous journey before the slog north commenced.

Back down the Cultural Trail a long block and then out Washington Street and under the interstate, and we were on the edge of the Holy Cross neighborhood, where we had hit Flat 12 last time but neglected to pay respects to Indiana City Brewing.

Indiana was two years ahead of the nation with Prohibition, but we got better.

Shootin' Buddy, having seen more #FeelTheBern graffiti.

Now came the long pull up the Monon, back through The Worst Part of Indianapolis ("Somebody got found shot in the head in their SUV just two blocks that way this morning!" I'd pipe up helpfully, as we'd pass certain areas featured on that morning's news) and to the leafier, quieter streets of South Broad Ripple...

...where the final stop of the day was for dinner at Bent Rail Brewing, the newest addition to the SoBro scene. So new, in fact, that they hadn't yet gotten their own brewing underway yet. The tanks are all set up, waiting on all the i's to be dotted and t's crossed.

They did, however, have guest taps, and a delicious charcuterie plate, which hit the spot nicely after twenty-three miles in the saddle.
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