The Spokesrider

I’ve been reading “The Ohio Frontier” by R. Douglas Hurt (1996) in preparation for some riding later this summer. I am now getting to like this book, but was disappointed by some of the first chapters. The chapter titled “Clash of cultures” was not particularly insightful on cultural issues. There was much awkward use of [...]

This is a scene from my last ride in Hillsdale County, almost a year ago. I’m hoping for another one tomorrow, even though there is a chance of rain in the forecast.

I happened to be at home today, instead of at work, when I received a phone call from Nanci, who had seen my pages about Allen Norcross at my Black Hawk Slept Here web site . She is a descendant. I always get a kick out of meeting descendants of the people in the Black [...]

The old Michigan Road, north from Rochester, Indiana, is a reasonably nice place for a bicycle. U.S. 31 now bypasses the old road, leaving this one good for riding. This afternoon I made a map showing the route of the old Michigan Road through the entire length of Indiana, from the Madison on the Ohio [...]

An examination of the 1874 atlas didn’t seem to suggest there were any property lines that would have remained even then to mark the treaty line of 1820 that formed the north boundary of Royce Area 114. (This is in contrast to the more famous Ten O’Clock line from the 1809 treaty, where there are [...]

This is the Ten O’Clock Road northwest of Rockville, IN. It was just irregular enough to make for pleasant riding, but it certainly wasn’t arrow-straight like a treaty line road. There is a reason for that. It doesn’t follow the treaty line anywhere. I had at first guessed it followed the line mostly, but that [...]

I was puzzled about this road in Parke County, Indiana when I did my ride there last October 7. I wanted to visit the marks left by the Ten O’Clock Treaty Line, but despite what the street sign said, this was too far north. The road ran roughly parallel to the treaty line, but I [...]