“Bike People of Indy” is a new bike-centered podcast interview series by the shop featuring both new and familiar characters you may spot rolling the streets of downtown Indianapolis.
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This week we sat down with Josh Rush at Herron School of Art, at one of his three art studios located around downtown Indianapolis that he rides his bike between daily. We met at The Amp next to his studio, where we both grabbed a coffee his way at longtime favorite Tinker Coffee: a double shot of straight espresso. In my experience over the years, there’s never a bitter shot when you’re sharing time with this guy.
Josh is known amongst a large swath of the cycling scene for his longtime tenure as bartender at Upland Brewing - College & 49th, during a time when that bar was 1/3 the current size and was haunted primarily by local cyclists. At the time it had the type of quirky, cozy, college-feeling vibe; they used cotton t-shirt pieces upcycled into hand towels in their bathroom in their effort to reduce paper towel waste. But things changed at Upland when they got new owners and expanded the bar into a restaurant. It was the end of an era. A lot of local things we all love today about downtown Indy cycling was first dreamed up over pints of Dragonfly IPA at that Upland during that magical time a decade ago, served by our friend here, Josh. To me Josh represents that timeless archetype of a warm and kind friend whose eyes see into your soul, one who truly hears you, and you detect this immediately upon meeting him. He is the exact character you hope to meet when your health/soul-meter is running low and you’ve found yourself at a bar needing a beer and a little bit of banter.
I hope to speak with Josh again on the podcast. We were both feeling the pressures of our daily schedules, and the heaviness of the world the day we recorded this, the day after Election Day. I forgot to ask him about his cycling camp in Morgan Monroe, his time serving at Upland, and would’ve liked to ask him more about his art and our shared love of coffee and beer. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this episode with JRush.
Enjoy his beautiful works on instagram and follow him @J_rush_studios . Thanks Josh for sitting down for the pod’ and taking the time to share with us.
Love,
Matt
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