carmen aiken

15h

ask me about the summer i watched lagunitas open and then get torpedoed by heineken sometime and these very depressing couples and their poor kiddos every saturday at 11:30 AM

Dave Infante@dinfontay.com

the official apparel partner of ignoring your disgusting kids as they terrorize everyone else at the brewery while your wife sits in the xc-90 outside googling divorce lawyers

10 years of bad Big Marsh Photos in honor of this today www.welcometohellworld.com/perfect-vict... (thanks @lukeoneil47.bsky.social) 1) from birthday party afternoon (oct 2026)

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me, an idiot tricked into doing a 5k during birds bikes and beats 2022?? whenever i worked for adventure cycling, doing my best, coming in 2nd to DFL.

love you big marsh (2017). love you house music and bmx kids and learning the wobble on the bridge and tinned fish and cool art and frogsong.

10 years of bad Big Marsh Photos in honor of this today www.welcometohellworld.com/perfect-vict... (thanks @lukeoneil47.bsky.social) 1) from birthday party afternoon (oct 2026)

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4) me and papa randy's daughter (i can't remember her name but she's great) on an exploration through northeastern portion, 2017

the view of acme behind the gary fisher rigid hardtail bars on the first short track race, likely post me throwing up near there. 2017

10 years of bad Big Marsh Photos in honor of this today www.welcometohellworld.com/perfect-vict... (thanks @lukeoneil47.bsky.social) 1) from birthday party afternoon (oct 2026)

2) view from trash mountain 2016

3) scouting afterglow 2023 coming in from torrence through the batcave

welcometohellworld.comBrawling itself out of a swampCarmen Aiken writes today about the tenth anniversary of a bike park in Chicago and the decades of toil and industry and spoil it was built upon. They wrote about fighting ICE in Chicago last year. ...

if you listen to the mix WHILE reading this you will get the best dose of Carl Sandburg, and we could all use him.

carmen aiken@caiken.bsky.social

If you have lived in Chicago and not gone to Big Marsh Park, I don't know what to tell you. In honor of its ten years you could read this at Hell World where @lukeoneil47.bsky.social linked to @scrabblor.bsky.social's v good Wild Onion mix!! www.welcometohellworld.com/brawling-its...

also lol @stevevance.net i threw you in there as a mysterious civic influencer but do you remember going up to Trash Mountain w me one thousand years ago?

Is bluesky like instagram where if you go and hide for like nine months your post shows up PROMINENTLY when you come back? asking for a friend LOL.

JK i also spent time in the trying to hustle eyes onto posts content mines, I know what is the what. but hello, i'm maybe back. drove me nuts when i had bike grouchin' to do and nowhere to put it except my brain

honestly this was my favorite sentence to write. thank you as always to @lukeoneil47.bsky.social and Hell World. GO SUBSCRIBE.

Luke O'Neil@lukeoneil47.bsky.social

"By the time I got to Trash Mountain south of the Park, the smell had mostly faded. I breathed in the Marsh’s truck exhaust, compost rot, and verdant humidity from cattails and milkweed that burst from the earth in our awful summer of rain."

"hey carmen did you come back on bluesky to publicly brood about bikes and Chicago and shared spaces like the cliche you are?" 😎😎😎

youtube.comBlur - Coffee And TV (Official Music Video)YouTube video by Blur

31 Dec 2025

there was a period in the oughts when the place i lived in was just watching music videos late into the night many, many nights, so i feel like there's so many but: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oqX...

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social

MTV is officially ending all of its music channels. In honor of that, what's your favorite music video?

31 Dec 2025

our choice to watch music videos from whatever comcast channel we had did not help, but still, RIP. alternates: the time they dubbed "reflektor" to "Black Orpheus" (a personal timing thing) the killers doing Faster Pussycat Kill Kill Kill! homages this is hardcore by pulp but tis not the season

31 Dec 2025

that house had two tvs next to each other (for video games + movies, which I guess is not weird in 2025) and produced a couple queer and trans ppl, a marriage and divorce, a good dog, and at one point a whole lot of weed

28 Dec 2025

I missed the yes it's kind of dumb to have everything be focused on visual encapsulations of us discourse but was certainly running parallel on my strong strong current of God I want to stop writing about my fucking self for five seconds

28 Dec 2025

accompanied I guess by quitting more substacks where the not wanting to support nazis has now truly outweighed my interest in people... writing about themselves every five seconds. it would be more palatable on a non shitty platform, you know? I do feel sort of sorry about it

welcometohellworld.comThe best of Hell World 2025I heard you like to read buddy so have I got a treat for you: writing. The perfect exchange in such a scenario. Once again this year I was blessed to be able to publish a great array of talented writ...

28 Dec 2025

I was honored to be there as I'm honored and humbled to live amongst people who are trying hard here. Also subscribe to Hell World, take all your pennies from cowardly substacks and then use the leftover to buy Luke's new book from your local!!

Luke O'Neil@lukeoneil47.bsky.social

And more from @garethwatkins.bsky.social @annaham.bsky.social @caiken.bsky.social @harrisfootball.com @andrewqmr.bsky.social @erinosmon.bsky.social @absolutereality.blog @thirdpartyinternet.bsky.social @coreyatad.com @mcleemz.bsky.social WHAT A CROP www.welcometohellworld.com/the-best-of-...

carmen aiken reposted

Luke O'Neil

@lukeoneil47.bsky.social

27 Dec 2025

Replying to @lukeoneil47.bsky.social

As well as @billshaner.bsky.social @gonebabygone.bsky.social @samthielman.com @unraveledpress.com @karengeier.com @joeyneverjoe.bsky.social @acatwithnews.bsky.social @rickpaulas.bsky.social @melbuer.bsky.social @pplscitycouncil.bsky.social ... www.welcometohellworld.com/the-best-of-...

carmen aiken reposted

Luke O'Neil

@lukeoneil47.bsky.social

27 Dec 2025

I'm so lucky to have been able to publish a great array of talented reporters and writers this year. Here's the best stuff they wrote for Hell World in 2025. Ft: @seantcollins.com @davidjroth.bsky.social @raxkingisdead.bsky.social @parkermolloy.com + ... www.welcometohellworld.com/the-best-of-...

19 Dec 2025

as someone who has seen it all in livejournal and ao3 and tumblr, i can safely say based on a bananas convo i had last weekend, your local sports fun league is a toxxxxxxic fandom irl!! absolutely wild stuff!!

carmenalicia.beehiiv.commovements (three of them)bikes and circuses

13 Dec 2025

wrote a thing about a bike thing I did last month, so maybe if you like bikes or reading or just a dude trying their best, go nuts. carmenalicia.beehiiv.com/p/movements bike parties may not be built to last, but you try anyway

9 Dec 2025

i will not be a total fucking asshole about a marketing email proclaiming a *design inspiration and direction* for a "queer dive" i will not i will not i will not but also, maybe just a little.

9 Dec 2025

ALSO THERE'S NO SUCH PLACE AS LAKEVIEW WEST PLEASE STOP

4 Dec 2025

i don't care how cold you are: if you see those stupid, stupid "Friend" ads on the CTA, you whip out that sharpie and you scribble to kill.

thehairpinarchives.comA Guide to Eating Very Particular Feelings, Part IIIby Jess Zimmerman FEELING: The one where you jolt alert to find the golden street you walked down now behind you, the sunset down to an embarrassing smudge like an old lady’s lipstick, the lovely town...

26 Nov 2025

HOT ON THE HEELS OF THE LAST POST thank u @flaminghydra.com blessing us with the Hairpin archives because I have been reading @jesszimmerman.com's guide to eating particular feelings on the internet archive all week and it's now back home: thehairpinarchives.com/2013/11/a-gu...

26 Nov 2025

this is the best thing to happen to me in so long and I cannot wait for going nuts on all the Ask A in the archives! (also... bring it back for Hydra??? pls? pls??)

26 Nov 2025

please just get your stuff off substack, i think it is truly bugging me right now and pointing out there's probably other writing i could read not on a platform subsidizing nazis

shorturl.atCyclocross 4 Everyone #1The Cyclocross 4 Everyone #1 is on Saturday November 22, 2025. It includes the following events: Advanced (A): Men/Open 60 Minutes, Advanced (A): Women/Open 60 Minutes, U23 Youth 2 Laps/30 Minutes, In...

come hang at a (BI)cy(Cle)cross event Sat at Big Marsh Park! A thing to do w/ bikes on maybe a fine fall day! sort of sporty? probably wacky! shorturl.at/D0tuD @femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chicritmass.bsky.social @chicagobikesox.com @chiwho.bike @westtownbikes.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social

NO LICENSE NO LOGINS NO FEES NO GENDER POLICING NO HORRIBLE USAC INFRASTRUCTURE! show up with 25 bucks or so (NO ONE TURNED AWAY) and say hi. you may find me in a onesie, or yelling "encouraging" things to dudes who care a lot, and god bless em.

cheers, queers etc and make sure you control your descents down the gravel, signed, all city single speed cyclocross participant 2019

so if you've ever wanted to watch bike sports that isn't like zoom zoom down a suburban street and you get some of that woodsy attitude, this event could be for you! people give out candy and "soda pop" and MONEY and cheer and heckle! we'll have MULTIPLE DJs and bands!

and if you want to try it, please come! sports bikes are honestly not for me, but i'm hoping other people try what they want and build up pals and community! line up and give it a shot and if it sucks, well, YOU CAN QUIT and sit back with candy and a cold one.

part of why this was started by people in Chicago is that US Cycling is basically really transphobic (and IMHO not great) and people who want to try stuff should be able to try stuff without literal gender policing. and also because CX can be a party, and thats a goal too.

also i am really okay, but man, it's good writing and a whole lot of oh no

carmen aiken@caiken.bsky.social

you know i've managed to not fuck up being alive for 11 years almost exactly and that data center article in the new yorker from november 3 really, really testing that with me this morning, jesus christ.

also i have now had the RSV going around for two weeks, so grains of salt. DONT CATCH IT. my masking game was not as strong as it should have been, clearly.

10 Nov 2025

aw nuts turns out i have a lot of weird feelings about that adventure cycling article

carmen aiken reposted

Haymarket Books

@haymarketbooks.org

5 Nov 2025

Another world is possible, if we fight for it

5 Nov 2025

Gotta say @dansinker.com telling everyone at @tuesdayfunk.bsky.social the Zohran win was one of those most jubilant things I've felt in so long and yes, God, thank you

bikesignup.comCyclocross 4 Everyone #1The Cyclocross 4 Everyone #1 is on Saturday November 22, 2025. It includes the following events: Advanced (A): Men/Open 60 Minutes, Advanced (A): Women/Open 60 Minutes, U23 Youth 2 Laps/30 Minutes, In...

4 Nov 2025

anyway on that note: Chicago! looking for a cool bike thing? come out on nov 22 to this! we want fun and inclusion and access and raising $$ and community! www.bikesignup.com/Race/IL/Chic... cc @femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chiwho.bike @chicagobikesox.com lol what are other bike bsky accounts??

4 Nov 2025

if you ride a bike, you can do cyclocross, i swear. it's pretty fun and you could cool things like candy or booze or even MONEY! this is FOR EVERYONE and party race is the best race. you can do it! to quote my friend dana: you can race cyclocross IN A WHEELBARROW www.bikesignup.com/Race/IL/Chic...