Indianapolis man hosts bike, trolley tours on basketball history
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A local man is taking his passion for history to new heights and he’s letting NCAA fans in on it, too.
“I started these in March for the tournament, for hosting all these 68 teams and celebrating our rich basketball history,” said Sampson Levingston, owner of Through2Eyes Indiana.
A history lover, Levingston started his business four years ago. He’s gone all over Indiana giving tours on the state’s history. Now, Levingston is taking his tours further. During March Madness, he’s showcasing major moments of basketball history on wheels.
“There’s so much history here in Indianapolis and it’s not hard to find,” Levingston said. “You just got to look for it.”
His bike tours start at 132 W. Walnut, the headquarters for Indiana Pacers Bikeshare. He goes through the Indianapolis Cultural Trail and travels in and around the city, covering the NCAA headquarters, Lucas Oil Stadium and much more. Levingston says the tours last about two hours.
“Old City Market, Lockefield Gardens,” Levingston said. “So many historic places here in Indianapolis are connected by this Cultural Trail and they have a significant basketball history and we get to see all of those when we’re on our bikes.”
With the help of Arts Council of Indianapolis, Indiana Sports Corp and Indy Trolley, Levingston is also offering his tours on a trolley. “It’s cool and it’s also inspiring and almost overwhelming sometimes about what all can be done by doing these simple walking, biking, trolley tours in my own hometown.”
Levingston says his tours are a hot ticket and he hopes to host more tours like this in the future.
“On the bike tours we’ve capped it at 12 and so we’ve sold out one of the bike tours, we’ve sold out the remaining bike tours so 12 on the bike tours is going to be a lot,” Levingston said. “We’ve sold out some of the trolley tours so we’re trying to be smart with social distancing.”
People who are interesting in purchasing a ticket are encouraged to visit the website Through2Eyes Indiana.