m-bike.org

Author: Todd Scott

  • Riding with Senator Tom George


    Senator Tom George on an earlier ride through Detroit

    Today I lead a Henry Ford bicycle tour for the Wheelhouse Detroit.

    We had a couple unexpected guests: Senator Tom George and his son Matt. Senator George is running to become the Republican candidate for Michigan Governor. They were in nearby Milford this morning as Matt did the criterium race.

    Although the polls aren’t in his favor, having Senator George in the top office certainly wouldn’t hurt the bicycling agenda — especially since he’s also a doctor who understands health and active living.

    This was not his first ride in Detroit. The photo on the right is from an earlier ride.

    It was his first ride on the Dequindre Cut and he was quite impressed.

    We mentioned earlier that we suggested a Detroit ride with Congressman Pete Hoekstra — another cyclist running for Michigan governor. As of this posting, we haven’t gotten a response.

    — Todd Scott

  • Woody Miller memorial ride set for August 14th

    Woody Miller leads the 2009 Tour-de-Troit Metric Century ride

    The details have been set for the Woody Miller Memorial Ride. It will take place at the Belle Isle Beach at 9:30 AM on August 14th.

    From the Facebook event page:

    Join family and friends in celebrating the life of Woody Miller (September 28, 1944 – July 17 2010). Woody was an avid cyclist: serving on the board of The Hub of Detroit, mentoring new riders, and advocating for the cycling community. He was a great promoter and supporter of the arts, most recently lending his skills to the creation of TheDetroiter.com. Cyclists can join him on his last lap around Belle-Isle following the ceremony. Please wear casual summer attire or cycling gear.

    If you are on Facebook, they are asking that you RSVP.

  • Michigan Complete Streets passes the Senate!

    Complete Streets in Michigan took another huge step forward today.

    According to John Lindemeyer from the League of Michigan Bicyclists:

    HB 6152 passed out of the Senate unanimously while 6151 was passed unanimously after an amendment was introduced upon the request of MDOT. Later in the day the House then took up HB 6151 again for a vote of concurrence where it passed by a margin of 76 to 21.

    In summary, House Bill 6151 would require MDOT to have a Complete Streets policy and would encourage other Michigan road agencies to do the same. House Bill 6152 would make non-motorized planning a required part of each municipality’s master plan.

    The MDOT amendment John mentioned above does not sound unreasonable nor does it seem to affect the main intent of this legislation.

    A huge thanks to everyone who contacted their state legislator and helped keep this moving in Lansing.

  • Growing together: Detroit bike culture and urban ag

    Detroit Chicken Races T-Shirt

    The city of Detroit’s urban ag and bike culture are growing together and no where was that more evident than at last Sunday’s chicken races.

    Yep, the first ever Detroit chicken races were at the Temple Bar in the Cass Corridor. Only Detroit-based hens could compete. Seventeen showed up.

    Miss Chicken arrived in style aboard a BOB trailer. In speaking with the owner, the bike travel didn’t really seem to faze her.

    Many of the 200 fans arrived by bicycle as well.

    Team Cluckstrong, a nod to Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong, also competed. The Team had Cluckstrong T-shirts and wrist bands. Their bird raced with a Cluckstrong leg band.

    Even the official T-shirts made by the Trumbleplex touted a fixie chicken.

    Photos from the event are on-line.

  • Detroit: Bicycling is a horse of a different color

    Urban Adonia is an anthropology grad student from LA studying bicycling in four different U.S. cities, including Detroit.

    She recently posted about Detroit, including this snippet:

    The city’s wide avenues work well for bicycling, especially because density is a hard thing to find here. The only crowd I’ve seen so far had gathered around a high school football game. I knew something must be up, cause I was riding along an otherwise empty street and came upon lots and lots of parked cars. Then I saw the game, which explained the people.

    Bicycling here feels very free in some ways. The painted lines of the street seem irrelevant on a four lane street with nobody else around. I can turn in wide arcs instead of sharp darts. Oops, missed the turn; make a big ol’ U turn, no problem.

    At the same time, many parts of the city have been abandoned, creating grids of empty fields marked by one or two remaining old row houses. As an outsider I don’t know how to gauge where it is a better or worse idea to travel. I like to drift around and explore unfamiliar cities, and it is so easy to bike here that it seems inviting to just wander around.

    Unfortunately it sounded like Detroiters were trying to be a bit more friendly with her than she was comfortable with.

    (via Model D)