[This article is not intended to slight the Continental Bike Shop. They’re one of the best shops in Metro Detroit and have a long history of supporting the bicycling community.]

There is a somewhat popular bumpersticker saying, “Friends don’t let friends ride junk.” It’s intended message is to encourage people to buy higher-quality bikes at independent shops rather than low-cost department stores bikes.

But that message can reinforce a bit of bicycle snobbiness.

What about those that can only afford the department store bikes? Or what about those riding the second- and third-hand department store bikes? Or what about those living in cities like Detroit — a bike shop desert — where you can’t even buy a new Trek or Cannondale without heading to a suburban bike shop?

And what about those living in areas prone to bike theft? Sometimes a junk bike is a better choice.

This goes beyond road bicycling. Mountain bike festivals sometimes have a Huffy toss where the contest is to throw a Huffy bicycle like a discus. What message does that send to those who can only afford to ride a Huffy?

It seems we need to encourage all biking, from carbon fiber to high-tensile steel, from 24 speeds to one.

Perhaps a better bumpsticker message would be “Ride what you got.”

Tom Greenwood wrote a Detroit News column earlier this month that highlighted a new web site called mycommutesucks.org where commuters can report how good or bad their commute is.

Like most Metro Detroiters, Greenwood is often blinded by auto-centrism. In other words, the transportation options on the other side of the windshield are rarely recognized or understood.

For example, I don’t think he understands that non-auto commuting can provide additional simultaneous benefits. Sure, the San Francisco woman has a 90 minute round trip commute, however that also includes 40 minutes of exercise, time to relax, grab some food, read the paper, and apparently socialize.

Another factor rarely considered when compared commute modes is cost. As an example, for me, biking three miles into downtown Royal Oak takes about 5 minutes longer than driving. However, I need to work about 6 minutes to cover the added vehicle and parking costs. In effect, biking is slightly quicker, but especially once I include the time to find a parking space.

Also, based on his column, I don’t think Mr. Greenwood realizes that the group behind this web site, Transportation for America, is pushing for a new federal transportation bill that reduces auto dependence while increasing other options such as biking and mass transit.

Our congested roads have lanes added to them – yet promptly fill up again. More and more people are riding the train and bus, yet service is being cut. Biking has never been more popular, but it seems our streets have never been more difficult or dangerous to use.

I think that just put a crack in the windshield…

Click on Detroit is reporting that a doctor after working a 24 hour shift, got into her car, and hit an experienced cyclist on Hines Drive.

Police said the female driver crashed head on into a 60-year-old man riding his bicycle with a group of friends. The impact left a large dent in the hood of the car. The cyclist was seriously hurt and is being treated at University of Michigan Hospital.

As of Friday night, no decision had been made whether or not the driver would be charged.

Click on Detroit also has video coverage of the crash.

It would be interesting to hear the eyewitness accounts from the others cycling in the group.

Apparently only Click on Detroit has covered this story so far.

The Detroit Free Press recently ran an article about an o2WomensRide for novice women cyclists in suburban Detroit.

E.J. Levy, 56, of Bloomfield Hills noticed that the local cycling community didn’t offer many group rides for novice women, [so] he started one.

The cycling community tends to cater to a hard-core, competitive crowd. Often, that’s guys who enjoy going fast, Levy says.

That’s great. Oakland County needs more slower rides and not just for novice women.

But perhaps what’s most striking about Levy’s comments is they are not accurate within the city of Detroit.

The cycling community in Detroit offers many rides for novice women and does not cater to the competitive, lycra crowd.

In fact Detroit rides are far more inclusive of all types of riders when compared with the suburbs. The speeds of the Detroit Synergy, Tour de Troit, and Wheelhouse Detroit rides are slower than the o2WomensRide. Normal cotton clothing is almost de rigueur on Detroit rides, and on some, helmets are optional.

And you can ride a old Huffy on a Detroit ride without fear of a snarky comment.

The result is there’s a seemingly higher percentage of women on the Detroit rides.

[In fairness, we must add that Defying the Law, a Ferndale-based ride also caters to novices, as did Royal Oak’s now-defunct Motor City Motorless ride.]

Similar Gender Gap across the U.S.

Metro Detroit’s gender gap is not alone. This New York Times article discusses the gender gap on rides in the Big Apple.

In the article, John Pucher, a professor of urban planning at Rutgers, notes the lack of a gender gap among European nations.

“Someone was telling me, maybe American woman don’t like to sweat as much as European women. Maybe that’s why American women don’t cycle to work, but Dutch women do,” Mr. Pucher said. “But I think that’s a bunch of baloney.”

“I think the No. 1 reason you have so few women cycling in New York City is because it’s seen as a dangerous activity,” Mr. Pucher said.

With the exception of areas like Central Park and designated bike trails (which female cyclists populate almost as zealously as their male counterparts) bike riding in most parts of the city is hardly leisurely. “It’s like going into battle,” Mr. Pucher said. “You need a helmet and gloves.”

Certainly safety is a determining factor in Metro Detroit’s gender gap as well. And studies show that women have greater concerns about perceived bicycling safety than men.

While rides catering to women are a start, to truly close the gender gap, we need to continue pushing Metro Detroit governments for bike lanes and other safe bicycling facilities.

Jackie Phelan in Detroit

Speaking of women bicycle advocates, Jackie Phelan was recently in Detroit. Among other things, she’s the founder of WOMBATS (Women’s Mountain Bike and Tea Society). There’s more information on her visit on the Wheelhouse Detroit blog — one of Metro Detroit’s few if not only women-owned and managed bike shops.

Mark your calendar. The Bicycle Film Festival is coming to Detroit on July 17th and 18th.

The films will be shown at the Downtown YMCA’s Boll Family Theatre at 1401 Broadway, just a couple blocks south of Comerica Park.

Friday, July 17th

• 6:30 PM – Opening reception in the theatre lobby
• 7:00 PM – Program 1 – Where Are You Go – Premiere
• 9:00 PM – Program 2 – Fun Bike Shorts
• 10:00 PM – Goldsprints at The Park Bar (2040 Park Ave.) with “real cheap drinks” and DJ Haute To Death

SATURDAY JULY 18

• 6:30 PM – Opening reception in the theatre lobby
• 7:00 PM – Program 3 – Road To Roubaix
• 9:00 PM – Program 4 – Urban Bike Shorts
• 10:00 PM – After party at the Cass Cafe (4620 Cass Ave.) with the bands bands Pedal Shop, Steven And The Reelers and The Reverend Robert David

Program 1 & 3 are full length feature films while programs 2 & 4 are shorts.

Tickets are $8 dollars per program and are now on sale.

There are also plans for a 30 mile Saturday morning ride, a picnic at Campus Martius, and a late afternoon Alleycat Ride before the Saturday reception.

Bike parking will be available.