Detroit Wheelmen Clubhouse at 53 E. Adams

The Detroit Bicycle Club was the city’s first in 1879. These were the day’s of highwheeler bicycles that appealed to young adventurous men but few others.

In fact L.J. Bates, the club’s first president wrote in that tricycles would eventually become more popular since they attracted a wider audience. A Free Press editorial from 1883 made the same prediction with this verbose attack on highwheelers.

Its demands upon the skill in balancing are too great to tempt many persons; those who indulge in it present a grotesque appearance in a garb which makes them look like convicts escaped from the penitentiary and which few care to display for the benefit or amusement of their fellowmen; while the dangers, or the necessity of guarding against danger, deprive the rider of much pleasure from scenery and wayside objects of interest.

However, tricycles never took over the market and interest in highwheelers faded. Detroit’s bicycle clubs faded as well.

The Comeback

But everything changed when the safety bicycle was introduced, a design not unlike today’s bicycles.

The safety bicycle not only kicked off Detroit’s golden age of bicycling, it helped revitalize the bicycle club scene. In 1890, the older clubs reorganized as the Detroit Wheelmen. In 1891, Detroit hosted the national convention for the League of American Wheelmen.

And with more women riding and the Detroit Wheelmen being for men only, the women-only Unique Cycling Club was formed 1893.

How close were the Detroit Wheelmen and Unique Cycling Club? In 1893 J. H. Gould was president of the former, while Mrs. J. H. Gould was president of the latter. Both clubs shared clubhouses, too.

The Clubhouse

Speaking of clubhouses, the growing interest in Detroit cycling meant a larger one was required. In order to build it they needed to raise funds — and they came up with a interesting idea. Since the circuses at the time didn’t tour during the winter, they could bring them to Detroit for a huge indoor show from Christmas to New Years.

According to the Free Press, “the Detroit Wheelmen have banished all thought of their favorite steeds for the time being… and [their] one-ring amateur circus grew into ‘the greatest show on earth,’ with three rings, clowns at all angles of the enclosure and elephants, trained lions and other wild beasts until you can’t rest.”

The circus was a “unqualified success” for the Detroit Wheelmen, raising over $2,000 in 1894 and $1,700 in 1895. It seemed they held their final circus in 1896 after they had begun construction on their new clubhouse.

The Unique Cycling Club played a role as well. They were in charge of the candy, popcorn, and flower booths. It appears they also oversaw the games of chance.

The Free Press published an article on December 26th, 1896 that describes this history and the Detroit cycling culture:

What a change has come over the Detroit Wheelmen in six short years! The old Detroit club disappeared from view, the Star club followed and for two or three years there was no bicycling organization in the city. Then several leaders organized the Detroit Wheelmen and for a long period the members met in modest quarters on Miami Avenue [later renamed Broadway.] The safety came into the field and proved such a success that the membership swelled and the club was warranted in securing splendid quarters on Washington avenue. Three years there showed an increase which necessitated more room and the old Strassburg Academy on Randolph street near Madison avenue was leased. Since moving there the organization has grown right along, until now there is paying membership and the future promises nothing but success for the organization. For a year the spirits who guide the destiny of the Wheelmen have thought of a club house of their own and after much hard work an arrangement was made whereby the club came into possession of a desirable piece of property on Adams avenue near Witherell street. On this site will be erected a $25,000 club house, work to commence next month if the weather is at all mild and by next summer the Detroit Wheelmen will own and occupy the most modern club house of any cycling organization in the west.

As it turned out, they spent $40,000 on the club house. That’s $1.1 million in 2012 dollars.

One interesting piece of trivia: They broke ground on the clubhouse on the same day Charles Brady King drove the first car in Detroit.

Shrine Circus

There’s one more interesting piece of this story.

Having seen the success of the Wheelmen’s circus, the Detroit Shriners decided to also raise funds with an indoor circus. They relied on Dr. Russell Pearce who organized the Detroit Wheelmen’s circuses. In 1906, they held the first ever Shrine Circus in Detroit which has grown across the U.S. since then.

From the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative:

Job Title: Executive Director

Reports to: Chairperson or Appointed Representative, Board of Directors

Job Term: One-year contractual engagement. Full-time work schedule will include a set of core hours, but will require accommodations for some evenings and weekends.

Job Scope: Manage the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative and direct the planning, design, construction, programming, and general operations of the Conner Creek Greenway and related greenways with a goal of developing a linked network of greenways to connect people and places on Detroit’s Eastside.

Required Qualifications:
o Minimum Bachelor’s degree, preferred Master’s degree, in planning, natural resources, public policy, health or other related field.
o Familiarity with greenway operations including design, construction, programming, maintenance and fundraising
o Excellent project management and organizational skills
o Demonstrated ability to manage staff or interns
o Demonstrated experience fundraising and managing organizational and programmatic budgets
o Excellent communication and interpersonal skills both verbal and written
o Proven ability to take initiative and work independently
o Experience with computer software including Microsoft Office Suite and social media including Constant Contact and Facebook

Desired Qualifications:
o Resident of Detroit
o Familiarity with Detroit’s Eastside

Key Responsibilities
o Serve as chief executive officer of the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative overseeing financial and administrative work
o Conduct and manage fundraising efforts
o Manage Conner Creek Greenway Operations including design, construction, programming and maintenance
o Coordinate greenway operations with partners such as City of Detroit, Greening of Detroit, Detroit Greenways Coalition, etc.
o Support development of related greenways such as the Elmwood Connector and Belt Line Greenway
o Support city-wide greenway efforts through the Detroit Greenways Coalition, Food & Fitness Initiative and GREEN Task Force
o Coordinate events to promote awareness and use of the greenway as needed
o Oversee Farm to Head Start Program
o Monitor Earn-A-Bike Program
o Work with community partners, community organizations and residents to support clean, safe and well-used greenway(s)
o Provide regular reporting, program analysis, budget updates and course correction to the Board of Directors as needed.

Compensation
Contract range – $45,000-$60,000 commensurate with experience. Contractor is responsible for covering his or her own benefits.

How To Apply
Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative is an equal opportunity employer. Interested individuals should send a cover letter, resume and three (3) references to:

Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative
4401 Conner Street
Detroit, Michigan 48215-2201
connercreekgreenway@gmail.com

Please submit resumes by January 18, 2013

Revised 12/12/12

Once again Greater Grace Temple is really stepping forward to help get more Detroit kids on bikes. With the help of Happy’s Pizza, Detroit Lion Joique Bell, and Tigers mascot PAWS, they’re giving away 150 bicycles “to children from financially struggling families.”

The bicycle giveaway is this Sunday after church service. The families in need have already been selected.

This giveaway has done on for many years now. Greater Grace Temple has given out over 2,500 bicycles.

“For many people, one of their fondest childhood memories was receiving a brand new bicycle on Christmas morning,” says Greater Grace Temple’s Senior Pastor Bishop Charles H. Ellis III. “We want to do something to help those families that have been hit hard by this economy.”

Last year Greater Grace Temple also hosted a walking audit with the Michigan AARP and Dan Burden. They’re not only giving away bikes, but supportive of making the neighborhood a better place to walk and bike.

The 2012 recommendations for Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund grants have been announced. There were just five in Southeast Michigan.

1. Macomb County – Shelby Township, Riverbends Park to Macomb Orchard Trail Connection – $300,000 – Development to include trail connection from Riverbends Park to Orchard Trail.
2. Macomb County – City of New Baltimore, County Line Road non-Motorized Pedestrian Path – $116,000 – Development to include completing the remaining section of pathway on County Line Road from the Crapeau Creek to Main Street.
3. Macomb County – City of Fraser, McKinley Barrier-Free Park Improvements – $300,000 – Development to include universally-accessible barrier-free parking lot, sidewalk, walking path, basketball court and site amenities.
4. Washtenaw County – City of Ypsilanti, River’s Edge Linear Park and Trail Development – $300,000 – Development to include multi-use trail, plaza, fishing pier, river overlook, signage and site amenities.
5. Wayne County – City of Dearborn, Rouge River Gateway Trail Extension – $280,000 – Development to include 1/4-mile trail extension of the Rouge River Gateway Trail to connect to Ford Field Park.

This information is just the overview so it’s not easy determining exactly what each project entails.

The first couple Macomb county grants are for their 70-mile loop. The Shelby Township portion is part of the critical trail connecting the Metro Parkway to the Macomb Orchard Trail, Clinton River Trail, and Paint Creek Trails.

Many years ago Riverbends Park and Bloomer Park were the Rochester-Utica State Park. There used to be an old wooden bridge across the Clinton River that connected the two portions of the state park near the Yates Cider Mill. Governor Engler sold the state park to the city of Rochester Hills and Shelby Township. With the bridge falling into disrepair, it was eventually removed.

We’d much prefer seeing a new bridge rather than a sidepath along Avon Road and an unsafe crossing at 23 Mile Road. However, we also recognize that the sidepath would be completely within Macomb County and that does make implementation more expedient.

Rouge Gateway Extension

The Dearborn grant is welcomed news. Getting to the Rouge Gateway Trail head at Andiamo’s is not easily accomplished by bicycle at this time. Connecting to Ford Field makes a great deal of sense. Of course, connecting the Rouge Gateway down to Fort Street makes even more sense but has a much bigger price tag.

Of course these grants are merely recommendations at this point. In the past, the Michigan legislation simply passed the recommendations without politicizing the process. That all changed last year, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Certainly you’ve read the public comments whenever the media write about making this area a better place to bike.

It’s quite common to read stereotypes of cyclist as law breakers — and that’s an excuse for cyclists not to have safe facilities.

You may also read cycling organizations stress that bicyclists should follow the rules of the road, to be ambassadors, to not play into this stereotype.

Both responses are malarkey with perhaps the latter being more disappointing since it’s coming from the same team.

Does AAA tell motorists to be ambassadors while driving to reduce scorn from non-motorists and to ensure safe facilities get built? Of course not.

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The hypocrisy of motorists stereotyping cyclists as law breakers is clear. Which road user is causing the majority of road fatalities, personal injuries, and crashes? Aggressive driving, distracting driving, drunk driving — notice the common word?

Police believe it is optimal setting speed limits at the point where only 15% of motorists are speeding. Top safety experts have admitted to us that speed limits are fairly worthless because drivers ignore them.

Furthermore, since 2004 no cyclist has caused a crash in Michigan resulting in the serious injury of death of a motorist or pedestrian. We checked. Contact Little Rock personal injury attorneys Denton & Zachary to clear out some questions you might have.

So why the cycling hate?

The best explanation we’ve found is Actor-observer bias. According to Wikipedia:

People are more likely to see their own behavior as affected by the situation they are in, or the sequence of occurrences that have happened to them throughout their day. But, they see other people’s actions as solely a product of their overall personality, and they do not afford them the chance to explain their behavior as exclusively a result of a situational effect.

In other words, a motorist can justify their speeding because the speed limit is too low, or 5 MPH over is socially acceptable, or because they’re in a hurry.

However, when a cyclist on rolls through a stop sign, it’s because they are lawbreakers. This latter judgement is also called a Fundamental attribution error.

A two-fold solution

First, bicycle advocacy organizations need to make the rules of the road work for bicyclists. Contrary to what you may read, the League of American Wheelmen nor any other bicycle advocacy organization were at the table when the automotive industry crafted the basis for today’s rules of the road during the 1920s. We need these rule templates changed at the national level. The Idaho stop law should be the U.S. bicycle stop law.

We don’t want the same laws for bicycling. We want better laws.

Second, we need to get more people on bicycles. Doing that should give more motorists a better understanding and perhaps empathy for cyclists. We need more motorists understanding why treating stop signs as yields or jumping red lights can be safer for us. Not every motorist will become a bicyclist, but their family members and co-workers could.

It’ll never be a complete harmonious relationship between motorists and cyclists, but the first step is to recognize the social psychology driving motorists’ perception and make real improvements for a safer future.