Of course Detroit has a strong automotive history. The first gasoline-powered car was driven in Detroit 115 years ago today — with Henry Ford biking behind it.

But we also have a strong beer brewing heritage, which is perhaps largely a result of Detroit, especially the eastside, being a major destination for German immigrants.

In fact by 1880, 28% of all Detroit households were headed by a German immigrant. At the same time, 62% of the workers in Detroit’s bars and saloons were German immigrants, which proves you don’t need to speak English to pour beers.

Last Fall as part of Detroit Beer Week,  Bil Lusa led a bike tour called BIKE-toberfest – Detroit Brewing, Past & Present. It included Detroit’s current breweries along with the historical sites such as Stroh’s, Pfeiffer, E & B, and Goebel.

Now the Motor City Bike and Brew Tours are offering something similar once a month from April through October.

Learn about Detroit’s brewing history from your own two wheels. Motor City Bike and Brew Tours presents a guided bike tour of Detroit breweries. Discover why the Motor City is a great bike and beer city!

There is a $24.99 fee but the tour includes lunch and drink vouchers.

As always, bike safely.

For just today, you can buy a highly discounted gift certificate for a bike tour from Wheelhouse Detroit.

Since cheetah-shoes don’t exist yet, bicycles remain the best way to tour a city. Dust off your sightseeing muscles for today’s Groupon: for $15, you get your choice of bike tour and bike rental with Wheelhouse Detroit (a $35 value). Conveniently located at Rivard Plaza on the Detroit RiverWalk, Wheelhouse has been featured in the New York Times and was voted a top cycle shop in Detroit by CityVoters. This Groupon is only valid for tours and bike rentals that cost $35 total.

Link: Wheelhouse Detroit bike tour discount on Groupon

Since yesterday I’ve been guest blogging Metromode. The topics are non-motorized transportation in Metro Detroit.

The first two posts are now live and there are three more to go.

That bio photo is from a little-known Detroit trail called the Milbank. It connects Conner to Van Dyke between Eight Mile and E. Outer Drive. This trail is included in the October 3rd Conner Creek bike tour by Wheelhouse Detroit. The tour also includes a lunch stop at the nearby Two-Way Inn in the old village of Norris/Nortown.

Yes, the Inn is haunted.

Don’t forget to register for the Tour de Troit ride scheduled for September 19th.

This year promises to be the biggest one yet. Just before noon this morning, there were 900 riders registered. That’s just 200 rider fewer than last year’s event and there are still nearly three weeks to go.

This event raises fund for the Corktown-Mexicantown Greenlink: 16 miles of mostly bike lanes and street improvements. This project is moving forward and will likely break ground next summer. This would double the bike lane mileage within the city of Detroit.

Corktown is already a very bike-embracing neighborhood. The oft filled bike rack in front of Slow’s is a testament to that. These bike lanes are just going to add to that momentum.

The full Tour de Troit press release will additional details is below the fold…

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You may already know that Detroit is a leader in urban agriculture. This week you have the opportunity to witness it firsthand.

Wednesday evening, August 5th, is the 12th Annual Detroit Agriculture Network Tour of Urban Gardens and Farms.

From the press release:

This year’s tour will highlight a selection of prosperous, innovative, and visually stunning gardens and farms that are contributing to the new food system through bio‐intensive urban agriculture and commerce between local restaurants and farmer’s markets. The Garden Resource Program Collaborative (GRPC) works to support the emergence of a new, sustainable food system in Detroit through a network of more than 517 backyard gardens, 244 community gardens, and 46 school gardens. The GRPC facilitates resources, education, and training of urban gardeners, farmers, and community leaders through a variety of programming.

The bicycle tour will “weave through gardens located in the Cass Corridor, Woodbridge, and Greater Corktown.” At the end of the tour will be locally-grown food and refreshments created by local chefs!

There is also a bus tour option, but it is full as of today.

All tours start at the Catherine Ferguson Academy (2750 Selden in Detroit.) Sign in begins at 5pm and the tour starts sharply at 6pm.

There are still a few open spots on the bike tour.

Register ahead of time by contacting Ashley Atkinson at 313‐237‐8736 or via email at aatkinso@umich.edu. The tour fee is a sliding scale from $1 to $20 which offsets costs and helps “grow Detroit’s agricultural movement.”

And for those that can’t make it August 5th, there is a Garden Bike Tour on August 15th just south of the border. It’s part of Windsor’s 2nd Annual Summer Harvest Festival. (via Bike Windsor)