As mentioned before, the Adventure Cycling Association with help from MTGA and others are developing an Underground Railroad Bicycle Route. This route would be a 400-mile spur from the existing 2,100-mile route running from Alabama, through Buffalo, NY to Ontario.

Bicycle Retailer magazine is reporting that Adventure Cycling just received a $20K grant from REI to continue this routing effort.

The 400-mile alternate will run between Oberlin, Ohio, and Owen Sound, Ontario, according to a press release. Highlights on the new route include the historically rich communities of Sandusky, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan.

Running through northwestern Ohio, southern Michigan, and southern Ontario, the new cycling route will create a cultural heritage corridor centered on the storied Underground Railroad, offering education and recreational opportunities for people of all ages.

The article also recognizes the recent bike efforts in the city of Detroit.

An important highlight on the new route, Detroit has increasingly invested in bike lanes, greenways, urban agriculture, and natural parks. This cycling route will capitalize on these local efforts through tourism and outreach projects such as club rides, youth involvement, and health and history events at libraries, museums, and other sites after the route is completed.

Adventure Cycling has pulled together a very knowledgeable and passionate group of Underground Railroad stakeholders. Combined with the organization’s vast experience, this new route promises to be an exciting addition for cyclists wanting to combine history and bike touring.

Yesterday, The Hub of Detroit led a group ride around the city of Detroit as part of the U.S. Social Forums. Starting at bike tent city on Woodward and Temple, the ride went past the Joe Louis fist, the RiverWalk, Dequindre Cut, Eastern Market, and more.

About 50 people participated. Many of them had ridden to Detroit. Everyone was super friendly, including the many motorists who yielded to the parade of pedalers.

Allison Mannos, an Urban Programs Coordinator at Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition was in the group. Allison gave an excellent presentation on diversity at the National Bike Summit earlier this year. She gave us big kudos for the Dequindre Cut.

There were 180 riders for the 2010 Bike the Bridge event this year. One big reason for the increase is Canadian bicyclists could start in Windsor, ride over the Ambassador Bridge to Detroit, turn around and ride back — a neat option.

Once over the bridge, both the U.S. and Canadian cyclists enjoyed a breakfast at Windsor’s Mic Mac Park. Afterwards, 49 cyclists rode to Amherstburg, Ontario for a quick guided tour of Fort Malden. Many of the other cyclists rode to Walkerville where they heard about the local history of prohibition and Hiram Walker — and got to sample some Canadian whiskey.

Both groups re-converged at the Carousel of Nations event held along Windsor’s river front park. The U.S. cyclists then boarded chartered Transit Windsor buses for the return voyage back to Detroit.

The Metro Times provided from-the-saddle coverage and highlighted the uniqueness of this event for cyclists.

A special thanks to Sue Moretto, the Bridge Company, Windsor Bicycle Committee and all the volunteers for helping make this happen.

The 2nd Annual Colin Hubbell Memorial Bike Ride takes place this Saturday, June 19th. It starts at 10 AM at Traffic Jam on Canfield at Second Avenue in Detroit’s Midtown area.

Ride organizer Brian Hubbell notes, “It’s a leisurely jaunt (about 13 miles) through Midtown, Wayne, Woodbridge, Riverfront (a Wheelhouse stop), Dequindre Cut, and then back through the Market and Med Center. Food and beverages (Yes, beer!) afterwards at the Traffic Jam.”

This is a fundraiser which in the past has benefited the Hub of Detroit and paid for new bike racks in Midtown.

There are additional details on the Detroit Midtown web site and you can register for the event on-line as well.

Hendrickson Video has an inspirational video about Colin and his huge contribution to Detroit’s reinvention.

There are also a couple photos of Colin (wearing a “Got Love” T-shirt) at a July 2004 Detroit Synergy coffee talk that discussed the future of biking in Detroit.

The Let’s Save Michigan web site has a great video of Phil Cooley talking about making Michigan Avenue a Complete Street in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood.

We received this video with an accompanying email, which included the following:

Michigan’s local economies are struggling. Listen to the perspective of one small business owner in Detroit explain the biggest obstacle his business is currently facing — it may surprise you:

The exciting news is that Michigan is poised to overcome these obstacles right now. Creating more livable communities where businesses can thrive does not have to take the money or resources Michigan is lacking — it just takes some smart planning.

When planners and engineers design neighborhood streets with bicyclists, pedestrians, and public transportation in mind, the need for complex intersections is reduced and infrastructure costs can be cut by as much as 35 to 40 percent.

Even property values have been proven to get a boost from Complete Streets. Studies show that the value of homes in walk-able communities is $4,000 to $34,000 more than the same homes in regular neighborhoods.

This section of Michigan Avenue is being repaved with federal stimulus funding. MTGA and other organizations are working with MDOT to get bike lanes added. It seems MDOT would like to add the lanes but may be constrained by Michigan state law regarding trunklines. We’re hoping to have that resolved before the road lines are painted.