The number and variety of bike rides in the city of Detroit continues to flourish. It seems there are more rides this month then there were all summer long just a handful of years ago. And this list doesn’t include the many fee-based tours offered by groups like the Wheelhouse Detroit.

Saturday, 9/10/2011 – Handlebars for the Homeless

This year the NSO Detroit 5K River run and walk includes a “non-competitive 13-15 mile bike tour” at 8am. This fundraising event is being led by Detroit tour veteran Tom Page and will include Belle Isle, Indian Village and the Heidelberg Project. You can register at the event. More details are on their web site.

Saturday, 9/12/2011 – Full Moon Bike Ride

Fender Bender is hosting this second annual ride that meets at 9pm and starts 30 minutes later. The ride begins in front of the abandoned trail station on Michigan Avenue at 14th. The Fender Bender web site has more information.

Saturday, 9/17/2011 – Celebration of Cycling

This PEAC hosted ride begin in Hines Park and offers a 12, 35, 50, or 100-mile route options. This event is a fundraiser for PEAC amazing programs that help the physically challenged gain greater mobility through bicycling. For more details, visit the PEAC web site. [Yeah, this ride isn’t in Detroit but it’s real close and for a great cause, so we included it.]

Sunday, 9/18/2011 – Tour de Ford

The?Henry Ford Emergency Departments is hosting a fundraiser bike ride for the?Tom Groth Patient Medical Needs Fund. There are 10, 35, and 70 mile options. A custom jersey is available as well. Visit the Tour de Ford web site for all the details.

Sunday, 9/18/2011 – Great Southwest Detroit Industrial Bicycle Tour II

This Detroit Synergy ride begins at 9am at the Rivard Plaza on the RiverWalk. It 18 miles and there is no charge. Here’s the intriguing ride description:

This isn’t your typical suburban ride through pretty neighborhoods with picket fences bordered by flower beds. Rather, this route takes us through much of the industrial underbelly of southwest Detroit. Poetically, residences are sprinkled throughout the heavy industry complexes. When I tested the route last year the imagery of “little houses on the prairie” kept popping into my head. I am confident that you, like me, will ride away from this tour with a new appreciation of the heavy industry that is an integral part of our area’s history and our shared culture.

Got questions? Contact Tom Page at pagete@gmail.com or 313-473-7118.

Sunday, 9/18/2011 – Back Alley Bikes Progressive Dinner

This is a fundraising event for the invaluable Back Alley Bikes program. According to a Detroit News article, “Scheduled for 3 p.m. Sept. 18, the 11-mile route will offer a five-course meal made by Suddenly Sauer, Organaman, Neighborhood Noodle and the Pie-Sci pizza guys at Woodbridge Pub.” REGISTRATION CLOSES SEPTEMBER 11th!

Friday, 9/23/2011 – New Center Bike Tour

This is presented by Bikes and Murder, but don’t be scared off by their name. This ride begins at 7pm.

Friday, 9/23/2011 – UDM Midnight Bike Tour

Yes, this is the 23rd annual University of Detroit-Mercy bike ride, which likely makes this the oldest bike ride tradition in the Motor City. ?This 25-mile casual ride begins at 8pm on the UDM campus and does a tour of the city. ?We agree with Alec Whitfield, assistant director of student life. “This is an excellent opportunity for new students to see Detroit and even native Detroiters to see our city from an entirely different perspective, at night.”

Saturday, 9/24/2011 – Tour de Troit

The 10th year of this ride will be the largest yet with 5,000 cyclists expected. Given the size, it’s more of a bike parade than just a bike ride. Some changes have been made in order to accommodate such a large group. This event raises funds that helped get those new bike lanes and bike routes added to Corktown and Mexicantown. Register at www.tour-de-troit.org

Friday, 9/30/2011 – Detroit Critical Mass

The group meets at 6:30pm at the corner of Trumbull and Warren. It starts at 7pm. There’s additional information on Facebook

Every Monday – Slow Roll to Slow Jams

This 2.5 hour ride meets at the Woodbridge Pub every Monday at 7pm and leaves 30 minutes later. Details are on their Facebook page.

There are a serious number of bike rides occurring in the city of Detroit right now.

We often tell you about them ahead of time, but don’t let you know how they went. While we missed these three rides, they were written up in the media and on the web.

Art Ride

From the Knight ARTS web site:

With Detroit under the national spotlight as a hub for creativity, many people are chomping at the bit to see what the buzz is all about. As Forward Arts rounded out its first year as an organization, it added Art Ride to its repertoire of projects that use art to transform and engage the community. Art Ride is a donation-based public art bike tour that exposed guests to some of the hidden gems of our city, including Recycle Here!, Hamtramck Disneyland, the Powerhouse Projects and Heidelberg Project satellite site “Street Folk 2.”

Jewish History Tour

From the Detroit Free Press:

It was a day to get an up-close view of Detroit while learning about the city’s Jewish history. And for some people, it was a chance to learn more about their family’s heritage while riding bicycles through the streets of Detroit.

Jewish bus tours have been offered in the city for the last decade, organizers said, but the bike tour was designed to give riders a personal experience.

“When you’re on the bus you’re separated from the neighborhood and you’re going fast,” said Jerry Cook, one of the people who came up with the idea for the tour. “I thought, gee, if we were on a bike, we’d really feel it more.”

The Hub of Detroit’s Youth Ride

From the Detroit Je T’aime web site:

Last Saturday, August 20th, the bike organization?Hub of Detroit?had a fundraising event, the Annual Safe Streets Youth Ride. ?For most of the kids in the ride, it was their first time biking around the city; usually, they just bike outside their porch. Some of the children had built their own bike thanks to the Summer workshops of the Hub. The ride (followed by a barbecue) was a precious moment to share with the kids, their parents and friends. When the Eastside Riders joined us on their tweaked bikes, the ride became a happy bling-bling & eco-friendly parade! An unusual mix that only Detroit can cater!

Just hours after writing about the growing list of bike events in Detroit, we stumbled on some others.

From Detroit Synergy:

August 20th at 9 AM: Pedal Cruise

It’s almost time for that annual north Woodward Avenue pagan festival, the Woodward Dream Cruise! That means it’s also time for the Third Annual Detroit Bikes! Pedal Cruise Bicycle Ride! We’re not anti-car; we’re just pro-bicycles! Many of us firmly believe that the best way to experience our City is on a self-propelled vehicle!

The primary aim of the Pedal Cruise is to bike from our City’s birthplace, the Detroit Riverfront, to the world-famous (thanks to Eminem) 8 Mile Rd. (why isn’t it called 8 Miles Road?) and back. We will parallel as well as cross Woodward Avenue, though only a modest part of the ride will take place on Woodward itself.

More details

From the Hub/Back Alley Bikes:

August 20th at Noon: 3rd Annual Safe Streets Youth Ride

Hey everyone! It is time to get energized for our big annual ride. There are many more people riding in Detroit now than have in recent memory. There are also many more groups doing rides together. On August 20th we will be gathering in our back alley at noon for our big annual ride. What makes our ride different? Well, the primary focus is our youth. We are inviting all our Youth that have completed the Earn-a-Bike program in the past year to bring those bikes out and ride with us. We hope they bring their families with them so they can all ride together. This will be a slow ride so people of all ages can keep up. Afterwards we will have a parent appreciation BBQ.

So what if you didn’t participate in Earn-a-Bike? Well, that is the other part that makes our ride unique – it is a fund-raiser to continue the programming that we provide here in the Cass Corridor. If you would like to ride with our youth, please register at our Wepay.com site. Registration is $25, but if you register before August 13th – registration is only $10. Again, Youth Earn-a-Bike participants and their families ride free.

More details and registration

From the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan:

August 21st at 8 AM: J-Cycle

Hop on! The Jewish Historical Society of Michigan, the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and the Reconstructionist Synagogue of Detroit are leading the way through the streets of Detroit for a fun-filled morning of cycling, learning and bonding. Our tour travels from the beautiful, new Milliken State Park on the Detroit River, along the Riverwalk and through the Dequindre Cut, a landscaped bike path once the Grand Trunk Railroad line and through the city to see such sites as the Hank Greenberg statue at Comerica Park, numerous former synagogues and buildings built between 1902 and the 1920s such as the United Hebrew School building built in 1922 and the new Moishe House on Ferry Street and the Oakland Avenue Schvitz. Don’t miss this first-time event!

More details and registration

From Bike Tech:

August 28th:Third Annual Bicycle Show & Swap Meet

BIKE TECH (@ Balduck Park) 18401 E.Warren, Detroit, Michigan 48236
From 8am – 2pm

Bring out those Vintage, Classics, Road & Track Bicycles and Parts.
Food & Refreshments Available.
Vendor Space Available

$25. – Early Registration
$30. – Day of Show
Table Rental $5.00 additional

For Additional Information…313-884-2453

Press release from the Hub of Detroit, one of America’s largest bicycle co-ops:

Contact: Bradley Iott and Jason Fiedler

BIKE DONATIONS FOR YOUTH BIKE GIVEAWAY

The HUB of Detroit seeks donations of youth bicycles for its biannual Youth Bike Giveaway. Last year, the program gave away over 100 bikes. This year the HUB will distribute approximately 100 bikes to children ages 4-8 on June 18th and 21st. Additionally, the program will educate children and their families on safe riding habits though an informative safety packet given with each bike. Diligent volunteers will be recycling and refurbishing donated bikes prior to the giveaway. We ask that bikes have wheels 20 inches or smaller to accommodate this age group, but any bike will be accepted.

Donated bikes can be brought to The HUB’s retail shop at 3611 Cass Avenue Detroit, MI 48201 during shop hours:

• Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM-6 PM
• Sunday 12-2 PM
• Monday by appointment

If you work for an organization that helps out families that could benefit from a free bike or if you would like to volunteer at The HUB, please contact Jason Fiedler at jason@thehubofdetroit.org.

If you have a child ages 9-16 years old, they may be eligible to get a free bike through the HUB’s Earn-A-Bike program. For more information about that program, please contact Darrin Brouhard at darrin@thehubofdetroit.org.

The HUB of Detroit is a non-profit bike shop in the Cass Corridor. It’s mission is to provide cycling education and services with a focus on youth development, sustainable practices, and community access. To accomplish these goals, The HUB offers a variety of youth programs, including Youth Earn A Bike, Mechanics in Training, and the Youth Bike Giveaway.

The Metro Times has a best of Detroit 2011 issue which lists winners based on a public survey and staff picks. As in years past, some of these awards are bike-related.

Readers Poll

Best Bicycle Shop in Detroit — The Hub won this for the third time. “How can you not love a place that’s making a difference on, with and for two wheels?

Best Bicycle Shop in the Suburbs — Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop grabbed this award, which was a bit of a surprise given their that they’re new. Last year it went to Continental Bikes in Hazel Park.

Staff Picks

Best Food Delivery Business — Hot Spokes, the group delivering food on bike in the Midtown/Downtown area, was picked by the MT staff.

Take-out delivered via bike may not be big news in most major cities, but as are many things, it’s a bit of a novelty in Detroit. But novelty or not, it also makes sense — pedaling from Midtown to downtown takes noticeably less time than fighting traffic and hunting down a parking spot (and who ever has change for the meter?)

Best Antidote to a Beer Belly — Staff chose the indoor Roller Races which have been hosted at various bars around the Detroit area. And last week the Hub hosted a very unique tandem roller race.

The new trend that popped up in the last year of racing on stationary bikes in bars allows for just such a thing — drink, race, drink some more. Bikers who usually hibernate during fall rains and winter snows can stay in shape, maintain their skills and show-off in front of bar flies and curious first-timers. It’s a new way to pick up chicks, settle scores and challenge friends and strangers for free beers.

Best Blog for Bicyclists — m-bike.org won. We’re blushing. It’s recognition like this that makes the late-time, labor of love efforts worth it.

The stated goal, says author Todd Scott, is to promote safe and convenient bicycling in metro Detroit. Whether it’s announcements of community forums, analyses of master plans and their inclusion (or exclusion) of cycling, collections of media reports about cycling events and policies or just plain funny cycling tidbits, find it here.

Thank you, Metro Times — and all that you do for cycling coverage in Southeast Michigan.