Sandra Svoboda at the Metro Times found this historical bicycle movie made in 1925 by the Detroit News.

According to this newsreel, “Residents of Bloomfield Hills have taken up bicycle riding as a means of recreation.”

Mrs. Warren S. Booth is highlighted. Her husband eventually became the president, publisher and chairman of the board of the Detroit News — the newspaper his grandfather James Scripps founded in 1873. So, this newsreel was more of a family movie than news.

Still, those are some sweet bikes, riding clothes, and hats — a nice tweed ride.

Reuters recently wrote about new research on the benefits of “green exercise.” Apparently just five minutes is all need, which is good news for bike commuters.

Researchers from the University of Essex found that as little as five minutes of a “green activity” such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming can boost mood and self esteem.

“We believe that there would be a large potential benefit to individuals, society and to the costs of the health service if all groups of people were to self-medicate more with green exercise,” Barton said in a statement about the study, which was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Many studies have shown that outdoor exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness and improve a sense of well-being, but Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, who led this study, said that until now no one knew how much time needed to be spent on green exercise for the benefits to show.

And don’t forget to mark your calendars. Bike to Work day in Detroit is May 21st. You can start from Royal Oak, Grosse Pointe or Dearborn. All rides head to Campus Maritius.

The Henry Ford has been uploading archived footage from their collection to YouTube. Their most recent upload was from the 1940 New York World’s Fair. It shows their “Road of Tomorrow” which looks more like an elevated expressway, though the cars are going quite slowly. Ford was certainly pitching the idea of more car-only roads.

This is the same World’s Fair where GM unveiled Futurama, a more elaborate model for highways in America.

GM also documented their exhibit through this gem from Jam Handy:

The League of American Bicyclists just announced 16 new Bicycle Friendly Community awards, three of which are in Michigan:

• Lansing
• Marquette
• Portage

All three earned the entry-level Bronze status for Engineering, while Lansing also got a Bronze in Education.

There are now six recognized Bicycle Friendly Communities in Michigan. Sadly enough, none are in Macomb, Oakland, or Wayne Counties.

However, it’s expected the city of Detroit will apply within the year given the recent Bikes Belong/REI Bicycle Friendly Community grant. The city of Ferndale had applied years ago but did not receive an award or honorable mention.

I am posting this entry from the Gila River Indian Community in Chandler, Arizona. This is where the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is having their annual networking conference. I am attending as a participant in Detroit Food and Fitness Initiative which is funded by the Foundation over the next three years. Part of that funding now covers my job as Detroit Greenways Coordinator for the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.

Of course, Kellogg doesn’t just want to fund people and efforts.  They want to see positive changes that meet their mission of improving access to healthy foods and providing safe environments for active living — especially for children.

The Detroit-specific Food and Fitness objectives fall into three categories: food systems, schools, and the built environment. The built environment objectives include advocating for Complete Streets and making Detroit a more walkable and bikeable environment — including Safe Routes to School.

Perhaps what’s most exciting about this is how the Food and Fitness Initiative is the diversity and experience of the  collaboration working on these issues.

As for the conference, I’ve come away with a couple big takeaways.

First, we need to do a better job engaging youth in our advocacy efforts. Going before city councils to ask for betting biking facilities often fall on deaf ears. Having a room full of young adults asking for the same is far more powerful. We really need to engage Metro Detroit youth in these non-motorized issues.

Second, we should look at doing a baseline assessment of biking and walking in the city of Detroit. We don’t have data on how many people  chose these options for transportation. The American Community Survey data from the Census Bureau is in nearly  all case imprecise and of basically no value. (Despite that, groups like the Alliance for Biking and Walking use it to rank cities — not smart.) We need to know where we’re at now so we can celebrate our inevitable increases in the future (and justify greater public and private investment.)

— Todd Scott