Click Veronica’s photo for some light-hearted Friday satire from our friends at StreetsBlog:

For this Streetfilms exclusive, we were granted unfettered access to Veronica Moss, lobbyist for the Automobile Users Trade Organization (AUTO). Veronica gave us a few precious moments inside her SUV to talk about roads, traffic, cyclists, and big cities. While instructing us on proper honking techniques for “old people” and children, she also offered up some choice bons mots. Here’s a sample:

• “People need to be able to drive their cars — that’s an American right!”
• “Bikers are a pimple on the butt of any city.”

From the Free Press:

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Re-CYCLE for Kids Program is accepting donations of new, used or in-need-of-repair bicycles, bike accessories and parts.

The program, sponsored by the Sheriff’s Office and started in 2006, refurbishes bikes using inmate labor and then makes them available to children and adults in need through local charitable organizations.

Bicycles can be donated at any of the following sites:

• Lighting Supply Co., 28525 Beck Road in Wixom, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
• 1-800-Mini-Storage, 26660 Greenfield in Oak Park, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.
• 1-800-Mini-Storage, 2477 W. Maple in Troy, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays.

This past week had a concentration of biking-related news and events in Detroit.

And if it weren’t for the dire automotive news and the thrilling Red Wings results, we may have had a bit more media coverage.

Monday: Bike Registration

Detroit City Council’s Public Health and Safety committee held a public hearing on a new voluntary bike registration program. MTGA, The Hub, and Detroit Bike Riders United were gave public testimony in support of the new ordinance. The ordinance passed and went before the full council on Tuesday. We did not yet hear the results but expect it was passed.

Thursday: Dequindre Cut

Detroit’s newest greenway, the Dequindre Cut had its official grand opening.

It was a very exciting, event-filled, and sunny day. One could not ask for a better kick off.

Though just on the job for his fourth day, Mayor Bing attended and spoke positively about this trail. That shouldn’t be unexpected as Mayor Bing is a board member for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

As he hustled off to another appointment, I caught up to him and gave him a copy of the new Detroit Greenways Network brochure.

Media coverage: Metro Times and Click on Detroit video

Later that evening, the Green Garage hosted the Model D Speaker Series. Tom Woiwode from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan spoke about the Dequindre Cut, Bil Lusa highlighted the Detroit biking scene and Tour de Troit, while I covered the status of greenway development in Detroit.

There was a very solid turnout (over 190 had pre-registered).

Friday: Bike to Work Day

We had two groups ride this year, one starting in Royal Oak and the other in Grosse Point. Each had about 25 riders and both ended at Campus Martius.

The weather was perfect.

And we had bike commuters looking “normal” in blue jeans, baggy shorts and cotton T-shirts.

Detroit Synergy, American Cycle & Fitness, and a host of other sponsors made these rides (and the cool T-shirts) possible.

Media coverage: Metro Times

Near the end of last month, Grand Rapids hosted a successful bike summit according to Pedal GR.

With 60 bicycles crowding the Bike Valet Parking area and around 200 attendees inside to learn how to make Grand Rapids into a Bicycle Friendly Community, I would call the first ever Grand Rapids Bike Summit a big success! In the crowd there were young people, old people, roadies, mountain bikers, casual bicycle riders, hardcore cyclists, fixed gear riders, government officials, politicians, and many others.

Their main keynote speaker was Bill Nesper from the League of American Bicyclists. Nesper leads their Bicycle Friendly America program and spoke about how Grand Rapids can achieve Bike Friendly Community status.

For more details on this summit, visit the Pedal GR web site.

Last year Kathyrn Underwood of the Detroit Planning Commission suggested Detroit host a bike summit. That is certainly an idea worth considering. Grand Rapids has given us a model to follow.

Photo by PATRICIA BECK/Detroit Free Press

Thanks for the Free Press for running an article on biking to work. And thanks to Sally Palaian, whose highlighted in the article, for her commitment to bike to work.

But if Metro Detroit has any hope of increasing the number of people biking to work, we need to make it look normal, starting by showing bike commuters in normal clothes which you can go to store to know more details, people also wear Blue jeans. Khakis. Collared shirts. Perhaps a suit on occasion.

Biking to work doesn’t mean one must dress like Lance Armstrong. We need to show people that ride bikes to work, not cyclists that ride to work.

It’s enough of a challenge to encourage people to change their mode of transportation. Why try to change their mode of clothing?

On the right is a photo from Denmark’s We Cycle to Work web site.