  Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 493 Registered: 06-2005 |
Put some air in your Schwinn and hop on that bad boy. It's time to ride in Detroit! Beat the Train ride Very early Saturday morning www.beatthetrainindetroit.com Wolverine Belle Isle Ride Date: Saturday April 19th 2008 Time: 830am from Beverly school 915am from royal oak library Distance: 55 miles from Beverly school, around 50 or so from royal oak Pace: 16-20mph Annual Hodaddy's Downtown Ho'Down Hump Saturday morning More info Detroit Synergy Rivefront Bike Tour (rescheduled) When: April 19th, 2008, depart 10:00 am Sharp (sign-in 10 minutes ahead) Where: East Grand Circus Park at the Millennium Bell (across from Comerica Park). For a map of the location, please see this weblink: Duration: Approximately 11 leisurely miles, over 3 hours, at beginners level cycle speeds Helmet Required Detroit Synergy Sunday Earth Day Bike Ride When: April 20th, 11:45AM approx. (arrive early, tour will leave by noon). Rain Date: TBD Where: St. Suzanne's/Our Lady Gate of Heaven Catholic Church - 9357 Westwood, Detroit, MI 48228. Duration: Approximately 14 leisurely miles over 2.5 hours. Parking: Parking lots located behind St. Suzanne's/Our Lady Gate of Heaven Catholic Church. Helmet Required Alley Cat Sunday at 4pm at Hart Plaza More info (Message edited by fishtoes2000 on April 18, 2008) | ||
Bigcab Member Username: Bigcab Post Number: 27 Registered: 08-2006 |
Rode w/ Detroit Synergy last weekend. Nice group and ended up at Vivios for some nice Spicy Ceasers. Thank You Alex & Tom & Kim. My favorite stop was the automatic bathroom near the belle isle bridge. Its self cleaning with some nice ambient music to boot. Great Ride. | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 95 Registered: 12-2007 |
Thanks Fish, I didn't know about several of those. See you Saturday morning. By the way, there is a segment on cycling on Detroit Today this morning, no the air as I type. | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 494 Registered: 06-2005 |
The Alley Cat and Hub is getting airtime on the WDET right now... (Message edited by fishtoes2000 on April 18, 2008) | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 495 Registered: 06-2005 |
Post overlap! Congrats to Ron and Jack for spreading the cycling gospel today. | ||
Ro_resident Member Username: Ro_resident Post Number: 310 Registered: 11-2003 |
Beat the Train will be doing their Fort Wayne at 6 am, then will meet up with the HoDaddy ride in progress. Hey, sometimes these things get coordinated. | ||
Tonyt Member Username: Tonyt Post Number: 18 Registered: 02-2008 |
Sign in for the next alley cat race starts at 3:30. Be there on time!! This race is going to be run by us, the Unreal Detroit Bike Crew with some help from Alley Cat Detroit. It is an Alley Cat race, but not an "official" alley cat detroit race. An "official" alley cat is kind of an oxy moron. It's an unsanctioned, fun, race where you need knowledge of the city, a sense of adventure, and a bike to have fun. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 2043 Registered: 05-2005 |
i want to do the alley cat, but kinda have an issue with something called the "drug wars race" and being held on "4:20"....but not in a i'm a complete square and drugs are bad kinda way, i know its not to be taken to heart, but i just think its pretty lame, i haven't been a freshman in college for 15 years now, maybe that's why... anyways, enough being negative about an otherwise positive event, i might do the mmba ride too, we'll see, i might do a lot of things this weekend  (Message edited by gravitymachine on April 18, 2008) | ||
Tonyt Member Username: Tonyt Post Number: 19 Registered: 02-2008 |
It's not meant to be a kitchy stoner thing. It's based off of an alley cat they do in NYC, and also based off of a calculator game from the days of high school and college. There are no drugs involved. It's going to be pure scavenger hunt style race. I know the pot culture is really stupid at times, but it's a fun idea to get people out on a sunny Sunday afternoon. | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 97 Registered: 12-2007 |
Tonyt, Will this be the first race ever that actually begins on time? Gravity, I haven't been a freshman for 15 years either, and I've never even smoked a cig (ick!), but it's still a cute theme. Better a drug war race than race war drugs! | ||
Tonyt Member Username: Tonyt Post Number: 20 Registered: 02-2008 |
Well that depends on the folks showing up. Considering the organizers, my roommate and I, and as we have raced in other alleycats (and won) and have seen some of the blatant shortcomings, we're going to try our hardest to not replicate them. It is annoying to wait there up to 45 minutes because you go there on time and then wait at the end for the results as they are usually tabulated in ways that pick favorites and not the scores and such. We have excel spreadsheets and formulas so the results should be tabulated within 2-5 minutes of the last team to get there (or the cut-off time). There was some confusion about the start time, so I think there will be some people getting there at 4:20 and some getting there at 3:30 for registration. Late comers are going to have to figure it out for themselves. Hope to see you there, message me if you want more details! | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1851 Registered: 08-2006 |
That Detroit Synergy ride was perfect! Great family activity, I took my brat and she did not have much problem keeping up. Many Thanks to the other rider who had the correct Allen wrench to raise her seat to it's correct height. | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 496 Registered: 06-2005 |
Yes, the Synergy ride was great. The weather cooperated perfectly. [Cambrian: I was the guy in the blue IMBA bike jersey.] While stopping for a post ride refreshment at the Urban Bean Company, another group bike ride showed up. It was a Back Alley Bikes/Trips for Kids Detroit ride that started at Cass Park. They had seen another group kids ride associated with the Greening of Detroit. | ||
Ro_resident Member Username: Ro_resident Post Number: 311 Registered: 11-2003 |
I did the last half of the Hodaddy ride. I met up with the group at Hart Plaza. There were roughly 60 people for the Riverwalk/Belle Isle/Heidelberg/Elmwood/CM portion of the ride. Special kudos go out to Alex and Mike. They rode out of Royal Oak at 5 am to make the BTT ride. Then they rode to Ferndale to make the 10 am start for the Hodaddy ride. On top of that, they were part of the select few to make the detour to see the Hamtramck Disneyland. I had a fun time. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 2044 Registered: 05-2005 |
i joined in with the mmba ride at rivard plazA for a bit, it was cool, but the pace was kinda slow and i apparently forgot my camelbak and full lycra outfit so i dropped off and went my own way. (Message edited by gravitymachine on April 20, 2008) | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 99 Registered: 12-2007 |
Cambrian, That was me. Glad I could help - it's what I was there for. Group rides seemed to be practically crashing into each other yesterday. There was a cluster of roadie types on Woodward that looked like a subgroup from the Wolverine Ride or something. Re: the kids' ride, I did wonder why The Hub was closed when I rode up later to see if I could tighten my bottom bracket (holy deferred maintenance, batman!) | ||
Tonyt Member Username: Tonyt Post Number: 21 Registered: 02-2008 |
Whew, we had 115+ people show up for the alley cat singing praises of the best alley cat ever, most fun, etc. Thanks to those who came out and too bad for those who were judgmental and missed out. Your loss. Not a single negative incident the whole race. A few curious police and good laughs. Great after-party at TV, good food, good drinks, good DJ's and MC's. A big thanks to any volunteers who might have been on this board. ~Unreal Detroit Crew~ | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 2045 Registered: 05-2005 |
quote: if this is a little dig at me for my previous comments, i suppose i deserve it. i did in fact miss out, but only because my mountain biking plans for earlier in the afternoon ran late where was the after party? oh, and when is the may alley cat? (Message edited by gravitymachine on April 21, 2008) | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 101 Registered: 12-2007 |
May 7th, 8ish PM. I think there's another one in late May, too. | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 497 Registered: 06-2005 |
Thanks, TonyT. The Alley Cat was a great time. We loved the after party location too. The Sunday Synergy ride was a lot of fun. It was a neat change of pace starting on the west side. The route was basically an out-and-back to the Ford Estate via Rouge Park, the Rouge Park Gateway, and Hines Drive. | ||
Tonyt Member Username: Tonyt Post Number: 22 Registered: 02-2008 |
It wasn't a "dig", per say. More of, there were plenty of people, old and young, who had no problem with the hilarity. For instance, there was a team consisting of our neighbors who are Campus Crusaders for Christ. Their team name was "Jesus is our drug". They found it totally unoffensive and quite fun. The after-party was at TV who opened up for us. There are apparently 7 more this summer put on by Ron. IMHO that's too many. I liked the once every month or so ones, not twice a month. I hope they're going to be original fun ideas. I'm a man of moderation but that's just me. | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 105 Registered: 12-2007 |
I thought the execution of the drug theme was very good. How many chances do you get to do safe drug deals? I didn't know Team Jesus were from CCC! For those who enjoyed the two DSG rides this weekend, our next one is the 5 de Mayo ride on Saturday, 5/2. It leaves from Clark Park. Last year there were about 50-something people who turned out. | ||
Tonyt Member Username: Tonyt Post Number: 23 Registered: 02-2008 |
Well there was a team I Love Jesus (friends of ours) who were third place. That was a sarcastic name by them. Yes, they're definitely not the CCC types. Yeah the security guards and police were kind of funny. No major incidents other than laughs or "you're really standing in Capital Park for this?" No worries if you missed it, we're going to try to do it again next year. | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 500 Registered: 06-2005 |
I have just posted a handful of photos from the alleycat posted on my blog -- nothing too exciting. There are also details for the next Detroit alleycat scheduled for May 7th at 8pm. http://www.allyeargear.com/200 8/detroit-alleycat/ | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1866 Registered: 08-2006 |
I just picked one of these up outta the trash near my daughter's future high school. All it needs is air in the tires, and some polish work to the chrome. The paint is perfect, 0 Scratches. It is completely US Made and it will be ideal for those low speed detroit bikes tours. It has a single gear on the front and rear sprockets. http://charleston.craigslist.o rg/bik/637227597.html | ||
Alley Member Username: Alley Post Number: 63 Registered: 02-2008 |
wow! good find | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1867 Registered: 08-2006 |
Yeah, I may see if I can get it up and running this weekend. Anything going on for Sunday ride wise? | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1874 Registered: 08-2006 |
I decided to let the Murray go, too small for me: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA PI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3500 54075794&ssPageName=STRK:MESE: IT&ih=022 I cleaned him up, waxed the paint with carnuba wax, polished all the chrome, lubed the chain and filled the tires. I brought it to Ferndale for the picture and was getting compliments on it. | ||
Bragaboutme Member Username: Bragaboutme Post Number: 207 Registered: 02-2008 |
Ok I know this may be off topic, but What happened to the alley bike shop off of cass is it still open or did they move? Everytime I go pass there it's closed. | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1875 Registered: 08-2006 |
They are now "The Hub". | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 503 Registered: 06-2005 |
There's more info and shop hours at http://backalleybikes.org/ | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1878 Registered: 08-2006 |
Does the hub have a good selection of vintage parts? I want to dress up my new bike, a Raleigh Sport. | ||
Bragaboutme Member Username: Bragaboutme Post Number: 208 Registered: 02-2008 |
Ok, thanks Fishtoes. | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 125 Registered: 12-2007 |
They have an eclectic assortment of parts lying around, but if you want something particularly nice on your bike you may have to help track it down. The other week J. was putting some pretty 70s-vintage Campy NR drivetrain on a nice old Italian frame, but no idea where the parts came from - your best bet would be to ask them about what you want. | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1879 Registered: 08-2006 |
Looking for period (60s and 70s) Bicycle Bling, bells, headlamps, speedos. This bike is pretty sweet, has the sturmey archer three speed. Isn't Alex doing a Cinco De Mayo tour this w/e? | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 506 Registered: 06-2005 |
Yes, the Detroit Synergy Cinco de Mayo ride is this Saturday, tres de Mayo. ----------------- Detroit Bikes! 2nd Annual Cinco de Mayo Mexicantown Bike Tour In its fourth season of cycling in the City of Detroit, Detroit Bikes! continues its much anticipated schedule of neighborhood tours by bike. Celebrate Mexico's victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862 in Southwest Detroit with our Cinco de Mayo Ride on May 3rd! The tour weaves past the neighborhoods and busy markets of Southwest Detroit, Holy Redeemer, Fort Wayne, Riverside Park and the Mexicantown shops on Bagley Street. As always, bike, bike helmet, and lights and/or reflectors required! Bike lock suggested! Date: Saturday, May 3rd Time: Ride leaves promptly at 10:00am (please sign-in 10 minutes ahead) Location: Meet at Clark Park, near the SW corner of Vernor & Scotten | Mexicantown Duration: Approximately 10.5 leisurely miles, over 3 hours, at beginner/moderate level cycle speeds Contact: Alex Froehlich detroitbikes@detroitsynergy.or g p.s. You can also meet at the Millineum Bell in Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit at 9:30 and ride to this start. | ||
Blondy Member Username: Blondy Post Number: 1215 Registered: 10-2003 |
Speaking of bikes - Opening this weekend...http://www.wheelhousedetroit.c om/ |
