It’s more fun than it looks!

Karen & Kelli are big about talking the FUN aspect of cycling. It’s not all about calories and cadence, spandex and Slipstream. Biking is good for you and for the environment but, as far as we are concerned, it’s a really good time.

We are lucky enough to have a wonderful attorney, Steve Roach, who is with Miller Canfield and is also the Region 1 Rep for the League of Michigan Bicyclists. He is a great guy (with an exceedingly dry sense of humor and a penchant for spandex) who we love. He is a regular Grosse Pointe-to-Downtown bike commuter, and GrossePointeToday.com interviewed him and shot a video of him commuting.

Excerpt:

Motorists may pity the cyclists they pass, especially when it’s clear the folks on the bike are not on their way to pick up ice cream. Those who choose to commute by bicycle may strike drivers as masochists, weird fitness freaks or possibly suicidal.

It probably never occurs to the people behind the wheel that the people straddling the wheels are having a good time.

A really good time: “If you get any sort of aerobic exercise, you get enough endorphins you get like a buzz,” said Steven Roach, two-wheeled commuter.

Check out the full story here and, in the accompanying video, watch him talk about his helmet and components before getting down to the good stuff: riding!

Women’s Night at the Hub 8/11/09

The first Women’s Night at the Hub is set for August 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. It’s a bike repair workshop for women and trans only.

The Hub is at 3611 Cass, just north of MLK.

3 Chances to Ride on August 1

It is obviously in our own self-interest to remind you that this Saturday, August 1, is our Henry Ford Birthday Tour led by Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance’s Todd Scott. (BTW, his blog M-Bike is really, truly a must-read.) It’s going to be really interesting and informative, for sure.

But there are two other cycling happenings on the same day we’d like to share with you as well.

In the AM, it’s the City to City Kick-Off Ride! Join Kevin and Emily as they head off to Chicago, raising money for Cystic Fibrosis. Join them at Campus Martius and ride them out of town!

From Chicago, Emily will head to Denver. Read this:

Rocking cystic fibrosis so hard that CF will one day stand for “Cure Found” is Emily Schaller’s mission in life. In September, 2009, Emily will take her mission on the road. Heading west from Detroit, Emily will ride her bike on a month-long Emily to Ellen for Cystic Fibrosis campaign with the hopes of ending up on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Ellen DeGeneres is Emily’s hero and being on The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been her dream for years. “Her show is the perfect vehicle to deliver my story,” says Emily, founder of the Rock CF Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to finding a cure for CF. “I want to educate as many people as I can about cystic fibrosis and emphasize how the never ending fight of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has made it possible for me to live my life to the fullest.”

Emily will ride her bike 1,400 miles from Detroit, MI to Denver, CO. The first 300 miles from Detroit to Chicago will be part of her Rock CF Foundation’s City to City Ride with six other riders. From Chicago, she will head west to Denver. Because Emily and her CF doctor decided that riding through the desert is not a great idea, her modes of transportation from Denver to Burbank, California will be adventuresome. A canoe trip down the Colorado river? A donkey ride through the Grand Canyon? A moped along Route 66?

Swallowing forty pills a day, taking breathing treatments and undergoing chest physical therapy are all part of her daily routine. And because her body can’t absorb nutrients normally, she expects her daily intake of 3,000 calories to almost double on the ride. Exercise has improved Emily’s lung function and has allowed her to complete two half marathons in one year. Riding across the country, she hopes to shine a light on what the future holds for the cure of cystic fibrosis.

Emily, you rock!

Read more about City to City and register for the send-off ride here.

Then, in the afternoon, you can hit up The Hub’s Safe Streets Youth Ride Fundraiser. It’s a 2:30 p.m. start time, and you’ll be riding with graduates of The Hub’s Earn-A-Bike program. The ride ends at the U-M Detroit Center for refreshments and snacks. Register online at http://safestreetsyouthride.eventbrite.com/.

We Like Bike!

42 Below Vodka is sponsoring the 42Ride, in which — you guessed it — 42 cyclists are riding across the country from NYC to LA. The 21 riders that are taking a northern route were in Detroit last night, and we met up with them at their visit to CityFest. What a great group of people. Alex almost took off with them, we’re pretty sure.

We were particularly excited to meet Jacquie Phelan, three-time NORBA champ, member of both the US Bicycling AND Mountain Bike Hall of Fames and founder of WOMBATS (Women’s Mountain Bike and Tea Society), a group that works to increase the number of women in the sport of mountain biking. Us being a female-owned shop and she being an outspoken advocate for women in the sport of cycling, well, we hit it off. Hopefully we’ll be seeing her back in Detroit soon!

Read more about Jacquie at her blog.

Safe riding to all the 42Riders! We hope you enjoyed your stay in the D!

Everything is better by bike…especially good food

One of our (awesome) customers, Ashley, works for a new service called Hotspokes! They deliver food for the Cass Cafe and the Bucharest Grill Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Call Bucharest at 313-965-3111 (Is everyone in Detroit addicted to their schwarma or what?) and Cass at 313-831-1400 (lentil-walnut burgers, mmm) and ask for bike delivery!

She said yes!

A couple that rented our tandem a couple of weeks ago returned very, very happy. He proposed to her on the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle and she said yes! Here’s a pic of the bride-to-be moments after her acceptance.

Congrats, Tom & Susan!

Colin Hubbell Memorial Bike Ride

Register at Active.com. Sign up today!

Ride of Silence Recap

It was a wonderful Ride of Silence last night from Belle Isle to Downtown and back. About 225 cyclists turned out to celebrate cycling, draw attention to “Sharing the Road” and honor cyclists that have been injured or killed by motorists when cycling.

Many thanks to event chair Steve Roach of the League of Michigan Bicyclists and to Macomb Cycle & Fitness for the post-ride bar-b-que.

Hamtown Bike Challenge

Next Sunday, May 24, all the cool kids will be at the Hamtramck Bike Challenge. Meet at Atlas Bar at 10 a.m. — and prepare to cover every single block of Hamtramck’s streets by bike!

The Atlas Bar is at 2363 Yemans — corner of Yemans and Brombeck.

Tour de Cure Fundraiser 05/09/09

This Saturday at the Park Bar (2040 Park Ave.) riders from the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure cycling event are hosting “RIDE it, PARK it, ROCK it”, a fundraiser to benefit the ADA.

Meet at the bar at 1 p.m. and then head out for a casual 8-10 mile bike ride around downtown Detroit starting at 1:30 p.m.  Discounted bike rentals are available through Wheelhouse Detroit.  The ride is being lead by Todd Scott of the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance and will highlight various trails and green spaces in the city.  Following the ride will be drinks at the bar.  The Park Bar is donating a portion of their proceeds back to the ADA.  There is a $10 donation per rider and each rider will receive one ticket for a post-ride drawing.  There are  several cool items to give away!  Additional tickets for the giveaway can also be purchased at the bar.  For more information please contact Anika Halladay at ahalladay@diabetes.org or 248-433-3830, ext. 6694.

Mark your calendars for the 2009 Tour de Cure on Sunday, June 14, 2009, at beautiful Island Lake Recreation Area in Brighton. REGISTER ONLINE NOW at www.diabetes.org/tour.