Celebrate Cinco de Mayo on May 7^th, with a bike ride and enjoy Mexicantown’s cultural character with exploration of a festival at Clark Park this Saturday morning

Detroit Bikes! Wants you to get geared up for our rescheduled second ride of the season, Saturday May 7, 2005 @ 10:00 am.  We would love to see you and your bike at the Millennium Bell in the eastside of Grand Circus Park near the cross streets of Madison, Adams, and Witherell one block south of the Comerica Park Box office.  Some landmarks to greet you at the meeting place will be the Old Madison Theatre, the Detroit Athletic Club, and the David Broderick Tower.

Detroit Bikes! a Detroit Synergy Project, aims to promote cycling in the

City of Detroit through various activities that display the awareness of

Cycling as a great means of recreation and transportation.  The purpose of our rides is to define rides, destinations, and routes that Detroiters would love to use within their city.

We are currently working with city officials to identify these routes and brand them with signage and potentially bike lanes in the near future.  On the Second and Fourth Saturday of each month, we will be looking to ride different routes that display the uniqueness of the city, along with identifying potential bike friendly businesses, and meeting great people that want to share in our goal of bike-friendly Detroit.

These rides are designed for mainly for the casual rider, but realizing the different skill level of each rider we have begun to plan shorter and longer routes that hit many of the places we would love to showcase within the city of Detroit.

This Saturday’s ride will begin at grand circus park and head through the downtown district and loop through southwest Detroit.  We will pass through Corktown, Mexicantown, and the West Riverfront, with the option of a longer route offering Historic Fort Wayne.  Unique buildings along the route include Old Tigers Stadium, the Michigan Central Depot, the International rail tunnel, Clark Park, the Ambassador Bridge, and St. Anne’s Church along with several other unique buildings and districts.  There will be an hour break reserved for lunch or exploration so if you love Mexican food, want to be apart of a Mexicantown Festival celebrating Cinco de Mayo or maybe you just would like to have a picnic in the park near any of these attractions, then please pack up something small to enjoy or your money/credit card…remember you have to bike around a picnic and a lock if you plan to do so.

If you did not make our first ride along the near-east riverfront, Belle

Isle and Eastern Market or were bummed out about the late April snowstorm that crippled our last ride, then here is your chance to realize how easy it is to get around Downtown with some of your close biking friends as company. 

However, should it rain during the scheduled time of the ride, 10:00 am -1:45 pm, then we will not ride and reschedule for a later date.

***Detroit Bikes! Is a grassroots advocacy group aimed at promoting cycling within the city, specifically the “motor city.”  Being a grass-roots collective, some of our events, such as Saturday’s informal tour of Detroit, are “participate at your own risk.”  This means that Detroit Bikes, Detroit Synergy and any other group/individuals associated with today’s event are not liable for personal injury and/or damages that occur during, before, or after today’s event.  Please understand that today’s event is no different legally that you making the conscious decision to cycle any other day, with the potential of meeting new friends interested in joining you for enjoyment in the city.  By signing below, you yourself agree to adhere to all conditional traffic laws, proper public conduct and state that you will provide proper safety gear for yourself, including a safety helmet, protecting yourself from injury and the doctor’s office.   Likewise, Stolen or damaged goods are not the responsibility of Detroit Bikes and its affiliates rather the owner’s concern and loss.  While we deeply desire another great outing, we caution fellow bikers to recognize these concerns and address them with their own understanding of the individual responsibility to abide by the importance of physical health, safety, and welfare of person and property.***

If there are any questions concerning or comments this Saturday’s ride

through southwest Detroit or Detroit Bikes!, please contact our event

planners, Francis detourdetroit@ameritech.net , Dave <davidn@theraegroup.com>, Jason of Backyard Bikes, <freeganbikepunk@yahoo.com> or the Detroit Bikes! Event cordatinator Alex <detroit_geared@hotmail.com>

Spread the word, and hope to see you at the bell

Alexander Froehlich