October Hours

We are shrinking our hours a bit come October. Beginning Monday, September 29, we will close Mondays and Tuesdays. Our hours will be Wednesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thanks for keeping us busy this summer!

Tour de Troit Packet Pick-up

We're the site of pre-day packet pick-up for the Tour. Deets here: www.tour-de-troit.org/packet-pick-up. If you need to rent a bike or a helmet for the Tour, please arrange for pick-up on Friday. The rates are $35 and $5, respectively.

Things that make us happy

1 - Beautiful autumn weather - best cycling of the year! 2 - The fact that construction has begun on the expansion of Tricentennial State Park -- next year we will be next-door to actual wetlands. Amazing.

3 - 3 days and counting to the Tour de Troit -- see you there!

We're number 3!

We're pleased as punch to have come in Third Place in the ClickOnDetroit 4 The Best contest. Thanks to all who voted for us!

Non-Motorized Plan + Tour de Troit Reminder + Stickers! + Farewell to Night Rides

Some good news for Biking in the D! The Detroit Non-Motorized Transportation Plan was supported by the City Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee on Monday, and will likely go in front of the entire body next week. Read m-bike's comprehensive take here.

Saturday is the last day to pre-register for the Tour de Troit and receive a tee-shirt. The ride is set for September 20, so what are you waiting for? Just do it here.

And in news that is slightly less serious, we finally have shop stickers. Come by and grab one for your bike, helmet, even -gasp- your automobile. They are pretty sweet (Thanks, h_illa!)!

Sadly, we're going to call it quits on our Wednesday night rides for the year. We're pretty wrapped up with Tour de Troit and our Neighborhood Tours, so that is our excuse. Thanks to everyone that's ridden with us, we've had a blast and we'll be ready for next year!

Non-Bike Related: Rodriguez Tix Available @ the Wheelhouse

If you haven't heard the amazing story of Rodriguez yet, listen up. The Detroit musician disappeared after a critically-acclaimed 1969 release -- in fact, many thought him deceased. For decades, his music found new audiences around the world, like in S. Africa, Australia and New Zealand... Flash forward to 2008: Not only is he not dead, he's been living in the Cass Corridor working construction! He's been found, rediscovered, whatever you want to call it -- he's already toured overseas and now his record is being re-released. His Detroit re-debut is Saturday, September 20 @ The Park Bar. Only 200 tix are being sold, and we have about 20 of them at $17 bucks a pop -- first come-first serve.

Listen to an NPR interview with Rodriguez here. Seriously, this show is going to be amazing, and a great night out after the Tour de Troit!

Thanks, Supergay! + City Council Hearing

Our charming, articulate, well-dressed friend Supergay Detroit has put together a slate (how '08 of him!) for the annual Metro Times Best of Detroit contest. And (swoon) Wheelhouse made it not once, but twice! What lucky girls are we! And, by the way, we support the whole darn slate. It's comprised of some of the best indie stores and services Detroit has to offer. So vote often, vote Supergay! On Monday, the Detroit City Council's Public Health and Safety Committee will be discussing the Detroit Non-Motorized Transportation Master Plan. This plan has never been brought before City Council for their approval -- a necessary step before groups like MDOT will recognize and help implement the plan.

When: Monday, September 8th at 11:15 AM

Where: City Council, 13th floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Jefferson at Woodward

This plan takes inventory of the many cycling destinations across Detroit, including parks, schools, cultural centers, recreational centers, etc. It looks at how to best connect them with a network of on- and off-road bike facilities — trails, bike lanes and shared signed routes. The plan calls for nearly 400 miles of bikes lanes across the City of Detroit that could be implemented during normal road maintenance by simply re-striping existing roads. The authors of the plan, Giffels-Webster will be there to give a presentation on it. The city's Traffic Engineering Division, the city department that is ultimately responsible for implementing this plan, will be at the meeting as well. Public comment from cyclists, walkers, and other residents are needed to voice their support for this plan!

If you want to be certain the meeting is still on as scheduled, call the Office of the City Clerk at 313-224-3266.

Thanks to Todd Scott of the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance for keeping us informed about important stuff like this.

Eastern Market Tour + Wednesday Night Ride News

This Saturday is our Eastern Market tour. We'll take off from the Wheelhouse at 10 a.m., ride up to the market and then lock up for a guided walking tour to be given by Randall Fogelman of the Eastern Market Corp. Randall will speak about history as well as his organization's master plan for the market and the surrounding neighborhood.

After the tour, we'll stop for lunch at Butcher's Inn! Lunch and a non-alcoholic beverage are included in the price.

After we eat, we'll ride through Lafayette Park and be back to the Wheelhouse by 1 p.m. Cost: $30, including lunch; $40 including lunch and a rental bike.

Reserve a spot on the tour here.

Psst. This Wednesday's ride is going to be a little different than usual. We'll be leaving here around 10 p.m. for a race -- that's all the details we can give for now. Come ready for an adventure, that's all we can say.

We'll miss you, Colin

The Wheelhouse lost a friend last week in Colin Hubbell. He helped us get started and we will miss his warmth, humor, support and strength.

Read more about Colin and how he inspired our logo here.

Our heart goes out to his wonderful family.

Metro Beach Ride

Our buddy Al Fields came up with a great plan: Let's get a group together and ride to Metro Beach! So we're doing it! Details:

Sunday, September 7, 2008 @ 9 a.m.

What a great scene, cyclists lining Jefferson from Wheelhouse to Metro! Join us for a 25 mile ride to Metro Beach. Have a friend meet you there if you want to stay longer and get a ride back. Our SAG Wagon can transport your beach attire. A $15 Fee helps cover the refreshments and lunch! Sign up at Wheelhouse Detroit or email info@wheelhousedetroit.com.

Trip Itinerary 8:30 Meet & coffee, snacks 9:00 "Click on" 10:00 Arrive @ Metro 11:00 Swim, Tour Beach, relax 12:00 Lunch 1:00 "Click on" 2:00 Return to Wheelhouse

Arrival times are estimates. This is a “Same Road, Same Rules, Same Rights” Ride. Everyone must have a helmet and follow all traffic and cycling rules. Jefferson is a busy street and two-abreast is the maximum. Ride Aware and come prepared!