Survey says

The Villages CDC landed a grant for greenways and bike lane planning and design. The area being studied is bounded by the Dequindre Cut, Detroit River, Mack and Alter.

There's a survey online to determine usage and needs. If you are interested in better cycling and walking accommodations in this area -- and who wouldn't be? -- fill it in at Survey Monkey.

Detroit Bikes Pedal Cruise

Our friends at Detroit Bikes are leading their annual Pedal Cruise this Saturday, August 21. The ride starts right here at Rivard Plaza and will head up to 8 Mile and back. It's like the Dream Cruise. But for bikes. There will be refreshment stops at Kim’s Produce and Cornerstone Bistro. It will be a relaxed pace suitable for all. Helmets are required. Bring money for refreshments.  The ride is free.

It starts at 9 a.m. and ends about 1 p.m.

Whassup at the Wheelhouse

First off, there is major major construction right in front of the shop. It is making it more difficult to get to us. Here are some tips:

• Pedestrians and cyclists will continue to be able to reach us from the west via the RiverWalk and from the east via the Dequindre Cut and Milliken State Park. We are accessed quite easily from anywhere Downtown by hopping on the People Mover and walking here from the Ren Cen stop.
• Drivers have a few options. You can park  in the Beaubien Place parking garage that is located on Beaubien at Atwater, just east of the Ren Cen. It's a quick 3-block walk along the Riverfront or Atwater to get here and it is open 24 hours. Other options include GM surface lots (weekdays only) or metered parking on Woodbridge, two blocks north of us. Meters are not checked on weekends.

We have openings on one tour this Saturday, Midtown & Woodbridge at 10 a.m. It includes a stop at 71 E. Garfield, a super-green residential rehab, the N. Cass Community Garden, Bureau of Urban Living & City Bird (2 super-cool indie boutiques) and the Woodbridge Pub! It's already two-thirds full, so reserve a spot today if you are interested at www.wheelhousedetroit.com/tours -- where you can also read full descriptions of all of our tours!

Good news! The Detroit Institute of Arts/Detroit Film Theatre has implemented free valet parking for bicycles on Fridays.  The bike racks, with a museum staffer present, are located in front of the courtyard on John R.

Don't forget, this Saturday is the memorial ride for Woody Miller. Meet at the Belle Isle Beach for a 9:30 a.m. ride.

This week at the Wheelhouse

We finally got a new shipment of water bottles in. They are super cute and, even better, they are made of BPA-free plastic made from recycled content AND they are made in the USA. One'll run you just $3.49. We have 3 great tours this week (of course we are biased): On Saturday 7/31, Cycling History at 10 a.m. and Discover Detroit Dining at 1 p.m. and on Sunday, 8/1, Ford History at 2 p.m. Find out more at www.wheelhousedetroit.com/tours.

In other news, just about every Wheelhouser is playing in the COPA this Saturday. It's been super fun adding soccer into our summer mix. Find out more at www.detroitcityfutbol.com.

Had a nice chat with Adonia from LA. She is a grad student at UC Irvine studying cycling infrastructure in four different cities across the country. Check out her blog, which talks about riding in Detroit, at urbanadonia.blogspot.com.

The memorial service for Woody Miller has been set for August 14 at 9:30. We'll meet at the Belle Isle beach for a lap with his friends and family. More info at the event's FB page.

Randomness

We have been bad about blogging. Here are a few tidbits for now.

• Detroit is a lesser place for having lost Woody Miller, cyclist, arts advocate, all-around great guy. Services for Woody were held out of state, but there will be a memorial in Detroit. We will post info about that when we receive it. Our thoughts are with his family.

• A couple of people on our tours turned around and blogged about it. (Thanks!) If you were ever curious about them, perhaps this will give you an idea.

This past weekend Jenni, Mallory and I took a 3 hour bike tour of Southwest Detroit through the Wheelhouse Detroit.  It was a Groupon we purchased a couple months ago.  It was really interesting to ride bikes through the city with the marketing director for Southwest Detroit.  She knew about the history, the culture and of course, all the authentic restaurants to eat at.

We rode by Grand Central Station [sic], which serves as the gateway between Corktown and Mexicantown; Motz’s for Sliders and through Historic Fort Wayne.

Read the entire post at marialaitan.com.

Next up, we had a few Grand Rapidites ride on our Urban Agriculture tour.

Nicknamed "The Motor City", Detroit isn't typically regarded as a hotspot for bikers.  But during an urban agriculture bike tour with Wheelhouse Detroit yesterday, we learned that things aren't always what they seem.  Also known as a shrinking city, we all know that Detroit has been struggling to deal with a large exodus- around 30% of Detroit homes are now vacant.  Some pretty interesting things have resulted from the vacancy though- abandoned homes are being used as centers for local artists, empty lots are being cultivated by neighborhoods to create a new food system "from farm to fork", and quieter streets are great for an emerging year-round bike scene.  A two hour bike tour with Wheelhouse was the perfect way to experience all of this and we wanted to share it with you.

Turns out this blogger is behind Teamwork Bags, a line we are looking at carrying in the shop. Thanks for the pics and love! Read through the whole post here.

• Speaking of tours, we have 3 this weekend: Gallery Scene Friday at 5:30 with stops at MOCAD, Detroit Artists Market and Ellen Kayrod Gallery. If you are a fan of Wheelhouse Detroit Bike Shop on Facebook, this tour will run you just $10! Call 313-656-2453 to reserve at this special price. Saturday morning, we head out to Del Ray -- there are only 3 spots left on this one -- and Sunday afternoon, Historic Churches, which is sold out. Check out our full schedule at www.wheelhousedetroit.com/tours.

Atwater Construction Update

From the DEGC: In order to complete the underground utility connections for the new water main and storm piping systems presently installed in Atwater, our Project Team will need to close the intersection of Atwater and Rivard on July 26 and reopen on Aug 6. The underground work in the intersection is substantial and due to safety reasons no traffic will be allowed to come into the intersection or use the temporary road access to the Rivard Parking.

We have encountered a number of challenges with the existing underground conditions, if work does not take place on July 26 as planned, we will commence on Aug 2 thru Aug 13 (plan B). We are and will continue to work diligently. We are apologize for the inconvenience this will cause our neighbors but the work is necessary to upgrade and improve the City of Detroit's utilities in the right of way and thus provide better services to property owners and businesses in the area.

We are planning a mid-September paving and reopening of Atwater.

Weekend o' Tours

We have 3 great tours this weekend and a bunch the week after. The deets: We kick off Saturday at 10 a.m. with our Architecture Tour, a perennial sell-out. It's led by architect Brian Hurttienne and it is truly a fascinating look at Greater Downtown's built environment. Sites include Elmwood Cemetery, Lafayette Park, Brush Park, Wayne State University and the Medical Center.

Later that same day is Southwest Detroit at 2 p.m., which includes a ride down W. Vernor and through Woodmere Cemetery, a stop at Fort Wayne and a food break at legendary Motz! If you haven't had one of their sliders, you haven't lived.

Sunday is Public Art at 2 p.m. This one includes a stop at Heidelberg Project, the College for Creative Studies, Grand Circus Park and Hart Plaza.

Then, Tuesday, July 13 at 5:30 is our Family Tour! This one is all about meeting Detroit families. It's just $15 per adult and free for the kiddies! We'll throw in a Vitamin Water and a pack of healthy Randy's Granola to each rider for a little break!

Sign up today at www.wheelhousedetroit.com/tours.

Holiday Hours & Tour

For the Independence Day holiday, we will observe the following hours:

• Sunday, July 4, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Monday, July 5, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 6, CLOSED

We are running our Arsenal of Democracy tour on Saturday, July 3 at 10 a.m. We will be stopping by several plants, including Ford Highland Park Assembly, Packard and GM Poletown, as well as sites in New Center and Downtown to learn about how Detroit's manufacturing capacity contributed to the country's war efforts during World War II. Register at www.wheelhousedetroit.com/tours.

How to (legally) install a bike rack

Since we talked about bike rack design last month, we've gotten lots of questions about bike rack installation. So here is a handy-dandy guide to petitioning the city for the legal installation of one on a sidewalk outside your business. Copy the letter below and and fill it in with your info.

June 26, 2010

Detroit City Council c/o City Clerk Coleman A. Young Municipal Center Room 200 Detroit, MI 48226

RE:   Petition for Right of Way Encroachment Approval to Establish / Install an Outdoor Patio / Bike Rack / Bench / Etc. along the Sidewalk on the east side of Woodward, between Temple and Charlotte submitted by Wheelhouse Detroit, LLC.

Dear Honorable City Council Members:

Wheelhouse Detroit is a bicycle shop offering new bike sales, retail, service, bicycle rentals and tours. It opened in 2008, and is the only full-service new bike shop in Greater Downtown Detroit. Wheelhouse currently operates from March through November in a small space located on the Detroit Riverwalk at Rivard Plaza.

This letter from Wheelhouse Detroit requests a petition number to grant approval for a right of way encroachment to install a bike rack along the sidewalk along the east side of Woodward Avenue, between Temple and Charlotte.

Attached you will find the specification cut sheet for the bike rack to be installed as well as a measured drawing indicating the as built location of the bike rack.  As the petitioner, Wheelhouse Detroit understands if the right of way encroachment is approved, Wheelhouse Detroit must enter into a maintenance agreement with the City of Detroit to accept liability for the encroachment and ensure the proper maintenance of the rack.

Please feel free to contact me at 313.656.2453 should you require any additional information in order to proceed.  Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Sincerely, Wheelhouse Detroit

Attachments: The cut sheet isn't necessary, but a site plan is -- you'll just need a measured drawing that shows the building, where the fence for the patio or the bike rack will be installed, where the right of way is (sidewalk, street, property line). For this, it doesn't need to be to scale, but it should indicate the measurements. Maybe throw in some photos of the site.

You submit the package to the City Clerk and in about 2 to 3 weeks you'll get a petition number and someone from the City will contact you, more than likely the Survey Bureau from the Department of Public Works. They will assist you in processing your request, but they need a petition number to start.

Again, feel free to contact us at info@wheelhousedetroit.com for advice or assistance. We love seeing bike racks sprouting up around town, especially when they are done well!

Allied Media Conference & US Social Forum discounts

Wheelhouse welcomes all AMC and USSF attendees to Detroit! We hope you get out on a bike while you're here, even if it's just for a couple of hours. We are extending a special discount:

$10 2 hours $18 1/2 day $25 full day $40 2 days $50 3 days $75 full week

Our long-term rentals include a lock and helmet. We are open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.