4 Upcoming Rides

Wheelhouse is involved with four (4!) upcoming Detroit bike rides. Here are the deets! Ride of Silence - May 18, 7 p.m.

The Ride of Silence is an annual, slow-paced ride that takes place at hundreds of locations across the country -- and world. It is designed to memorialize cyclists that have been killed or injured while riding. It is a slow-paced, quiet 10-mile ride. It starts at 7 p.m. at Scott Foundation on Belle Isle. Please arrive a bit early to get situated and sign a waiver. The RoS is free and no pre-registration is necessary.

Bike the Bridge 2011 - June 12, 6 a.m.

Bike the Bridge is your only opportunity to ride across the Ambassador Bridge! The ride is set for June 12, but you must register by May 27! Head to Eventbrite to do so!

Colin Hubbell Detroit Bike Ride - June 18, 9:30 a.m.

Join us for the 3rd Annual Hubbell ride, which benefits the Colin Hubbell Fund. There are two options, an eight-miler and a 25-miler; both rides start and finish at Traffic Jam's parking lot on Canfield in Midtown.  Register at Eventbrite.

Compuware Corporation's Motor City Bike Ride - July 16, 8:30 a.m.

In its second year, this fun-filled, one-day ride raises funds for DKWIO to provide healthy programming for Michigan youth via Danialle Karmanos' Work it Out Foundation.

Riders start from Campus Martius Park, with a “Ride Rally” from 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. The team will then ride to Metro Beach, where lunch will be served between 11 a.m. and noon. After lunch, riders will return to Campus Martius Park for a celebration!

There are only spots for 150 riders, so don’t wait to register. Sign up Compuware Corporation's Motor City Bike Ride 2011.

Bikes for Sale - Updated!

We (finally) updated our Bikes for Sale page, located at http://wheelhousedetroit.wordpress.com/bikes-for-sale/. Check out what we have in stock but, remember, we can order any Kona, Sun, Surly, Salsa and Origin8 bike at any time if you can't find what you are looking for!

May E-Blast

Read all about Bikes for Sale, our May tours and our upcoming Tuesday night maintenance classes in our May E-Blast. If you like what you read, head to www.wheelhousedetroit.com to sign up! Hello there, Wheelhouse friend!

Despite the glacial pace with which spring has approached Detroit, we are now fully ensconced in our seven-day-a-week summer schedule. We are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The only day we will be closed this month is May 31, when we'll take a belated Memorial Day vacay. Otherwise, come by during our posted hours and we promise we will be here!

Retail+Service You've got to swing by and check out the new bikes we have in stock! From Kona, check out the Dew, a light yet sturdy hybrid that retails for $429; the 2010 Smoke, a workhorse built for city streets, priced at just $360; the finely engineered Bike, which sells for $479; the 2010 Jake, a cyclocross monster priced at $764; and the utterly hip Paddy Wagon which, at $629 for the 2010 model, is ready to roll away. We also carry some classically styled cruisers from Sun Bicycles that start at $330 and streamlined urban steeds from Or igin-8 from $299. Also, we have one royal blue Sun Kruizer that we are willing to part with for $275.

For such a little shop, we've got a big shop personality -- we like to think! -- in terms of carrying a good variety of accessories that can make your bike prettier, tougher, more useful...whatever you dream it to be! We carry pumps, lights, racks, baskets, saddles, pedals, fenders, bells and helmets...What are you looking for? 'Cuz if it's not here, we can special order it with a quickness!

Tune-ups are back to regular price: 50 bucks. We pride ourselves on quality service and a quick turn-around, so drop your bike off and, when your pick it up, we guaran-sheed you will be satisfied. If not? Well, we will do our best to rectify that situation. That's how we roll.

Tour the city with Wheelhouse! We blast into our peak tour season with our May roster, which includes Hamtramck, Public Art, Architecture, Brewery History, Urban Agriculture, Eastern Market, Belle Isle, Automotive Heritage, Del Ray and Civil War History tours. We'll cap off the month with two different Techno in the 313 tours in partnership with the always-a-blast Movement Weekend! Be sure to visit wheelhousedetroit.com/tours to read up on our complete roster of offerings and to make a reservation.

We also offer private group tours, which are great as a corporate team-building exercise, non-profit fund-raiser, conference activity or pre-wedding excursion. Group rentals are also available at a discounted rate with an advance reservation. Give us a call at 313-656-2453 and we'll set something up!

New for 2011: Maintenance Classes Hot off the presses is our new collaboration with Fender Bender! We're teaming up to offer two-hour maintenance workshops on Tuesdays this summer where you can learn how to change a flat, patch a tube, adjust your seat and handlebars as well as some trouble-shooting tips, Rules of the Road and commuting guidelines. Classes cost just $5 and include a patch kit! Dates are May 10 and 24; June 7 and 21; July 5 and 19; and August 2, 16 and 30. They start at 6 p.m. sharp and are first-come, first-serve!

See you -- and the sunshine -- soon at the Wheelhouse. Right?

Looking forward to a great summer, Your Friends at Wheelhouse Detroit

1340 E. Atwater Detroit, MI 48207 313-656-BIKE (2453) www.wheelhousedetroit.com wheelhousedetroit.wordpress.com Become a Facebook Fan of Wheelhouse Detroit Bike Shop!

CloudSpotting Detroit

One of the Kresge Art Fellows, Susan Goethal Campbell, has embarked on an amazing project that looks at clouds, both man-made and natural, that are a fascinating -- and often, beautiful -- aspect of Detroit's environment. It's a really cool blend of science, art and even bikes! From her ArtX page:

Her video installation, Detroit Weather: 365 days, is a project that documents one year of weather in the City of Detroit. . .The images were captured using a web cam placed on the 22nd floor of the Fisher Building, located in Detroit’s historic New Center. One image was archived each minute, 24 hours a day for an entire year. Running at 30 frames per second, the video shows three different views of the City: the South has views of downtown and Midtown; the Southwest shows views of industry, Zug Island and the Ford Rouge complex; and the East shows the Detroit incinerator and Lake St. Clair.

Cloudspotting Detroit is a guide that focuses on the unique atmosphere of Detroit. The accordion style brochure highlights intriguing man-made clouds as well as those that are occurring naturally. The guide includes a key to identify cloud types and a map showing a bike route to interesting cloud spots in the City.

Susan will participate in a public discussion on Saturday, April 9th, at the Detroit Science Center from 2 to 3 p.m. with meteorologist Dave Kook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Seasonal videotaped segments will be screened and copies of the Cloudspotting Detroit guide will be distributed.

Find out more at www.susangoethelcampbell.com and www.weather2250.com. We also have Cloudspotting brochures at the Wheelhouse, and are hoping to arrange a guided tour of her route later in the season!

Prepping for the 2011 Tour Season

It's almost here, April 9, our first tour of the year! We are busy scheduling tour stops and drafting routes and this Saturday, April 2, we will spend a few hours training several new tour guides! Most of our tours are up at www.wheelhousedetroit.com/tours, although we have a few more to post. You can also check out our Google calendar on the front page of our site, www.wheelhousedetroit.com, to take a look at the entire year.

We are bringing back all of our favorites, like Belle Isle, Eastern Market, Urban Agriculture and Architecture, and adding some new ones like Brewing History and a few longer tours for people interested in really riding.

We look forward to riding with you and sharing our love of Detroit!

Upcoming Bike Advocacy Events in Detroit

On March 23, Jim Sayers, the executive director of Adventure Cycling Association -- America's largest cycling membership organization -- will make a presentation on the joys of bicycle travel and cool projects happening at the national and state levels, including a new Underground Railroad alternate route through Michigan.

The event will run from 7 to 8:45 pm and will be held at the International Institute on E. Kirby.

Next up is a Complete Streets community education session on March 31 at the Gaelic League in Corktown. It runs from 6 to 8 p.m. and will be catered by Slows BBQ.

Richard Wooten from MSU-Extension will give an overview of Complete Streets, what they look like and how they benefit everyone.

It is hosted by the City of Detroit's Department of Health and Wellness, and you should RSVP by March 25 to Myra at tettehm@detroitmi.gov.

Find out more about Complete Streets in Detroit here.

We hope to see you at one or both of the events!

March E-Blast

The best, most time-effective way to keep up-to-date with Wheelhouse goings-on is by subscribing to our monthly E-Blast. We are vehemently anti-spam and like to keep things simple and short. After the jump, we've posted our most recent missive, which went out earlier today. If you are interested, head over to wheelhousedetroit.com and enter your email address at the bottom of the left-hand column. Thanks, and be seeing you soon!

Happy spring, dear Wheelhouser!

We are so glad that winter is winding down and thrilled to kick off our 2011 season this weekend! We officially open our doors at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 18. We'll be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. through April -- we go to a seven-day-a-week schedule beginning May 1. Roll on down and say hello!

Show your bike some love Whether your trusty cycle has spent the winter lonely and unused or it's been charging through slush and snow, it more than likely needs a tune-up! This weekend only, we are offering an extra-special deal in honor of the 2nd Annual Marche du Nain Rouge, which will take place Sunday, March 20 at 1 p.m. in the Cass Corridor. Drop your bike off and utter the magic phrase, "Get that Nain off my back!" and a full tune-up will run you just 35 bucks!

For the remainder of our spring season, a tune-up will cost $40 and in May, it jumps up to our regular price of $50.

A tune-up entails a complete inspection, adjustment and lubrication of your bicycle. We adjust gears and brakes, true wheels, adjust the headset and bottom bracket and check all nuts and bolts. We will also lube your bike as needed. We will perform all repairs necessary to put your bike into the best shape it can be for safe and reliable operation. If your bike needs any new parts, we will let you know, but parts and installation labor are not included in the initial fee. We recommend tune-ups once a year at a minimum for all bikes.

We also have a robust selection of tubes, lights, locks, helmets, tires and more so come by and shop local, shop Wheelhouse for those accessories your bike has its heart set on!

Tour the city with Wheelhouse! Thanks to Groupon and some great word-of-mouth, Wheelhouse tours are quite the hit! To keep up with increased demand, we are offering even more tours this year. We'll visit Southwest Detroit, Hamtramck, Eastern Market, Belle Isle, and many other neighborhoods and areas of the city. There are also many themed tours, including Urban Agriculture, Architecture, Automotive Heritage, Underground Railroad History, Public Art, Civil War History and many, many more. We have informative stops and expert guides lined up, so we encourage you to visit wheelhousedetroit.com/tours to check out the ones that are confirmed and keep coming back as we continue to add more!

We also want to make sure you know that we do private group tours, which are great as a corporate team-building exercise, non-profit fund-raiser, conference activity or pre-wedding excursion. Group rentals are also available at a discounted rate with an advance reservation. Give us a call at 313-656-2453 and we'll set something up!

Staff report Hey, hey, the gang's all here! Of course Karen and Kelli are back this year, and we're happy to note that our core team of Wheelhouse employees are all returning: Alex, Lisa, Ron and Rob. We're also expanding the ranks with some new faces that we'll be introducing to you in the coming months, so stay tuned!

Q: What else to look for in 2011? A: A lot of bike stuff! Mark your calendar for the Tenth Annual Tour de Troit, which is set for September 24. There's also Bike the Bridge on June 12, the Colin Hubbell Memorial Bike Ride on June 18, Criterium Detroit City on July 9 and Compuware's Motor City Bike Ride on July 17. We will be sure to let you know about registration opportunities for them all.

We are also sponsoring Bikes 'N' Movies night at the Boll Family YMCA on April 2 at 7 p.m. It's the first of a free monthly series, and "We Are Traffic" will screen, a film that chronicles the history and development of Critical Mass in the '90's.

Finally, we are excited to be partnering with Fender Bender to offer regular maintenance sessions and workshops. Our April E-Blast will have dates and details.

In closing, we can't thank you enough for your past support of Wheelhouse, and are really looking forward to another year exploring the Motor City on two wheels.

Sincerely, Your Friends at Wheelhouse Detroit

1340 E. Atwater Detroit, MI 48207 313-656-BIKE (2453) www.wheelhousedetroit.com wheelhousedetroit.wordpress.com Become a Facebook Fan of Wheelhouse Detroit Bike Shop!

Do you think Wheelhouse is a Bicycle Friendly Business?

Wheelhouse Detroit has an application pending with the good people at League of American Bicyclists to be recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Business. The review process includes a local survey that is open to customers, employees, etc. It is available online at http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e367rwaxgh55tu8f/start and should only take about five to 10 minutes. If you'd like, feel free to check out our application and the BFB scoring guidelines. You can download them as PDFs at the embedded links.

Please note: the deadline to participate is Feb. 11. We really appreciate your input and support!

Sale This Friday @ GifteD

We have two more Fridays to go at GifteD - A Holiday Boutique, located at 99 Monroe Street, between Farmer and Broadway, just east of the Compuware Building. To entice you to come visit, we are holding a crazy one-day sale this Friday, Dec. 17, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. What's so nuts about it? Well, all bikes are $100 off, all accessories are 25% off and gift certificates? Well, you pay us $40 and we will hand over one that is good for $50 worth of products, services, rentals or tours!

Bikes in stock include Kona Smoke (reg. $425 - $325 12/17 only); Kona Honky Tonk (61 cm - Reg. $899 - $799 12/17 only); Kona Humu (Reg. $425 - $325 12/17 only); Sun Drifter 7 (reg. $360 - $260 12/17 only); Sun Kruizer (reg. $330 - $230 12/17 only); and Origin8 Cutler 7 (reg. $300, $200 12/17 only). Photos and information on each of these bikes can be found at Bikes For Sale page.

Additionally, Wheelhouse's entire stock of accessories is marked down. That means helmets from Bell, Lazer and Protech; locks from Kryptonite and Master; saddlebags from Axiom and Jandd; auto racks from Saris; and lights from Knog and Planet Bike. There is also a selection of tubes, patch kits, bells, racks, baskets, gloves and more that is guaranteed to satisfy any cyclist. Find more details about our products at our Facebook Page, which includes photos and (pre-sale!) prices.

Stopping by means that you can also get great presents from the other GifteD retailers, including Bureau of Urban Living; Re:View Contemporary Gallery;City Bird; Rags; DSE @ Grand; Wound Menswear and Motor City Sewing; and Leopold's Books.

Keep up-to-date with the pop-up shop at the GifteD Facebook Page. Remaining hours of operation for GifteD are Friday, December 17, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday, December 24, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. So, yeah, we will be open for last-minute Christmas Eve shopping and...you know what, the sale prices will still apply then, too! It's total madness, we know.

Holiday shopping with the Wheelhouse

Looking for some sweet bike goodies for the holidays? Perhaps a new ride for yourself, a helmet for your BFF or a set of lights for your pop? Wheelhouse is happy that we will be able to accommodate you this year! We will be setting up shop at GifteD - A Holiday Boutique, which is running every Friday from Nov. 19 through Christmas Eve at 99 Monroe Street, between Farmer and Broadway - right down the block form Compuware. We will have bikes from Kona and Sun, locks, lights, panniers, messenger bags and more!

Other local retailers that will be there include:

• Bureau of Urban Living, a Midtown boutique that sells modern accessories for home and office;
• Re:View Gallery, also located in Midtown, with unique contemporary arts and goods;
• City Bird's well-curated handmade items;
• High-end urban wear from Rags;
• Stylish tees and hats from DSE @ Grand;
• Locally designed menswear from Wound; and
• Independent book purveyor Leopold's.

Services include dog training from Canine to Five and tailoring from Motor City Sewing.

GifteD kicks off on Friday, November 19 to coincide with the big tree lighting ceremony at Campus Martius.

Keep up-to-date on the pop-up shop and assorted happenings, specials and general fun at its Facebook Page. Hours of operation for GifteD are as follows:

• Friday, November 19, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Friday, November 26, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Friday, December 3, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Friday, December 10, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Friday, December 17, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Friday, December 24, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

And finally, here is a flier with more info.

See ya Downtown!