AllYearGear.com

Month: October 2008

  • Dusty, Perspiring, and Disheveled Women

    I came across an old New York Times article from 1898.  It included a debate over whether women should be allowed to join men on 100-mile bicycle rides with the Century Wheelmen of New York.

    The Wheelmen decided to ban women and children.

    The justifications were flimsy at best, but this snippet on the right is simply unbelievable.  They claim men wouldn’t “respect the dusty, perspiring, and disheveled women seen at the finish of the 100 miles of continuous exertion.”

    These men of 1898 wouldn’t respect a woman who just rode a century?  These Wheelmen were never at the finish of a Leadville 100 race.

  • Catch the Wind: a Wolverine Documentary

    I was talking with someone last night about how we often fail to document our own history as it’s being made.  We’re too caught up in planning for the future and getting through the present.

    Recently I’ve spent time researching the Detroit Wheelmen and it’s simply fascinating to compare them with Detroit bicyclists today.

    But another great story is the Wolverine Sports Club.  And fortunately a new documentary Catch the Wind has been created that captures their highlights through the years, but especially those under Mike Walden. The movie contains great photos and videos from around Detroit, including Belle Isle and the Dorais Velodrome.

    Catch the Wind premiered last Sunday, but it’s being shown again this Sunday, November 2nd, 6:30PM at  Royal Oak’s Main Art Theater.

  • Detroit/Windsor Marathon Photos

    Local cheerleaders encouraging the runners along Lafayette Boulevard
    Local cheerleaders encouraged the runners along Lafayette Boulevard

    I recently uploaded photos from this past weekend’s Detroit/Windsor marathon.

    A group of us rode downtown from Royal Oak and elsewhere to cheer on our friends who were running.  It was a chilly ride down, but no injuries were reported.

    We were starving midway through the ride, so I coerced the group into ordering crepes at Good Girls go to Paris.  It was very convenient that the marathon course went right past the crepe shop.

    On the way back we stopped at the Woodbridge Pub for a beer.  Then we made another beer and bathroom stop at the Stonehouse Bar.

    Photos: Detroit/Windsor Free Press Marathon

  • Losing another Great Detroiter

    Levi Stubbs from the Four Tops passed away this morning.  He was certainly one of my favorite Motown voices.  From Bernadette to Reach Out to Still Water, his personal style was inimitable.  Thank you, Levi, for being such a big part of Motown and for providing a soundtrack to so many positive memories.

    To the right is an interesting photo of the Four Rops riding some sort of motorized (?) four-person bicycle in Amsterdam.

    Link: Tearful Levi performance at the Fox in Detroit

  • The Dominator racing Mountain Bikes?

    Nicklas Lidstrom with the Stanley Cup during the 2008 Red Wings Parade
    Nicklas Lidstrom with the Stanley Cup during the 2008 Red Wings Parade

    The Detroit Free Press is reporting that retired Red Wing Goalie Dominik Hasek might do some mountain bike racing.

    Hasek, 43, lives in the Czech Republic but still figures to spend some time here, where his son, Michael, is a freshman at Michigan State. The two will meet in East Lansing this week, and Hasek also plans to be with the Wings when they visit the White House.

    Hasek said he is happy with his decision to retire.

    For now, he plans to run his business and play beach volleyball with friends. He also hopes to participate in mountain bike races.

    It’s unclear whether he’ll be racing in Michigan or the Czech Republic.