At least he did on Saturday.

I was riding downtown with Chuck Hatch and stopped at a light on Woodward Avenue in Highland Park.

Two fast-moving guys on mountain bikes blew past us.

I turned to Chuck and noted that one of them looked like Chelios. So to find out for sure, I sprinted after them.

Fortunately I was on my road bike and closed the gap, making sure I slowed a little bit before catching them so that I’d have some breath left in me.

Yes, it was Chris Chelios. He said he rides down Woodward to get downtown presumably to work. I introduced myself and my job of building trails in Detroit.

I’d asked him if he’d heard about the recent Dequindre Cut opening.

Nope.

That’s not suprising. There were some other big events that Thursday as well.

[I saw Chris riding north on Woodward in Royal Oak today while I was driving, so I took the photo you see above.]

While biking home from a couple errands, I came across a car stopped in the middle of a nearby neighborhood road. The driver and passenger were standing in front of the stopped car casting long shadows from the headlights.

There in the middle of this Royal Oak road was an Eastern Screech Owl.

Unfortunately my phone camera does not take better pictures in low-light situations. A better picture would show him staring at me.

The group of neighbors came out and we finally got a wildlife expert on the phone. They advised we prod the little owl (perhaps a baby) in a box while wearing heavy-duty gardening gloves.

Once in the box, he flew out and landed in the middle of another street.

On the second attempt, he got in the box and moved out of harms way.

I did thank the driver for being alert and stopping without hitting the owl. Many of the drivers in this neighborhood and throughout the region are in their own world when in their car — making no plans for any unexpected encounters like this.

We even saw that first hand while trying to get him in a box as one car accelerated towards us as we stood in the road with the owl.

Once while driving in Royal Oak a large white English sheepdog slowly walked into the street. I stopped and watched as the opposing traffic did not.  I flashed my headlights. Never once did the other car’s nose dip to indicate any braking before they hit and killed the dog.

Thankfully our baby owl should fare better.

Saturday and Sunday was the celebration weekend for Cinco de Mayo in Southwest Detroit. If you’ve not visited during this celebration, you’re truly missing out on a great time.

My Sunday began with a group ride starting at the Wheelhouse Detroit under some stunningly beautiful blue skies.  Venerable Detroit ride leader Tom Page led the group down the RiverWalk and into Corktown.

Our first stop was at the newest French restaurant, Le Petit Zinc. As Tom noted in a email, it’s a bit ironic that we stopped there given that Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico’s defeat of France.

We wound our way through to Mexicantown, ending up at Clark Park, home to the big festival.

My better half met me for starter food at Taqueria Lupitas, our favorite restaurant in Mexicantown. We then walked through Hubbard Farms, admired the very cool old homes, and over to Clark Park — where we ate more food, listened to the Detroit Youth Symphony, debated seeing the Revolucha wrestling, and otherwise just milled about.

What a great benefit it is living so close (and being able to bike) to such a vibrant Mexican-American community – and no swine flu!

Photos: Cinco de Mayo Celebration in Southwest Detroit

Yesterday was the second annual Freak Bike Militia ride and gathering on Belle Isle.

Actually, the official event title was “Ring Your Belle, Rock the Isle Spring Ride.”

I’ve posted photos from the ride.

The bike shown on the right was one of my favorites.  The rear tire is from a dragster and it’s on a custom-made steel wheel. It’s a singlespeed. There’s a drum brake on the front wheel. For emergency stopping, one can step on a pedal which presses a pad against the rear wheel.

All the bikes were getting kudos and double-takes from everyone on the Isle.

Now if only I could turn my Kona BikeHotRod into a Rat Rod…

The Freak Bike Militia Greak Lakes Chapter plans on holding this event each year in Detroit. It’s held the day before the huge and much renowned Ann Arbor/Saline Bike Show and Swap Meet:  The “Biggest, Oldest, and the Best Antique and Classic Bicycle Show in the Nation!”

Tax Day at the Royal Oak Post Office

Like many, I used to finish my taxes late, print them out, then hustle down to the Royal Oak Post Office, which is open until midnight on tax day.

Unlike many, I biked there.

It was double fun to weave between car traffic, cut to the front and hand my taxes to the postal carrier.

For the past few years I’ve been filing on-line instead.

So at 15 before midnight tonight I jumped on the bike and headed to the post office with a camera instead of a tax return.

The WCSX Tax Bash had already packed up and left. (It featured Miss Better Maid this year!) Still there was steady flow of cars and people running with returns in hand.

At a couple minutes past midnight, the postal workers and police shut it down.

The late arrivers kept arriving, but they missed the IRS deadline.

And they missed Miss Better Maid, too.