More sad news in Detroit.

One of the most unforgetable of all the Detroit Tigers, Fidrych passed away yesterday at 54. 

I belong to the Save Tiger Stadium group on Facebook. Just after the sun went down, I received a group message about a candlelight vigil for Mark Fidrych on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull.

The radar wasn’t showing any imminent rain, so I hopped on the bike and rode to the old stadium.

The stadium is just 15 miles from my home in Royal Oak, so I was there in less than an hour.

No one was at the corner.

I biked down to Nemo’s and peeked in.  There was Josh, owner of the Urban Bean working on a pint. He hadn’t seen any vigil-goers.

Back outside, I rode to the west end of the stadium. A Channel 7 News truck was there, so I stopped to ask. 7 Action News reporter Cheryl Chodun didn’t see any vigil and she’s “ready for breaking news everyday.”

Chodun was just waiting for the start of the 11 O’clock news when she filed her report (see video).

After biking back home, I found out I was just a little too early for the vigil. No biggie. It was a nice dry night for a bike ride inspired by the Bird.  RIP.

Yesterday I pulled on some green and biked downtown to soak up the Final Four buzz.

As usual, it was great seeing so many people milling around the city. But, surprisingly there was no line for crepes at Good Girls go to Paris so I ordered a veggie-Vera.

Next, I continued riding through the crowds and cars, checked out the Dequindre Cut, and Tri-Centennial State Park construction before stopping at the Wheelhouse.

The RiverWalk in front of GM’s Ren Cen was jammed with State fans for a big pep rally. They didn’t need much pepping.

I wrapped up my ride by heading over the Mexicantown and buying some baked goods from La Gloria. When I got home I’d ridden 44 miles, which seemed like an interesting coincidence.

I did take some photos from my ride, but there aren’t nearly as exciting as those take by the pro’s like Bryan Mitchell and MetroMode.

Yesterday’s regular 7 AM Saturday morning group run had a special start location: Mt. Elliott Park on the Detroit RiverWalk.

It was a chilly 32F at the 5:55 AM when I hopped on the bike and started heading south. At that hour with minimal road traffic, I just jumped on Woodward.

The route was simple: Woodward to State Fair (7.5 mile) to Conant, which turns into Mt. Elliott. It was just 16 miles and about an hour of biking.

The highlights along the route included going past Theatre Bizarre, Bangladeshi Avenue, and the Heidelberg Project.

Just north of the Heidelberg and just as the sun was about to rise, I heard a rooster crowing.

Once at the park, I locked my fixie to a bench in clear view of the RiverWalk security cameras.

We had a relatively large group of runners. Our route was to Joe Louis and back then a loop around Belle Isle. The highlight of the run was a stunning sunrise over the river.

The weather could not be any better for a ride from Royal Oak to Corktown for the big St. Patrick’s Parade. Once at Trumbull and Michigan, I met up with derby girls Diesel Doll, Honey Suckit, and Scarlett Fever.

After the parade, we stopped in to Matt and Brad’s amazing loft in the Grinnell building — a former piano warehouse next to the Lager House. They have a sweet rooftop balcony with a great view of Corktown.

More photos: St. Patrick’s Parade in Corktown

The Winter Ride Challenge Series has gone international.

Last Sunday I did the Windsor version.  The points scoring is similar except that they measure their temperatures in celsuis like the rest of the world.  

I rode my singlespeed winter bike but I’d brought a knife to gun fight.  Most everyone was on geared cyclocross bikes.   I had no problem hanging with the group at 18 MPH, but then the attacks started.  The pace was pushed to over 21 MPH and I didn’t have the gearing for that.

So, I dropped off the back and made my own ride by heading north to the river and admiring all the work Windsor has done to make biking easier and safer with bike lanes, trails, signage and more.

For those thinking about heading over for the ride, you will have to pay some tolls at the bridge ($4) or tunnel ($3.75).   Make sure you bring your identification as well.

The City of Windsor does have a bike map on their web site.  It’s difficult to print and use, so you want to pick up a copy at a Windsor bike shop instead.