Photo by Robert Herriman

Tonight was ride #36 of Robert’s Winter Ride Challenge  Series.

I had to go.  Robert awards points based on temperatures.  The colder it is, the more points you get.    My points had me in 9th place and I couldn’t afford to miss out on these points and drop in the rankings.

The ride started rough.  I was late and a had a slow motion crash on my way to the ride.  I turned too tight on smooth, dry concrete and the studded front tire just slipped out.  No biggie.

Though I missed the pre-ride photograph, I did make the ride, biked 21 miles,  and got 120 points.

On this particular night, we’d started the ride by going past the local bank thermometer.  It read 8F.  Before we got near that same sign on the return, Alex Dolpp and I guessed at the new temperature.

He guessed 5F and I guessed 6F.

As we rode up to the sign, it flashed 6F and Alex gave his congratulations.  Within 50 feet of the sign, it changed to 5F, which was good for a laugh.

According to Robert, the lowest recorded wind chill during the ride was -5F.

There was Challenge in the Series tonight.

The day started, or actually didn’t start well.

I don’t drive all my little VW diesel all that often.  All that sitting around doesn’t help the battery in these below zero temps.  Despite the battery being just a couple  months old, it didn’t have enough juice to get the engine started.

I quickly tried untangling some frozen extension cords (which should be a new Winter Olympic sport) and ran a battery charger to the car.  Not fun.

So after work I took a spin on my main transportation.  My bike.

We’re in the midst of the Winter Ride Challenge Series.  Riders get points for attendance.  The colder the windchill, the more points one gets.  And there are bonus points if it’s nighttime and if you ride a singlespeed bike.

With the windchill well below zero, tonight was a huge night for points!

The roads were icy and snow covered, which wasn’t too bad, though I did nearly wipe out in Royal Oak.

While navigating a turn, my rear tire started to slide out.  Eventually my front studded tire started to do the same.  I rode the two wheel drift long enough for the front tire’s stud to finally hook up.  According to the guy behind me, sparks were flying off the steel carbide studs as they skid across the pavement.

Whoo hoo!

That’s the last thing  I said as I removed my Nokian Extreme front tire from my winter bike.  The Nokian has 294 steel carbide studs and hooks up on ice like nothing else.  But, on dry pavement, it’s a noisy drag.

The road conditions were pretty decent, so I switched to a non-studded tire.

Six tenths of a mile later I was layed out on the ground.    I hadn’t been looking ahead and found myself going fast on a 100 foot stretch of smooth ice.  The crash was inevitable.

The bike was fine.  I ended up with a crab nebula bruise.

A lifetime of cycling and still learning…

This was an ideal hatched between Joe D. and I.  Joe suggested an end-of-the-year Detroit bar bike tour.  I suggested we visit ethnic bars and make the tagline, “Saluting Detroit’s Immigrants one beer at a time!”

The ride was the day after Thanksgiving and started from Downtown Royal Oak.  We figured we’d start with a long leg before hitting a bar just to make sure we could pull it off.

It was too long of a leg for some, so we made a quick stop at Honest John’s for a Stoh’s and some food.

Next we swung by a local urban farm to visit the goats and roosters before hitting our second bar, Nancy Whiskey’s.  Yeah Irish!

Back on the bikes, we rode by the half-gutted Tiger Stadium where I got a quick flat.

Heading into Downtown, we made quick beer stops at Jacobies (Yeah Germans!) and Golden Fleece (Yeah Greeks!). It was at the Fleece where we picked up a Toronto bike tourist just in town to document the Detroit Critical Mass (and be disappointed.)

Making the turn, we headed north to Hamtramck and the Polish Village Cafe.  (Yeah Poles!)

We were running out of daylight but not motivation, so we made another stop at the Stonehouse Bar (Yeah Biker Gangs!) before heading back to Royal Oak.

But the ride back to Royal Oak was quite eventful.  Ask me in person if you want to hear the rest of the story.

Photos from the bike tour are on-line.

After the presidential election, I enjoyed watching teary-eyed Americans, many of who said they never expected this after struggling decades for civil rights.  What a great milestone.

A few days after, I biked down to the Birwood wall in Northwest Detroit.

From the Associated Press, May 17th, 2006:

The wall was built in the early 1940s when a developer wanted to build homes for middle-class whites but found that the U.S. government would not back mortgages because too many blacks lived in the neighborhood, said Blight Busters founder John George.

The developer proposed putting up a wall to show that whites and blacks would not be living together, George said. It worked, and federal officials approved the loans.

I just don’t understand how anyone thought this wall was acceptable.  And it’s also a reminder to temper those glowing stories of how Detroit used to be a paradise.  Walls like this wouldn’t get built in my vision of paradise.

The wall still stands today.  Parts of it are tagged, while others have been covered in an elaborate mural.

During my visit I spoke with one of the wall’s neighbors.  He grew up here and recalled how he used to walk along the wall when he was a kid.

We gave a fist bump to celebrate Obama’s recent victory.

I hopped back on the bike and headed home.