No, I’m not on Twitter. I stopped at Facebook.
Still, the Free Press ran a story about comedian Jimmy Fallon’s recent tweets, including this one:
I rode a mountain bike through downtown Detroit at 4 in the morning. Don’t ask. It was fun though.
It sounds like he’s prepping for this year’s Beers of the World ride…
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.
I quickly used some of my REI dividend this year on some Reelight bike lights ($49.93). The unique feature of these is they don’t require batteries. They generate power as your bike wheels rotating, forcing some powerful magnets past the light assembly. It doesn’t take much to get them started. By the time I hit the end of my driveway, they’re blinking.
Unlike the old school wheel-generator I had as a kid, this one is quite and has less noticeable drag. However, it also could be disengaged from the wheel. The Reelight is always on.
This Reelight model can store power which keeps the lights flashing even when you’re stopped. I found they flash for more an a couple minutes after stopping. Of course this means that as you lock up your bike and start walking away, people may say “you left your lights on” — it’s already happened to me.
Yes, they are a little heavy, but it seems like a fair tradeoff in order to have 24/7 increased visibility on an urban bike.
And you never have to worry about batteries.
This Saturday, March 21st is Spring Training II, the first Detroit Synergy ride of the 2009.
It’s 16 “relaxed but steady” miles and free.
The ride begins at 10 AM sharp at the Millennium Bell, Grand Circus Park, downtown Detroit.
Helmets are required on this ride.
The Detroit Bikes! Spring Training Ride will cruise past current and past Detroit sports venues, including Tiger Stadium, Olympia Stadium, Recreation Park, and others.
Wear something that represents your favorite Detroit team (professional, college, high school, etc.), such as a T-shirt, bandanna, whatever, and help us challenge Mother Nature to bring the warm weather on!
Additional information is on the Detroit Synergy web site.
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