AllYearGear.com

  • Theatre Bizarre

    On the morning of October 27th, 1953, in a home within the grounds of an abandoned amusement park, a gruesome discovery was made.  The bodies of 47 victims lay desecrated in varying stages of decay…

    Edgar Joseph Torrent… spent years in seclusion toiling away at his macabre obsession.  Edgar was able to evade capture by fleeing through the maze of maintenance tunnels connecting to the carnival’s funhouse.

    He was never found.

    And that is the backstory behind Theatre Bizarre, hidden along the south edge of America’s oldest state fair.

    To get into the party, costumed guests must walk through Edgar’s home and workshop before existing through the same tunnels that aided his escape.  The Theatre Bizarre scenery defies description.  It’s scary retro with incredible detail.  It’s obvious that many put a significant effort into making this one of the most unique events one could ever attend.

    Here’s our documentation: 2008 Theatre Bizarre photos

    For more fun, turn out the lights and watch this…

  • 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