  Johnnny5 Member Username: Johnnny5 Post Number: 291 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 71.227.95.4 |
A friend and I are planning on abandoning our regular suburban road rides and trying a few days of training in the city. I'm somewhat familiar with the New Center area, Corktown and the CBD, but the majority of Detroit is basically uncharted ground for both of us. Can anyone suggest a 40-50 mile route that would be good for this upcoming Sunday morning? I'd like to incorporate Belle Isle into the ride and the area just North West of Tiger Stadium (I'll be Looking for the house where my Grandmother lived) but other than that I don't really have any set plans. Thanks for any suggestions. John. (Message edited by Johnnny5 on July 06, 2006) | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 10 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 63.85.13.248 |
Outer Drive? The Boulevard & Belle Isle? Without knowing where your granny lived, I'd be stumped to help you out. You can go to SEMCOG and download some great bike maps with information about traffic counts, bike paths, and other features important to all levels of bicyclists in Detroit. http://www.semcog.org/TranPlan /NonMotorized/assets/BikeMap_D etroit.pdf | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 1841 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 75.0.88.243 |
Going out of downtown on Jefferson, looping Belle Isle, and then continuing Jefferson to 8-mile/Vernier (GP Yacht Club on Lakeshore Drive) before returning downtown would be a scenic eastside ride with a roundtrip over 40 miles I would guess. I don't know how long a trip around Belle Isle exactly is, but downtown to Vernier is about 13 miles one way. I'd suggest before 11am on Sunday, because Jefferson, though fun to drive, has enough knuckleheads to make even riding in a car an adventure. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1157 Registered: 05-2005 Posted From: 198.208.159.17 |
belle isle is 6 miles around... the tour de troit was about 30 miles or so, if only I could find the map online....that hit a lot of the city's more notable areas | ||
Machoken Member Username: Machoken Post Number: 1374 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 207.145.38.104 |
If you can fit it in to your plans I'd suggest the length of Woodward from 8 mile to the river. Even on non-Sunday mornings it's an enjoyable ride - smooth roads and the far right lane is a parking lane in many places so you can use that lane whenever nobody's parked there. | ||
Boo Member Username: Boo Post Number: 144 Registered: 01-2004 Posted From: 63.117.185.99 |
i would not suggest doing woodward- high traffic volume and those metered spots fill up fast. i would not envy anyone that had to share their bike with drivers going through the highland park construction zone... some of my fave areas are along the riverfront- jefferson is a good route (although also can have high traffic) as are larned or lafayette- all are smoothly paved boulevards. new center is empty during weekends, as are the roads around eastern market and the industrial area just south of hamtramck. all of the "spoke" streets are pretty good- just watch out for glass and pedestrians. (sorry, not really a route...) | ||
Machoken Member Username: Machoken Post Number: 1375 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 207.145.38.104 |
Boo is right, you'll want to jog over to Second to avoid the Highland Park construction zone. But I stand by my Woodward suggestion, I've done it on Saturday afternoons and even if you do consider that traffic volume to be high the drivers seem to be very aware of pedestrians and bicyclists due to the high number of both that traverse Woodward. Again, it is a very enjoyable ride for someone who is used to riding on the roads in the suburbs. | ||
Boo Member Username: Boo Post Number: 145 Registered: 01-2004 Posted From: 63.117.185.99 |
riding woodward is good for sightseeing- but i will def give you points for bravery. the couple times that i have biked from midtown to the 'burbs i have used john r. now that is an interesting mix as you head towards 8 mile- abandoned buildings, questionable niteclubs, light industry, and storefront churches. and lite traffic. ;) | ||
Fishtoes2000 Member Username: Fishtoes2000 Post Number: 114 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 69.14.26.135 |
We found the Woodward construction to be very good for biking to the fireworks. We had our own lanes riding in the construction zone heading south. However, that portion of the road may be torn up by now. http://www.allyeargear.com/alb ums/fireworks06/IMG_4953.sized .jpg | ||
Johnnny5 Member Username: Johnnny5 Post Number: 292 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 71.227.95.4 |
Well thank you all for the great advice! I think for this Sunday I'll be taking the route that Mackinaw suggested. If we get an early start we should miss most of the traffic, and afterwards we'll be able to make a few loops around the island to log some miles. If all goes well I'll try to make it back and try some of the other routes in the next few weekends. Thanks again. | ||
Machoken Member Username: Machoken Post Number: 1377 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.61.100.126 |
I think the primary loop on Belle Isle is actually 5.5 miles. If you head down to the lighthouse at the eastern tip then you get an extra 0.5 miles, and if you include the bridge in your loops tack on another mile. | ||
Hochi Member Username: Hochi Post Number: 75 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 63.85.190.226 |
I like starting at Woodward and taking Fort St. out to W. Grand then following W. Grand all the way to Woodward where it becomes E. Grand, then following E. Grand to Belle Isle, looping around Belle Isle then taking E. Jefferson back to Woodward. I think It's probably around 20-25 miles, but it's probably the best route to see both the inner city downtown area and the neighborhood areas at once. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1158 Registered: 05-2005 Posted From: 198.208.159.17 |
i suggest watching out for ddot buses... http://www.clickondetroit.com/ news/9481812/detail.html | ||
Machoken Member Username: Machoken Post Number: 1379 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 207.145.38.104 |
Ah that sucks big time, and that's putting it lightly. I hope they follow that story up with some more information. | ||
Kbkav Member Username: Kbkav Post Number: 240 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 198.109.26.19 |
as a frequent biker, this doesn't surprise me, but it scares me. i have had a ddot bus driver yell out of his open door at me, "get onto the sidewalk!" which leads me to believe (along with the many, many instances of just plain-old nutso driving I have witnessed from DDOT) that these union drivers don't even know the basic fricking rules of the road. (note: I'm by no means anti-union, just thinking that education is a part of the role that unions should be playing, especially when privitization is a common municipal-governance topic.) bikes and vehicles sharing the road is not rocket science and is part of what makes places like chicago so - gulp - livable. | ||
Jams Member Username: Jams Post Number: 3485 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 68.248.81.155 |
If you're fascinated by industrial areas as I am, I recommend a ride on West Jefferson from Clark to River Rouge with a subroute down Springwells Court to the river. The road has been repaired making it much smoother than a few years ago. I also enjoy West Fort Street to Miller road along the Rouge to Vernor or Michigan Ave than back downtown. These might not be the "pretty" routes, but you'll pass many interesting sights. | ||
Hochi Member Username: Hochi Post Number: 76 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 136.1.1.33 |
I was riding up Woodward near Campus Marius last weekend when a older fellow on a bike and I were stopped at a light. I was in the street and he was on the sidewalk. He said to me, "You ride on the road around here? You're crazy!" I said I've been doing it for a long time and haven't been killed yet. He said that I would still get killed. Ultimately as a bike rider in a urban envrionment, you accept that you and you alone are responsible for your safety and well being. You assume that no one can see you and that you must be hyper-vigilant and watch out for any and all obstacles. If you can do that, you'll have no problem with bike riding on the sreets of Detroit. That's really what makes bike riding exciting and interesting for me. It's constant challenge. It's mental and physical. | ||
Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 129 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
The bike racks on the SMART buses are great. So, please support my cause to help SMART remove cars from our freeways by getting MDOT to help pay for public bus service. Click on link below and sign my petition drive and I will personally coordinate all the buses and fill them up. I can promise you this because I know how to do this and did in the western suburbs. YES, I can fill the buses up all over metro Detroit and if I can't then please tell me. Who can? http://savethefueltax.tripod.c om/theplan.html | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 3524 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.47.100.44 |
As a bike rider in any urban environment, you are TOTALLY at risk at all times. Like Hochi says, be aware of everything around you and lierally stay on your toes. if you're looking for something down the Woodward corridor and want to avoid some of the congestion, take it a few blocks east of Woodward and go down Oakland Avenue. It's relatively open from about 7 Mile down to Grand Blvd. and has decent pavement, not full of potholes. It's not as scenic because it does cut through some residential and some industrial areas, but it does offer a lane to Midtown. From there, getting over to Woodward, John R or Brush to complete the downtown route is advisable. Again, just be alert, aware and stay safe. | ||
Thecreator Member Username: Thecreator Post Number: 7 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 160.39.243.21 |
I know a good one that'll really take you across town, east to west. start over at the cadieux cafe on cadieux and warren. take cadieux to mack, turn left to outer drive/whittier, and go left to jefferson. jefferson all the way to belle isle, and go around/through belle isle/ come out and continue down jefferson. once you get downtown you can jum p to woodward and head over to tiger stadium. then go back to woodward and go straight up to get back over to new center area. from there take woodward back to warren and take that back to cadieux. its a really scenic route and takes you through a lot of different neighborhoods. | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 575 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.43.107.72 |
be careful in some of those spots |
