stimetb

Does anyone know any details on a group that cycles out of Barnum Park on Monday nights at 630pm. I was invited to join in by a woman that was following us on Lincoln Hills Golf Course and was trying to get details on what type of riders the group was. Ive been biking at Kensington, Island Lake and West Bloomfield Trail by my self and was looking for a group to ride with. Im not a fast rider.

DTownDave22

Go for a bicycle ride there and back if feasible. Ask the questions you are wanting to know and then make your decision. I'd say it'd be no problem to find a way back home if you find you can't quite keep up, but not all roads/streets are the same when it comes to cycling, so that might require a little bit of planning. Google Maps can help quite a bit in this regard--I tend to stay away from 1-lane each way streets/roads that are relatively higher speed traffic for stretches longer than a mile or two.


Also, I find that riding in the road isn't quite as unsafe as one might believe--my observations are that most people ride in the parks/trails around Metro Detroit; I see few people riding in the road but a moderate number of bicycle shops. I do find having a helmet mirror or handlebar mirror helps a lot though, especially when it comes to quickly maneuvering our not so great roads/streets, moving over a foot or two here and there and knowing what's behind me. You mentioned you have been biking in Kensington and West Bloomfield Trail, which are both nice I'm sure (I rode Kensington once and enjoy Dequindre Cut, the Detroit Riverwalk, and ride Belle Isle at least a couple times a year).

Here Downriver, I never really imagined riding down Fort Street/M-85, but it's not as unsafe as I thought it would be. They expanded it by 1 lane each way a few years ago north of Goddard for a few miles, so it's not incredibly difficult for cars to pass me, but unfortunately, raised the speed limit in some segments as well, this year, in the segments of Fort St. I ride.

My point about my example and in general is this: There isn't constantly some long line of cars behind me. I don't have a speedometer so I don't know my speeds on Fort St., but taking my time with a watch, I average about 12-14MPH for 20-40 mile rides. However, one note is that I ride a hybrid with 28mm width in the front and 32 mm in the back, so I don't know what a road bicycle with narrower feels like on our Michigan roads.