Originally Posted by
TonyCtattoo
moving to around brownstown or dearborn hts . think it would be cool if i knew some people to go ride with when i got there and could show me some cool places to ride.
I'm a native of the East Side of Detroit; lived there and in Ann Arbor into the 1970's. Back then Detroit was pretty well separated into the East and West Sides, so I don't know the West Side that well, but I would think it is less congested than the East, hemmed in by the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair. We go back to visit family a few times a year in Maconb County, and I make arrangements to ride. Because our visits are time-limited, it's a pain to drive with the bike to a spot to ride, but if I did,
Dearborn and environs, and the Northern suburbs of Oakland County would be preferred destinations in the Metropolitan area, IMO.
FYA, here is a description I have posted to other Michigan cyclists of the riding I have done when I lived there and when I visit:
Some of my favorite short trips from Ann Arbor were out Huron River Drive to Dexter, or Whitmore Lake Road to Whitmore Lake, My very first tour, with no preparation, was a weekend loop out Pontiac Trail to Waterford, about 50 miles one way. Some touring we had done in Michigan when we lived there in the 1970's were: out to Port Huron and to Sarnia and along the the Lake Huron shore to Tobermory and on to Sudbury, then train to Toronto; through Windsor to Kitchener; to Midland, then through Saginaw to Port Austin and back to Detroit through the Thumb; and some short 1-2 day tours out of Ann Arbor, including to East Lansing and to Pontiac Lake. The only riding my wife and I have done in western Michigan was a round trip ride from Cheboygan to Mackinaw City, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, Traverse City and back by way of Douglas Lake.
Most of my riding currently when visiting Michigan is in Macomb and Oakland counties. When I have done some long training rides (> 60 miles), I have taken the bike to Stony Creek or Kensington and done laps as well as occasionally ride outside the park. Once I did a loop from Fraser (where my mother lives) down Jefferson, around Belle Isle, then out Woodward to around 14 Mile Road and back.
...Otherwise one of the nicest things about the Detroit area grid system is that there are usually half mile roads tucked in between the main 50mph 5 lane mile roads. You can bike commute all over creation on mostly 25 mph roads.
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