The last 7 or 8 miles I rode Michigan Avenue, with the lowering sun painting the ruined buildings gold as a cruised into town. Ate barbecue at Slow's with Dave, and slept well.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Getting to Detroit
If I had known how easy it would be to ride into Detroit, I would have done it long ago. Driving there from Ann Arbor is 40 miles of freeway, or mile after mile of suburban subdivisions in places like Livonia and Romulus. As it turns out, you can get as far as Dearborn on quiet green roads without stoplights or traffic to fight. I took Plymouth Road to Plymouth, where there were carnival rides set up right in the downtown streets, with little spinning ride cars suddenly zipping over the rooftops. Then to Hines Drive, which follows the Rouge River for another 18 miles or so the UM Dearborn campus. The green winding drive was a strange alternate reality: you pass all the familiar roads like Middle Belt and Outer Drive (which a few miles south are dire industrial strips near the airport), but here you're surrounded by trees and water and families chilling out in the park.
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2 comments:
I've often wonder that with the decline of American car companies whether or Detroit would become more bike friendly, but I guess not.
Can picture the ride as you go, the green of late-summer Michigan, the crumbling glory glow of Detroit, which will always have a special place in my heart. beautiful. happy on-to-Cleveland!
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