[ranpergamin]

Hi,

I am coming to Detorit (Troy envtually) for a work visit at the end of July, and since I am flying this long (From Israel), and my girlfriend and I want to take our anual bike holiday in August, We thought why not do somewhere near by.

The question is guys, Is Detroit region, or generall the area a good place for a two week bike holiday ? Is there enough interesting atractive riding ?

How are the living costs (car rental, bike hire, camping, permits) ?

Any information will be much apreciated.

Thanks
Ran

 

[grawbass]

The actual city of Detroit might just be the worst place in the world for biking. Thankfully you won't be there, but in one of its suburbs instead. Troy is still a city though (think cement everywhere and not many trees). The whole area around Detroit is a huge suburb not very good for biking unless you're going offroad. There are about 10 offroad trails within about 20 or 30 miles of Troy.

For road riding, you're going to want to travel to the northern or far western part of the lower peninsula (South Haven, Traverse City, Macinac Island) or most of the upper peninsula. The upper peninsula has some great scenery.

You'll probably get better responses on Road Bike Review or the MMBA (Michigan Mountain Biking Assoc) website.

 

[Fishtoes2000]

I used to assume riding in the CIty of Detroit was the worst until I started riding there on a regular basis. The CIty of Detroit has some of the best urban riding in Michigan: low traffic, grid pattern streets, friendly residents, and great sites to visit. There are a few very specific neighborhoods can get a bit rough and I tend to avoid them depending on the time of the year. Still, I find it far easier to safely ride around Detroit than Troy.

Some of the inner ring suburbs are decent, e.g. Royal Oak, Ferndale, Warren. They have more traffic than Detroit roads which makes the main arterials something you want to avoid. Beyond the inner ring suburbs, the road riding get worst until you reach the edge of sprawl.

Your best bet is to hook up with one of the many road rides in the area. There are many different groups rides each night of the week. This is slightly out-of-date list, but you may find it helpful. http://allyeargear.com/GroupRides.htm

 

[Webtoes]

I don't get it. Are you talking about road bikes or mountain bikes? I live in the area and I may be able to assist with more info.

 

[grawbass]

I used to assume riding in the CIty of Detroit was the worst until I started riding there on a regular basis. The CIty of Detroit has some of the best urban riding in Michigan: low traffic, grid pattern streets, friendly residents, and great sites to visit. There are a few very specific neighborhoods can get a bit rough and I tend to avoid them depending on the time of the year. Still, I find it far easier to safely ride around Detroit than Troy.

Some of the inner ring suburbs are decent, e.g. Royal Oak, Ferndale, Warren. They have more traffic than Detroit roads which makes the main arterials something you want to avoid. Beyond the inner ring suburbs, the road riding get worst until you reach the edge of sprawl.

Your best bet is to hook up with one of the many road rides in the area. There are many different groups rides each night of the week. This is slightly out-of-date list, but you may find it helpful. http://allyeargear.com/GroupRides.htm

Please don't encourage someone from Israel to ride their bike in Detroit.

 

[MSU_Grad_121]

I have to somewhat agree with previous posters, but at the same time, disagree. While Detroit proper has some interesting riding, I avoid it like the plague if I don't have to do it, due to the incredible number of drivers who, in addition to driving on a suspended licence with no insurance, either don't know how to handle a rider in the road or think it's funny to try to hit the person with their car (I have firsthand experience with this).

I can only assume that you're looking for mountain biking, as that's the forum you're posting in, and the area surrounding Detroit has some really nice trails, but nothing that you'd want to camp on. Most of the trails within comfortable driving distance from Troy are going to be one-day afairs, but really nice stuff. Island Lake, Pontiac Lake, Poto, Highland, Brighton, heck even Bloomers are all great times, but you won't spend more than a day on any of them. If you're looking for a biking/camping deal, I'm afraid you're gonna have to head to the northern part of the lower penninsula. Check out the websites listed above and ask around at local bike shops when you get here.

Best of luck and let us know if we can be of any help!

Ross

 

[Fishtoes2000]

One thing is true -- there are two groups: those of us who ride thousands of miles south of Eight Mile and those who have negative opinions about doing so.

 

[JmZ]

Dunno about bike rentals, but out of state fees to DNR properties are $8 a person.

Some places I'd be willing to visit in Michigan: Ft Custer, Poto, Yankee Springs.
Other places pretty close by: Warsaw in Indiana. Free to ride. Little tourist type area. Shopping/Food.
Further away but well worth it: Brown County in Indiana, Versailles in Indiana. (About 5 hours south).

Good luck,

JmZ

Hi,

I am coming to Detorit (Troy envtually) for a work visit at the end of July, and since I am flying this long (From Israel), and my girlfriend and I want to take our anual bike holiday in August, We thought why not do somewhere near by.

The question is guys, Is Detroit region, or generall the area a good place for a two week bike holiday ? Is there enough interesting atractive riding ?

How are the living costs (car rental, bike hire, camping, permits) ?

Any information will be much apreciated.

Thanks
Ran

 

[tl1]

Hi,

I am coming to Detorit (Troy envtually) for a work visit at the end of July, and since I am flying this long (From Israel), and my girlfriend and I want to take our anual bike holiday in August, We thought why not do somewhere near by.

The question is guys, Is Detroit region, or generall the area a good place for a two week bike holiday ? Is there enough interesting atractive riding ?

How are the living costs (car rental, bike hire, camping, permits) ?

Any information will be much apreciated.

Thanks
Ran

There's actually a lot of rewarding trail riding around the Detroit area. Camping is available at most state parks that have trails and from what I've seen campsites are more available this year because many people with gashog RVs are driving them less and staying home. Renting bikes is an unknown to me though I know of one bike shop that has demo bikes available for rent in Detroit suburb Waterford MI: http://ctbicycles.com/index.cfm

You may be able to get more detailed information from the Michigan Mountainbiking Association website: www.mmba.org

 

[tl1]

Please don't encourage someone from Israel to ride their bike in Detroit.

What FT said about riding in Detroit is true. It's far more dangerous dealing with inattentive SUV piloting suburban soccermoms and pissed off PBR guzzling ******** in pickup trucks in the outlying areas. Don't knock Detroit riding until you have some experience riding there.

 

[MSU_Grad_121]

Don't knock Detroit riding until you have some experience riding there.

I can honestly say that I have plenty of experience riding in Detroit (working at the Macnamara Building, and now the DMC Central Campus), and without hesitation would say that if you are not very experienced with urban riding, you shouldn't do it. The fact that every jerk on the road seems to become fixated on making you part of their grill, either thru malice or ignorance, leaves a bad taste in my mouth regarding "urban riding" in the city.

And Fishtoes, you're right, I DO have a negative opinion of riding south of 8 mile. When you hear the words "hey, let's hit the white boy on the bike," and NOT just once, you tend to develop said negative opinion.

Ross

 

[tl1]

I can honestly say that I have plenty of experience riding in Detroit (working at the Macnamara Building, and now the DMC Central Campus), and without hesitation would say that if you are not very experienced with urban riding, you shouldn't do it. The fact that every jerk on the road seems to become fixated on making you part of their grill, either thru malice or ignorance, leaves a bad taste in my mouth regarding "urban riding" in the city.

And Fishtoes, you're right, I DO have a negative opinion of riding south of 8 mile. When you hear the words "hey, let's hit the white boy on the bike," and NOT just once, you tend to develop said negative opinion.

Ross

Are you riding in rush hour as the torqued up commuters are trying to get home (or not be late) and thus trying to make time?

 

[MSU_Grad_121]

Are you riding in rush hour as the torqued up commuters are trying to get home (or not be late) and thus trying to make time?

Nope, I ride into work around half past noon, and back out around 10 p.m. Not that it seems to matter, tho. I've had jerks threaten to run me down at all hours of the day and night. Obviously, a-hole-nicity knows no hours.

Ross