Quote of the day!

"The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."

- Iris Murdoch, The Green and the Red

Now this is a cool bike rack design!

Check it out, http://gizmodo.com/5790600/meet-the-urban-bike-rack-concept-that-scales-the-sides-of-city-buildings. It's only a concept design, however it's really cool!!!

And she drinks her second full beer in the same day!

Cheers to Motor City Brewing Works for a fun Detroit brewery bike tour! (and jeers to Chris for photo bombing this priceless photo)

Julie finished drinking her first pint of beer in the USA!!!

Amazing!!!

Motor City Brewery Tour - Detroit Riverfront stop

Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless

MotorCity Brewery History Bike Tour-Eastern Market stop!

Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless

Getting Ready for the Motor City Brewery Tour

Irrational bus stop anxiety - it's there for a reason!

You all know we've been riding the bus for awhile now - definitely used to the schedule, always have money/bus pass ready - we know the drill. I always harbor some mild bus anxiety - 'what if the bus doesn't come? what if the bike racks are full? then what would I do?' - and I think that's normal when you're putting your transportation needs in the hands of others. But what's kind of irrational - I harbor a ton of anxiety about missing my stop - which, ps - has been my stop for, oh, a year and 8 months. All my stuff - my phone, my water bottle, the latest issue of Crains Detroit Business - has to be put away literally a mile before the stop. I'm watching and thinking - 'do I press the 'stop requested' button now? Or....now?' and I've been known to hit it too early (a condition called 'premature bus stop requesting' or PBSR - talk to your doctor if you think you have this problem). Until today. Today I got a little loose with my bus stop monitoring, and man, I paid the price.

I'm messing around on my phone, tweeting away, whatever. All of the sudden, my head snaps up and it's my STOP. AH! We are already stopped, people are getting off the bus, so I book it to the front, wish the bus driver a nice day, and I'm off. There's like three ambulances wailing at a building right by the stop and all of the sudden the bus driver starts honking like crazy. I'm literally like 2 feet from that horn and with the medical drama nearby - some serious olfactory overload and major confusion. I see she's yelling at me that I forgot something (omg the TERROR - my stuff is normally so well-managed!!) so I go back on the bus, and some guy is trying to hand me some Craisins that were left under my seat by other bus rider. Thanks but not mine. Lord. All this stress for some half-eaten Craisins. So I get my bike, ready to roll. The driver pulls up next to me, and kinda yells at me for how slow I took my bike off the rack, offers me tips on how to do it faster and before shutting the door - "you know, people are waiting here". Oh, SNAP.

I'm gonna be ready for my stop TWO miles ahead of time from now on. #lessonlearned

I forgot I have a head...

and ran into the low-hanging tree branch full of rainwater on my way to work. (And yes I was sober!)

Today's takeaway:

Always wear your bike helmet. It can protect you at moments like these when you're fixing something on your bike and not paying attention to your surroundings.

Shameless Plug

Okay... so since it involves biking, here is Melissa's shameless plug for some of the work she's organizing in Detroit around protecting our water quality.













Detroit Green Water Infrastructure Bike Tours

Saturday, August 6 at 2pm ~ SOLD OUT!!!
Saturday, September 10 at 2pm
Sunday, October 2 at 2pm

$35 per person (includes bike rental) or $25 (BYOB - bring your own bike)

NOTE: You MUST REGISTER at Wheelhouse Detroit's website to participate on the tours (please follow the links above to register).

What is "green water infrastructure?"
Green water infrastructure is one solution to help stop stormwater and sewage pollution that negatively impacts the Detroit and Rouge Rivers. On these guided tours, you will bike along the Detroit Riverfront, Midtown, and Detroit’s east side to see examples of constructed wetlands that absorb stormwater from surrounding streets. You will also see rain gardens, cisterns, permeable pavement, and much more.

Check out more information about green water infrastructure at www.sierraclub.org/greatlakes/detroit.

This concludes Melissa's shameless plug. You will now be returned to your regularly scheduled reading of "Two Women, Four Wheels." :)

Detroit Bike City

Check out this short video about biking in the D! Click to watch it. Enjoy!

P.S. Thanks Rox for sharing!!!

Say what?! Cleveland has a downtown bike station!!!

Cleveland is bike fabulous! WOW! After reading this article about Cleveland's new "Bike Rack," I think every major city should invest in one. It would definitely make biking more of a serious option for dress-up business types. Cleveland is expected to have their station completed this month. Will Detroit be next? Those that live outside of Detroit - do you have bike stations?

Find the article here,
New Downtown Bike Station to Offer Parking, Lockers, Showers for Bike Commuters
"The new facility, called The Bike Rack, will offer 50 secure, indoor bike parking spaces and 10 outdoor spaces. It will also feature lockers for downtown commuters who would like to store fresh duds for the day without folding them. Finally, the facility will have three shower areas with private changing rooms."