Today was opening day for the Detroit Tigers.  With temperatures edging into the fifties and the rain staying north, I rode downtown.

I started by riding past old Tiger Stadium.  The streets and parking lots were full of cars and Tiger tailgators.   Cabs were circling like vultures looking to give rides over to the park.

I headed down Michigan Avenue and made a stop at the Urban Bean Company.  The owner Josh hustled outside as I pulled up so we could talk about my Kona King bike.  He’s got a Kona Chute.  Josh has really gotten the coffee shop going now.  He’s added the cold beverages and baked goods.  He’s got the Tiger’s on TV.  He’s just picked up a hookah.

After a quick coffee and muffin, I rode around and past Comerica Park.  The streets were buzzing with excitement for the upcoming Tiger’s season.

Then, while riding home, I made a quick detour at Holbrook to ride past the striking workers at American Axle in Hamtramck.  I didn’t have a horn to honk for support or even a bike bell — probably a good thing on the latter.  They did  have the Tigers game on the radio.

Unfortunately Detroit ended up one down on Kansas City after 11 innings.

You know biking in Detroit is getting bigger when you get 30-some people showing up for a bike ride in freezing temperatures — and these aren’t your lycra-clad racer types that have been riding all winter.  These are normal people.

Last Saturday’s ride was called Spring Training was more than a cycling-baseball pun.  The ride connected various spots in Detroit where professional sports are played or were once played. Comerica Park, Ford Field, and Joe Louis arena were the obvious choices.  The old Olympia site and long-gone baseball fields were not.

We also included a ride on the east Riverwalk and a stop at Mudgie’s deli in Corktown.  At the latter, I enjoyed a Mexican Coca-Cola — made with real sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup.  It was refreshing despite my disheveled look in the above photo.

Thanks to Detroit Synergy and Tom Page for a great ride.  Thanks to Sue “Sumoe” Moretto  for the photos.

On Easter morning, I hoped on my bike and rode towards downtown. There were a lot of folks waiting for buses on Woodward. I love being that friendly bike guy. My hellos returned many smiles and “Happy Easters”.

Not having enough time to ride the Riverwalk, I headed west to Trumbull and south towards Old Tiger Stadium. Just north of I-75 and near the shadows of the Motor City Casino are some goats. Seriously. Not just one or two, but a whole family of them with a bunch of hens and roosters.

Welcome Urban Farming in Detroit

With more than half of your population gone and large swaths of vacated open land, urban farming seems like a fine choice. The Greening of Detroit and Eastern Market Corporation are both involved in spreading the urban farming idea. As I bike around the City, I don’t always see goats, but I do see more large garden plots. According to the Greening folks, some of those urban farmers are now seeing their excess food at Eastern Market.

With sprawl continuing to push the country further away from my home in Royal Oak, it’s exciting to see it reborn closer to home.

What the heck is an alley cat? It’s a fun, low stress, high fun urban biking challenge. It’s not something for the lycra-clad racer boy crowd. It’s a sure fire way to embrace or rediscover the simple fun of riding a bike.

The last one I did started with cans of Red Bull and ended with cans of PBR. They was a whole lot of fun and mischief in the middle.

Here’s an announcement for the next Detroit alley cat:

On April 20th (4/20) at 4:20pm! This will be on a Sunday. Friends are doing this one and this is the info I have so far. This is going to be a fun race and not so much a crazy fast one! Teams of 4 so tell your friends and get your bikes ready! And yes this is the drug wars 4/20 race and frome what I know this is going to be sooper fun and a bit funny!

Normally they start at Hart Plaza. You can watch their myspace page for additional updates.

I’ll ride in most any weather or conditions. That doesn’t scare me. Riding the roads on St. Patrick’s Day and other drinking holidays does. It’s a good time to be extra defensive.

This photo of the river is not in Detroit, but Chicago. It was taken by Soupy who recently relocated there. Soupy’s got more cool photos and entries on his blog.

While St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated on Saturday in Chicago, Detroit’s Corktown turned green on Sunday. Mike Connolly, Black Eyed Skeez, and I rode down to particpate in the fun.

On the way there, I hijacked our ride so we could check out the pygmy goats and other farm animals on Cochrane just north of Old Tiger Stadium. They all came over to greet us, including their kids and a bunch of hens.

I’m glad they’re back after being MIA over the winter. This spring I stopped in the neighborhood party store next door and asked about them. The lady behind the glass said the owner had recently stopped in to buy four loaves of bread for the hungry goats.

Off the farm, we road over to Michigan Avenue and cheered on the Corktown 4-mile runners, grabbed free snacks from the Mercury Coffee Bar, and found a few spots at Slow’s bike rack — a rack that later became filled. Slow’s was packed. Nemo’s was packed. Even the LJ Lounge was shoulder to shoulder.

We also stopped by a friend’s place in the Grinnell lofts. Wow. It was a great place with a very cool outdoor deck on the rooftop.

Eventually we got back on our bikes and rode home into the wind. Another holiday in the saddle.