Detroit Cityfest–Che Casino!
Here at the Greektown Casino and hotel, it’s a little slow. I managed to miss any fireworks, still haven’t looked into the casino (this word means ‘mess’ in colloquial Italian…i wonder what it means in Greek).
Rather than pedal into the city, I took a rest day. The previous day, July 3, we’d ridden 90 miles (80 was what we were spozta do, but as we’re learning, we get ‘bonus miles’ thanks to spontaneous changes in the route). THAT day was splendid. It came on the tail of a week’s worth of sharing the road with eighteen wheelers and Motorists With Attitude.
I had gotten to the point of feeling I was risking my life a dozen times a day, even though (as one of the road tour directors reminded me ) it is dangerous to ride a bike, and it is my job this summer, maybe not to fret about the hazard factor so much.
With about ten others, I watched from the support van–with envy–as the riders skimmed across the flatlands, looking like a team. Riding like a team. Having a blast. I didn’t even try having a beer with them when they arrived happily spent–cruising the town for a decent beer and a huge plate of food.
So yes I am naturally chicken, and I like knowing what is coming. I have given up asking what the sequence of towns we’re riding through is… and just make do with those ‘cue sheets’ with their
“left .1 mile , right 21 miles.. right .5 miles, etc… ” directions, which let us down when they fail to have the mileage correct. Even the aggregate mile total is not provided.
I can do the math myself, and buy a state atlas if I’m that addicted to place names…. Speaking of which, after the goldsprints at city fest (I lost to Andrew Wilhelm, the artist/trackie, an honor to even try stationary bike racing w/him) we were escorted by Jack VanDyke, Alex from the Hub of Detroit, his sweetie to Cafe D’mongo (video), a really cool little dive a few blocks away from the hotel.
Larry D’mongo read my palm, saying what every person wants to hear: you are special, way ahead of your time etc, and I floated back to the hotel to sleep away the vodka and lethargy of a rideless stage.
. With an RSS feed
BUY NOW!
Jacquie Phelan's Weblog 
Me again. You have a very sophisticated site Jacquie. Lots of information here. I was thinking about your second love which is food. I have been volunteering for several months at two food related places. On Tuesdays I volunteer at a place called Marion House in Colorado Springs. It is a Catholic charities soup kitchen. They do one meal a day from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm. seven days a week. It take a crew of about 25 people to prepare and serve the meal. They usually feed a minimum of 600 people and often this figure will exceed 800 people which just blows my mind. Food is donated by Whole Foods, Safeway, Starbucks, Costco, WalMart and others. The other place I volunteer at is in Woodland Park at a place called The Community Cupboard. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays they are open for 2 1/2 hours to give a away food to those in need. We usually give at least 75 lbs of food to each person. Again, Safeway, City Market and Starbucks help us out with food that is about to expire or overstock. I work with alot of good people and it helps me give a little back. I hate to see food go to waste and we try to put it to good use. Love, Jim
Hi I hope you enjoyed the brief time in Detroit. I loved seeing all you guys and wish you the best.
You are indeed special and ahead of your time! Hope you made it to Chicago without more of that hideous semi-truck traffic roaring up your back. Mary and I have been practicing our track stands and U-turns and are improving.
Hello this is amy the waitress you talked to in champaign I’ll at the mexican rwsutra~ fiesta cafe. I am going to follow your blogs. You are amazing! I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet you.