PedalGR, meeting at 6:30pm on Wednesday, 8/5/2009 at Founder’s Brewing Company, 235 Grandville Ave SW.
Versluis Orchards
As I type this PedalGR route, I’m sitting in Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City enjoying a Honey Basil Ale. Life is Good!
This week’s PedalGR ride is arguably the most beautiful 16 mile ride you can take from downtown Grand Rapids. We will be touring the new Meijer Millennium Park trail first, including the new route around the beach area. The trail from the Coca-Cola plant has just been widened from 8′ to 10′ and should be silky smooth! The Kent County Parks’ Construction Update says the trail will be complete on Monday, 8/3, so we will be among the first to ride on the new surface.
After that, we will head for a tour of Versluis Orchards, lead by Nate Versluis, one of our local elite mountain bikers on the Founders Ales Racing team and an all around nice guy! A bit of warning, the route through the orchard has sections that are a bit sandy for skinny road tires, but all of our riders last year were able to make it through okay. During the tour we will get to stop and eat peaches straight from the tree. They are so juicy and delicious that you will never look at a peach from Meijer quite the same.
Need to Know:
- This is a no-drop ride. Nobody in the group will be left behind.
- Ride is about 16 miles and will take about 2-2 1/2 hours (PedalGR is not a race).
- Please bring WATER!
- HELMETS ARE REQUIRED on Rapid Wheelmen Club rides. (The insurance company’s lawyers insist) Please email or comment if you need to borrow one and we will try to accommodate you.
A few highlights include:
- Millennium Park trail
- Versluis Orchards tour with peach tasting right from the trees!
- I-196 Pedestrian tunnel
The Route:
View PedalGR 8/5/09 in a larger map
Upcoming PedalGR rides: August 19 – Grand Rapids Home for Veterans – We’ll crash a bingo party after a GRHV Steak Fry and get a tour of some of the historical sites at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans and the veteran’s cemetery. Originally established to care for injured Civil War veterans (214 of them are buried in the cemetery), this is a haunted site according to the Encylopedia of Haunted Places. We’ll also tour Riverside Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Sept 2 – This will be the rescheduled Taco Ride. Originally scheduled for July 22, but rained out, we will tour SW GR and Wyoming and stop at El Kiosko for delicious tacos, steak, chicken or guacamole. Be sure to bring $2 so you can buy your taco. We’ll also visit the Motion Initiative Bike Co-op.
Also, join us on Facebook to get updates about upcoming rides!
Ride Safe and see you Wednesday!
