The whole Versluis family, led by Nate and [...]]]> Last Wednesday’s PedalGR ride kept a grin on my face the whole evening. We had a record crowd of over 70 bicyclists (too many to get an exact count) leave with us from Founder’s to tour the new Meijer Millennium Park Trail and Versluis Orchards.

The whole Versluis family, led by Nate and Shari, took us on a tour and we got to eat yellow plums, instead of peaches, right off the trees. Nate also shared some of the history of his family farm and told us about the special sweet corn they grow, nicknamed “Better than Sex” sweet corn.

Molly Versluis

I’ll let the photos do the talking. To view a larger version of a photo, click the photo and then click the “All Sizes” icon above the picture.

A big thanks to everyone who came out to enjoy a fantastic ride! You are all awesome!

Click here to see all of the photos from the ride.

And a big thanks to Eric for the tacos. They were delicious! I’ll be [...]]]> Yesterday’s ride was absolutely awesome! AWESOME! I’m so happy that so many people continue to show up to ride with us and have a great time! We had a record 36 riders.  Please continue to spread the word and bring your friends.

And a big thanks to Eric for the tacos. They were delicious! I’ll be going back to Tacos El Moroleon (on Grandville Ave, a bit south of Hall)  at a future date.

Thanks are also due to Duane and Thomas at the Motion Initiative Bike Co-op for a tour of their facility.  If you are looking to volunteer, this could be your place.  More info at: http://www.mibike.org.

Here are a few photos. I’ll post more info later. Click on a photo to view a larger version on Flickr.

Approximately 24 riders trickled in to the parking lot at Founder’s for last week’s PedalGR ride. The weather was looking great in the mid 70s and partly cloudy with a decent wind coming out of the west. We headed off through downtown, passing the Blues on the Mall festivities on our [...]]]>
PedalGR at La Grande Vitesse

Approximately 24 riders trickled in to the parking lot at Founder’s for last week’s PedalGR ride. The weather was looking great in the mid 70s and partly cloudy with a decent wind coming out of the west. We headed off through downtown, passing the Blues on the Mall festivities on our way to the Fish Ladder.

We crossed the river again at the historic 6th Street bridge, my favorite bridge in the city and a popular place for photos, and made our way through 6th Street Bridge Park.

We headed south on Ottawa toward Vandenberg Center and the Motu Viget, the DiSuvero giant tire swing sculpture. This awesome sculpture is tucked in a corner between City Hall and the federal building. If you haven’t given it a try, you’re missing out. It’s a ton of fun!

We head south from Calder Plaza, towards Heritage Hill and the ice cream. We pass the Ryerson Main Library, Veteran’s Park, the Civic Theater, and the UICA (Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts) on Sheldon. One of the cool things about PedalGR is the attention that 25 bicyclists riding in a group can get. We will typically get a lot of positive comments (and stares) from passersby.

hand signals are GOOD!

At the Parlor at Cherry Hill Market, each rider got $2 courtesy of the Rapid Wheelmen Bicycle Club, enough for a single cone. And “single” is PLENTY. The scoops at The Parlor are huge and I’d encourage you to check them out on the corner of Cherry and Packard in the East Hills neighborhood. We packed the place!

At this point, the temp had started dropping and off to the west you could tell a storm was rolling in. One of our riders, Dave, had pulled up the radar on his cell phone and it looked to be 30-45 mins. out, so I decided to shorten our already short route a little further. We headed up for a quick jaunt through the north part of Heritage Hill past historic Central High before passing the Meyer May house again on our way back to Founders.

The thunderstorm came through about 15 minutes after we arrived at Founders, so our timing was fantastic! It was a beautiful night to sit out on their deck with a great beer and take in all the sights, sounds, and smells of a summer storm.

Keep showing up and bring your friends, especially those who might not get out on their bicycles without a good excuse.

As usual, Amy and I [...]]]> This ride was my favorite PedalGR ride yet. Perfect weather, great turnout, great route, great orchard tour host. Except for a flat that refused to be fixed at the beginning of the orchard tour, this ride couldn’t have gone better! (and there are lots of pictures to prove it)

As usual, Amy and I rode up in the contraption 10 minutes early with a large group already gathering in front of Founders. We rolled out with 24 in our group and two more to catch up with us in a bit. We headed down Wealthy towards Kent Trail with our gang in tow. Got one of my favorite photos at the stoplight at Market.

Westward toward Millennium Park, we hit up the Kent Trail just past the Coca-Cola bottling plant. I’ve ridden that trail hundreds of times (it was on my daily commute for 5 months ), but it still is great fun nearly every time. The seasons are different and the flowers are different or the river is at a different level.

Every time I visit Millennium Park I think, “This place is awesome! and beautiful. I should really come here more often.” But, I still don’t get out there nearly enough. The photos speak for themselves. We stopped for our first short break on a deck overlooking one of the lakes.

We left the park and headed north to meet Nate Versluis at his house across from the orchard and sweet corn field. The climb up out of the Grand Valley on Maynard to O’Brien is one of the longer continuous hills in the area that I know of.

Nate and his wife Sherry and their kids were there to greet us when we arrived. Two of his daughters were going to join us for our tour. We headed a short way down the road before turning onto a the dirt/gravel/sand road that would take us through the orchard. Unfortunately, it was a little more sand than I had anticipated and a few of us on skinny tire road bicycles had to walk. Nate then explained to us that we should visit his family’s fruit stand on Lake Michigan Dr. in a few weeks to enjoy the super sweet and delicious “better than sex” sweet corn we were going to ride by.

After an extended break to fix a flat (the initial patch attempt failed), we headed on the original Versluis homestead on Maynard. TO THE PEACHES!

We then headed back toward Founder’s via Bridge St. But instead of going straight down the big hill, we went through the pedestrian tunnel on Sibley accessed from Ball Park Blvd. We headed down Lake Michigan Dr. and then across the blue pedestrian bridge with a beautiful view of the riverfront skyline.

On the outskirts of Blues on the Mall, we had pedicab and parrot sightings before the final stretch to Founders.

A big thanks to everyone that came and to the Versluis family for sharing their orchard and their peaches with us. This was my favorite PedalGR ride, yet! Keep showing up and bring your friends, especially those who might not get out on their bicycles without a good excuse.

Approximately 25 people left Founder’s and headed passed Blues on [...]]]> City. Nature. Tree frogs. And crazy men armed with beer and hoses. This ride had it all. Temperature was quite warm, in the low 80s and muggy. But there was lots of blue sky and we were on our way.

Approximately 25 people left Founder’s and headed passed Blues on the Mall on our way to the Westside. After going through GVSU’s Pew Campus and the downtown YMCA, we headed north. It’s becoming a tradition that the PedalGR route makes you feel like you’re going in circles at least once. St. Mary’s Catholic church was the excuse this time.

Also passed The Clique, my favorite 2 story bowling alley.

A little ways north we past by one of the landmarks of GR for those passing through on I-196. St. Adalbert’s green dome is highly visible and memorable. But, the church is even more fantastic up close and personal.

Heading north on Davis, we eventually ran into Harrison Park Elementary School, a fantastic looking school I had no idea existed before planning this ride. We later learned that there is a Mixed Greens garden located there.

It’s not everyday that a scary gang of 25 rogue bicyclists rides by your house. This guy ran out and was trying to offer us an Old Milwaukee Light for our trip (his identity was hidden by the tree to save him the public embarrassment). Surprisingly, he had no takers. Guess we are all beer snobs in this group.

At this point, we were randomly joined by two cyclists who had been on their way to Riverside Park and points north “to get a few miles in,” but bravely decided to join us instead. Of course, I’m terrible with names, so I’ve forgotten them. We passed by Richmond Park and through Washington Park Memorial Gardens, a beautiful little cemetery just to the west.

Just before we stopped at West Catholic High, we had a pedal unclipping incident. No bloodshed though. Guess maybe I should pack that First Aid Kit. Couldn’t stop for too long though, it was hot without the breeze of riding.

After cutting through the parking lot at Unity Church, we ran into some unexpected construction. Walker Ave, which had been paved a week ago was now dirt and gravel. Then the rear entrance to St. Ann’s Retirement Community was fenced off, also open a week ago.

Then we hit the expected construction. Slow and easy on the sidewalk. Apparently one rider fell on a dip, but was okay and caught up with us at Blandford. That’s where the fun began. We started off with half the group in the tower and the other half exploring the bobbing, floating boardwalk. It was pretty awesome. Great views.

Kristin Tindall, ecology educator at Blandford Nature Center had been riding with us. She opened the tower and gave us a short overview of the wetland, pointing out the spice bush butterflies, the tree frogs, and the distinctive green frogs that had not quite started their dusk time chorus, yet.

I believe that is Kelly posing for the camera.

After touring the historic farm area and heirloom garden near the visitor’s center we headed off. We missed the farm plot that Mixed Greens uses as an educational tool to teach school kids about the connection between the food and the land. I’ll be sure to find it when I come back (and you can bet I’ll be back).

Heading south, we went all the way down 7th St, a nice wide road, great for bicycling (can’t say the same for Collindale, with a good amount of traffic and no shoulder at all.) This is one of those streets just begging for bicycle lanes. We passed a high rise on Bridge St where an 84 year old gentleman recently started his room on fire with a cigarette and passed away from the smoke. Next up was the Sunset Ave overlook with a fantastic view of downtown.

DOWNHILL! Down the Bridge St. hill, past Lincoln Park and it’s pool and past John Ball Park and Sacred Heart Church. Just before we got to Fulton, we had a crazy old man who decided we looked hot and sprayed a number of our group with his hose. No photos of crazy old guy. :/

We headed back to Wealthy, over the bridge and back towards Founder’s. An errant turn on my cuesheet had a few of us who were off the back of the group, with Rapid Wheelmen president and volunteer sweeper Jeff Festian, taking the scenic route up and over 131. However, everyone made it back safe and sound and a good dozen or more stayed to enjoy a cold beer and good company after a hot ride.

Had two people that I know of show up because of the blurb in Tuesday’s Grand Rapids Press, so thank you to the mystery person at the Press who listed my ride in the YourLife section. Glad they could make it and I hope they join us again (yeah, bad with names).

More photos on Flickr. All photos taken by Amy except at Sunset Ave overlook.

If you have photographs you would like to contribute, email them to me at fotoman311 ( AT ) yahoo.com and I’ll add them to the Flickr set.

If you have any comments on the ride, don’t be bashful, post them below.

 When Amy and I arrived riding “the contraption,” at 6:10 there were a few people already waiting.  This was a good sign.  [...]]]> FANTASTIC!  That’s what the weather was like when approximately 15 bicyclists left Founder’s for our tour of northeast Grand Rapids.  A huge blue sky above us and temps in the low 60s, perfect bicycling weather.

 When Amy and I arrived riding “the contraption,” at 6:10 there were a few people already waiting.  This was a good sign.  I’m going to try and remember names, but I probably will forget a few, so I apologize.  Keep coming and I’ll eventually catch on.   We had Linda, Tad, Kristina, Mark H., Kane, Ellie, Nate, Veronica, Chris, and a few others whose names have escaped me.  A good mix of Rapid Wheelmen members, WMMBA members, and others who just found the ride through word of mouth.

 We headed up through downtown on Ionia.  By this time the traffic has died down in the core city as we tackled the Fountain St. Hill.  At Union and Fountain, Christiana randomly joined the group.   I love that a random rider joined our group.  We made our way past the dog park and the community garden with little fanfare, the group occasionally spreading out.  Nate graciously volunteered to be my sweeper to make sure no one was left behind.  We snuck through a deadend and into the Romence Gardens back entrance (bikes and pedestrians welcome).

When we made the turn into the Kent County Jail facility, apparently some of the riders didn’t know just how close-up a look they’d be getting.  It’s really a pretty cool building and it’s fun to see it up close rather than while driving 55 (or 70 for you lawbreakers) on I-196.

We stopped for a water break behind the Michigan Works facility at Leonard and Ball.  It then occurred to my wife and I that we should be taking photographs:

After descending the big hill on Ball down to Knapp at 30+ mph (speed limit?  what speed limit?) we headed west past a cemetary and a school.

We were headed to a remote little street called Kent Hills Rd, which abuts the Kent Country Club.   The houses are beautiful and surrounded by trees and it’s a gem of a street.  When we got to the deadend Linda announced that she had once delivered mail on this street…30 years ago!

Next up we hit another big hill on College.  Luckily, our momentum from the downhill carried us a ways up the uphill (the contraption climbs like a brick).  Then we got to another deadend.  Time for the stairs.  Some people were a bit confused…guess they’ll need to read the ride preview on this blog next time. Everyone soldiered on down the stairs with their bicycles and made it okay.

Nate was even kind enough to carry his wife’s bike. What a great guy!

Next we headed past the cobblestone road on Trowbridge between Lafayette and Clancy. Three brave souls decided to take the challenge and ride down. Not coincidentally, they all were riding mountain bikes. The rest of us bypassed and headed on to Newberry Place. Well, we did after a little confusion in the directions and I got us all back on track.

Newberry Place, GR’s first co-housing development, is awesome and if you get a chance to tour it I highly recommend it. Steve Faber, one of the residents, gave us a little background info on co-housing (click the Newberry Place link above for more info) and how the new finished development was the culmination of 6 years of work and planning.

After heading down the Project X earth sculpture to Belknap Park, we headed across the 6th street bridge, skipped the Fish Ladder due to time constraints and crossed under I-196. The view of Bridgewater Place and River House condominiums was fantastic and there wasn’t a single car on Scribner.

This was the home stretch.  Easy going from here!  Unless you happen to graze a telephone pole like Chris did.  He managed not to get run over and was more embarrassed than injured. Somehow, the stem on his innertube broke off from his spill, so we had to pause and replace the tube. Most of the group continued on to Founder’s.

The view along the path in front of the G.R. Ford museum is fantastic around twilight. We made our way back to Founder’s and about 10 people stayed and had a drink and some food. All in all, it was an awesome ride and if you weren’t there you missed out. But, you’re in luck, because we’re doing it again in two weeks! Be there, 6/11 @ 6:30 in front of Founder’s Brewing Co., 235 Grandville Ave.

All photos (except the first) were taken by Amy.  More photos on my flickr account can be found by clicking here.