A couple of articles about Detroit's bicycling past, and future. It had never occurred to me that Detroit started as a bicycle town and emerged into a car town. (tip)
This fast crowd of cyclists were the first Detroiters to complain about
bumpy potholed dirt roads and began lobbying for smooth paving.
Historians attribute the automobile's explosion of growth in Detroit to
the network of superior roads built for bicyclists.
John and Horace Dodge produced bicycles until 1901 when they opened a machine shop in Detroit to make stove parts, and later auto parts. In 1910 they established The Dodge Brothers plant in Hamtramck, where they made engines and other parts for Ford and Olds. In 1913 they began making cars and by their deaths in 1920 their company was one of the largest in the industry.
When Henry Ford teamed with bike racer Tom Cooper to build a racing automobile in 1902, neither had the nerve to drive it.
John and Horace Dodge produced bicycles until 1901 when they opened a machine shop in Detroit to make stove parts, and later auto parts. In 1910 they established The Dodge Brothers plant in Hamtramck, where they made engines and other parts for Ford and Olds. In 1913 they began making cars and by their deaths in 1920 their company was one of the largest in the industry.
When Henry Ford teamed with bike racer Tom Cooper to build a racing automobile in 1902, neither had the nerve to drive it.
A bicycle built for 10 from 1896. This tandem bike is part of the collection at the Henry Ford Museum at Greenfield Village.
And
In 1896, when Charles B. King steered Detroit’s first automobile across
its cobbled streets, following King’s progress with a keen and
intelligent interest was Henry Ford, riding on a bicycle.
The second article is about how Detroit could again become a bike town.
While bike enthusiasts in most urban areas continue to have to fight
for their place on the streets, Detroit has the potential to become a
new bicycle utopia. It’s a town just waiting to be taken. With well
less than half its peak population, and free of anything resembling a
hill, the city and its miles and miles of streets lie open and empty,
beckoning. And lately, whether it’s because of the economy or the price
of gas or just because it’s a nice thing to do, there are a lot more
bikers out riding.
Our abandoned landscape suggests an opportunity that alternative-transportation proponents should consider: instead of raging against their cities’ internal combustion machines, they might consider a tactical retreat to the city that cars have pretty much abandoned.
Despite the press, survival here isn’t so hard. Businesses like the Wheelhouse and the Hub have already shown how well Detroit can work as a new business hothouse. With the legendarily affordable real estate and without needing to pay for car payments, gas or insurance, bicyclists could rebuild Detroit into a model of a two-wheeled economy. They could pass laws promoting bikes over cars and designate entire avenues motor-free zones, which, given the state of many of them now, wouldn’t be so much of a stretch.
a lot of cars still rely on chains and cables for key items (in mine, throttle, timing chains, emergency brakes). Every car mech I know suggests talking to the bike guys first on thing like lubrication.
Posted by: charlie | July 06, 2009 at 08:51 PM