It was Kate's birthday today so we went out for breakfast at a diner style restaurant called Coney Island. One thing we have been impressed by is the variety of breakfasts available in the US, where the menu resembles more of a magazine.
Our host in Detroit, Mari, sent us a PDF route from Ann Arbor to Detroit which saved on the route planning, and kept us on bike routes, paths and quiet roads. We rode along the Huron River for the morning before joining the Ann Arbor - Plymouth road to Plymouth. We took our 11 o'clock stop in the central park by the fountain, feeling no pressure to rush with less than 50 miles to ride for the day. After Plymouth we rode along a smooth bike path, which made a change from the awful roads, towards Detroit. The outskirts of Detroit seemed very run down, rough areas. Grass was overgrown through a broken pavement, roads were fractured, lamp posts were brown with rust while the buildings were in disrepair and covered in graffiti. We made it through that area and it became nicer as we approached Downtown, but still in need of maintenance. It is what you would expect a city to look like a year or two after everyone disappeared, nature taking over.
Our host was out, but the decorators let us in. We changed and walked 40 minutes into the centre for lunch at a more disappointing All American Coney Island. We then did some emails etc at the library before walking back. Mari had a barbeque going when we returned, with fresh squash from her garden, zucchini and bratwurst. The neighbours, her housemate and friends, and even a host we contacted in Ann Arbor but didn't stay with arrived! It was a fun evening chatting with the locals to the area about how Detroit is redeveloping after the motor industry left, as well as later playing games over a beer or three in the evening.
We have been invited to a youth ride out Mari is doing as she works for a bike shop helping kids earn their first bikes. Something to look forward to tomorrow.
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