Bike Things in January

Just what can you do involving bikes in January? More to the point, what can I possibly blog about in January when the PALM is going to be June 21 - 27? One thing saving me this week is Adventure Cycling. They send out an email every couple of weeks with little blurbs about biking (and links to the complete stories). Click here to sign up. This issue had stories about two friends who turned their couch into a bike and a Congressman who bikes in Washington DC. (Hey, in January I'm easy to please.)

Another thing I did was to sign up for the West Michigan MS 150. This year it's being held on May 31-June 1. This won't give me much time to get ready. I first did the PALM to get ready for the Mid Michigan MS 150 which is held in the middle of July. Now it looks like it will be the other way around. It's a pledge ride that has 89% of the pledge money collected going to their programs: a good percentage.

What else to do in January? How about a 4-H potluck? There is a 4-H club on McClellan in Detroit. (Check out Mapquest to see where that is: you would be surprised.) The Garden Resource Program sponsored a potluck there to announce their plans for the new year. They weren't able to mail out flyers and only made a few calls. They expected maybe 20-30 people. They got about 70-80. People are ready to garden now. This is a program to promote family and community gardens in Detroit as a source of fresh vegetables. Did you know that there are no grocery chain stores anywhere in Detroit and that for most of the city the nearest grocery outlet is a gas station? That's what the Garden Resource program is trying to address. Click here to see what I'm going to get for $10.