Bikes and Halloween

Happy Halloween! I helped giving out candy at our Community House. We had a Haunted House and had almost 1,000 kids swarm there for candy and scares. The scariest thing I saw as a man walking his cat on a leash. I stayed far away.

I got a postcard from Adventure Cycling about a meeting to be held at Second Baptist Church downtown that mentioned the Underground Railway Bike Route . It was about bikes, it was at night, it was in town, and I hadn't ridden all month so I went. The meeting was far ranging and I learned a lot. It ends up that Detroit was an important stop on the Underground Railroad and that the Second Baptist Church and the First Congregational Church were major centers here. I found out that Adventure Cycling is adding a spur off their original Mobile, Alabama to Owen Sound, Ontario Underground Railway Bike Route route that will go thru Detroit. There was a presentation on the Greenways Initative for bike routes within Detroit and the metro area, complete with maps of planned and existing routes. I now have places to explore on my Tuesday night bike rides in the city. I got to take a tour of the church and hear about the interactive exhibit on the Underground Railway that will be at the African American Museum here in 2010. Not bad for a cold October night that looked like rain.

While the only thing growing in my garden is the compost heap, the greens are holding their own. It takes a deep snow to kill off kale, Swiss chard, and collards. As long as they hang on it's not winter yet. I'm harvesting them bit by bit and waiting for the green tomatoes to ripen. In the fall, I collect leaves that my neighbors rake up to add to the grass clippings next summer in the compost heap. I'm learning a little bit each year. Now if I can just control the insects and mildew.