My discoveries of Detroit were slowly but truly coming to a cease, and I had visible such a lot of exciting locations already in my whirlwind tour during the last four days. Just earlier than I became prepared to hop across the border to Windsor once more, I had one more adventure on my timetable: a cycling tour of Southwest Detroit to cover Corktown and Mexicantown.

Detroit Travel - A Bicycle Tour Through Corktown and Mexicantown 1

After a filling breakfast at the Inn on Ferry Street, I took their complimentary commute downtown to Rivard Plaza, next to the Detroit Riverwalk. At 10 am I met Kelly Kavanaugh, co-proprietor of Wheelhouse Detroit, Downtown Detroit’s first bike condo facility, for more than 30 years. Wheelhouse additionally presents bicycle maintenance and provider and offers a selection of excursions of various Detroit neighborhoods.

Wheelhouse Detroit became founded via pals Kelli Kavanaugh and Karen Gage, two younger women who’ve been energetic inside the Detroit non-profit and urban planning scene for years. Equipped with a recommendation from fellow entrepreneurs, begin-up investment from the city’s micro-credit program, and their very own savings, they embarked on their entrepreneurial mission. They purchased 30 bicycles which incorporate relaxed cruisers, city mountain motorcycles, youngsters motorcycles, trailers, or even a tandem.

Their bikes are made through Kona, a philanthropically inclined producer who donates bicycles to Africa’s non-earnings organizations. Along with other human beings I have met over the past four days, Kelli and Karen are an instance of the new breed of Detroit entrepreneurs who integrate their love for the metropolis with tough paintings and entrepreneurial creativity.

On an incredible, however, cool and windy October day, Kelli and I headed off westwards along the Detroit Riverwalk and quickly handed the General Motor Renaissance Centre and Hart Plaza, the civic center of Detroit. The Detroit International Riverfront covers a place stretching from the Ambassador Bridge to Belle Isle and encompasses numerous parks, restaurants, retail shops, skyscrapers, and home areas alongside the Detroit River. Hundreds of tens of millions of bucks were raised to revitalize this great place within the last few years.

The Detroit Riverwalk is a leisure multipurpose direction that stretches 5.5 miles (almost nine km) along Detroit’s riverfront and provides separate lanes for pedestrians and bicyclists, or inline skaters. Wheelhouse Detroit is positioned internal Rivard Plaza, an of doors area that functions the Cullen Family Carousel, an inlaid granite map of the Detroit River, fountains, and gardens. Rivard Plaza opened in June of 2007 and also functioned as the Riverwalk Cafe.

Cycling west on the Riverwalk, Kelli told me about her project and her ardor for cycling in Detroit. As the city is pretty spread out and plenty of the traffic concentrates on the metropolis’s characteristic sunken expressways, the downtown area is notably freed from site visitors congestion and cycling-friendly. In my beyond four days in Detroit, I did now not come upon any traffic jams downtown, a surprising enjoy whilst you come from a congested location like Toronto.

Detroit Travel - A Bicycle Tour Through Corktown and Mexicantown 2

As we pedaled towards the wind, we passed with the aid of several greater Detroit landmarks – Cobo Arena, the Cobo Convention Centre, and the Joe Louis Arena – domestic of the Detroit Red Wings. Leaving the downtown place in the back of we headed into southwest Detroit. The first neighborhood that greeted us changed into Corktown, Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, named after the Irish immigrants from County Cork that settled right here.

The homes in this location date back to 1834 and feature nicely restored Victorian houses, lots of them brightly painted. Corktown also has many cool gathering spots and eateries, including the funky Zeitgeist Gallery, a bar called Nemo’s, which was voted No. Three “perfect sports bar in the US with the aid of Sports Illustrated and LJ.’s – a hip karaoke place, as well as an extensive range of other various eating places.