Margie and I took last week off and traveled to Detroit on Friday to attend the wedding of Tom and Joyce Alderson's daughter Courtney. We traveled with Tom and Jean Freeman
and enjoyed several days and nights eating our way through Detroit and the surrounding countryside. I gained about 10 pounds so I have to relate how it happened and what my first ride was like after our return to Clearwater. Our first stop after we landed was in Ann Harbor where we enjoyed some tasty corned beef and
pastrami sandwiches and excellent service at Zingerman's. A little pricey but very good. Zingerman's is just off the University of Michigan's campus and it brought back memories of playing at the "big house" some 40 years ago. Friday evening we attended the rehearsal dinner at Kruse & Muer in Rochester Hills north of Detroit. This is a very nice establishment in downtown Rochester Hills. The drinks and the appetizers were good, especially the lightly breaded calamari which was delicious as it melted in your mouth. I had the white fish for dinner as it is a Michigan favorite and I thought I'd give it a try. It was a little dry and without taste but apparently that's the way it's prepared in Michigan. Just add tarter sauce, I guess. The highlight was the blueberry cobbler with fresh Michigan blueberries which kept their shape and combined just the right amount of sweetness and tartness. Saturday morning we ventured out to breakfast at the Flytrap Restaurant in Ferndale, Michigan. I had the uncommon red hash made with beets as well as the regular stuff, eggs, potatoes and corned beef. Um good. We were disappointed, however, that the waffle maker was broken. Next we traveled down the road a bit to Royal Oak where we had an early beer at the Royal Oak Brewery in their Beer Garden. Royal Oak looks a lot like Gainesville, FL. and has a young college atmosphere. Up the road we found another place to have a drink and of course some food. The Rochester Mills Brewery. We thought the beers were somewhat flat at this location as they didn't seem to have much effervescence. After the wedding we spent a day traveling in and around Detroit. The first stop was Hitsville in Detroit, the small home of Motown Records for ten years between 1962 and 1972. It's just a small home with a garage that was turned into a studio. They put on a great walking tour of the place where Berry Gordy started Motown and studio A where all the music was made. Quite a good tour for $10. We all enjoyed it. If you have a chance, their is a great DVD out "Standing in the Shadows of MoTown", which documents the saga of the Funk Brother's studio band which played on more #1 records than the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley combined. Next we headed to Slows Barbecue we had some good ribs, pulled pork, chicken and beef brisket. We also had sides of macaroni and cheese, corn bread, and green beans. The brisket was especially good, while the pulled pork was a little too crispy for my liking but I did eat it all. On to a walking tour of downtown Detroit, the GM Renaissance Center, and Cheli's Bar next to Comerica Park where the Detroit Tigers play. The stadium was very impressive as it is lined all around by huge carved stone tigers. I would avoid Cheli's next time, however, as the waitresses were a bit unfriendly. We did discover a great Michigan beer at this place, it's called Oberon, a taste of citrus and very refreshing. Next we did a driving tour of one of the nicer parts of Detroit called Grosse Pointe. We stopped at the Beach Grille on the lake and had some hors d'oeuvres and girlie drinks ( I wanted an umbrella but never got one) prior to heading to a local bar in Rochester Hills where we had the Monday special; a burger, beer and fries for $4.99 (burp). This was definitely the best value of the trip. Oh, and just to finish the evening off we went back to Alderson's and had some left over but yummy wedding cake for dessert. Tuesday we headed home but not before having breakfast at Toast in Ferndale. We stopped at the Flytrap first to check if the waffle iron was fixed. To our surprise, it wasn't so we headed a few doors down to the Toast. Margie and I had a regular breakfast of toast, eggs and sausage. Tom Freeman had the best breakfast, a Grand Marne waffle. We arrived early at the airport in Detroit and had time for a few beers and bratwurst before boarding our flight back to Clearwater. It was near dinner time when we arrived in Clearwater so we stopped at one of our favorite pizza places, Anthony's and finished our trip with fire roasted wings and pizza. Luckily, on Wednesday I had a couple of appointments so I did not ride. I probably would have popped my tires anyway with the extra Detroit weight. Thursday morning I was afraid to weigh in before starting my ride and I really didn't feel like riding but knew I had to get it over with. I headed south to do a Six Bridges ride, over the Clearwater Pass, Sand Key and Belleair Causeway and return. This would allow me to test my legs over some Florida mini-hills since my return from RedSpoke. I knew the bridges wouldn't be as tough as any of the RedSpoke climbs so I gritted my teeth and pulled myself up and over each of the bridges actually standing and pumping most of the way. I got my heart rate to 160 or so before dropping down to peddle from the saddle. Not bad, but by the time I got home I was pretty spent and my legs were sore. I finished the 38 miles in 2 hrs 24 min. After a dip in the pool I crashed on the couch for a couple hours (some people call this a nap). It's a few days later now and I'm feeling better as I have ridden the Six Bridges three more times and my time is down to 2 hrs and 10 min. I actually made it up the first bridge at almost 14 mph compared to my usual 6 mph. I have taken off 5-6 of the Detroit pounds so I have a little more Slows barbecue and Alderson wedding cake to go but I think RedSpoke has made me a stronger climber so I'm happy for now.
