Although it was a while ago, the bike tour called "Tour De-Troit" is worth mentioning it. We participated this year, towards the middle of september. It is a ride that explores some of the historic sites of the city. On that day, bikes win the power over cars. This time we made 7,000+ bikers on the roads! Over all it is around 30 miles, which we did in approximately 4 hours at a normal pace, having time to enjoy the views form surrounding buildings and extravagant bikers.
The start and end take place at the magestic train station. Abandoned since years, the Michigan Central Station is one of the symbols of Detroit's history, when cars won over public trasnportation.Today, the monolith still stands as a towering, heartbreaking testament to the grandness of the time before the automobile. Some day it may be used again, repurposed and representing a true value of the city. Until then, it will be a sign of decay that represents the city.
One of the most impressive parts that we passed was the Packard Automotive Plant. It is a factory of a luxury automobile-manufacturer in Detroit called Packard Motor Car Company. In 1903 it was considered the most modern automobile manufacturing factory in the world. In 1958, the plant had to close, though it was used as a storage area until the 1990s. After that, it has been abandoned, and though it is a provat eproperty, it has attracted numerous grafitti-artists and urban explorers. Lately, remodeling works have started to reconvert the area into several projects. Its owner, Palazuelo, is planning to use the space for residential purposes, offices, recreation and art. He is hoping to bring a manufacturer company into the project in exchange for a couple of years of free rent. We probably won't see it finished, but it is definetely a great start. Although we didn't visit the interior, I will upload some pictures from the internet, I find them worth sharing.
Another spot of the tour was Belle Isle. It is a park situated in the Detroit River, between the United Stated mainladn and Canada. It is joined to Detroit though a bridge, and it is a great park with beaches, a botanical garden, a boat club, a fountain etc. It is well conserved by the Belle Isle Conservancy.
And I left the best for the end. It is Andres' premiere with his GoPro, finally! I hope you enjoy it
Thanks for reading,
Lita & Andres
