From Matt Hampel.  Can anyone help out?

I visited the East Quad Bike Co-op yesterday (http://eqbc.org) — they run a free bike repair center, and gave away a number of bikes this year in a spring event:
http://flickr.com/photos/a2community/2397799620/in/photostream/

All in all, they’re a great, somewhat unknown A2 resource.

They told me that they really need help — they’re pretty much flat out of funds for parts and tools this summer. I remembered that the Commuter Challenge is coming up, said I’d send you an email, in the hope that you know of any resources that might be available.

Thanks,
Matt Hampel

The new REI store just opened in Ann Arbor.  And they are going to be letting people park their cars and ride their bikes into town on Fridays in May.

More info: 

Location: 970 West Eisenhower Parkway, at the corner of Ann Arbor Saline Road and Eisenhower Parkway. Call 734-827-1938 if you need more information

Park at REI Ann Arbor and bike to work! You are welcome to use the parking lot at REI for your commute on Fridays in May.

Please park to the west side of the lot (toward Whole Foods, still under construction) to allow customers easy access to the stores.

On May 16 join us for an REI staff-led ride to City Hall. Meet in the store parking lot at 7:30 AM!

Elizabeth Tidd will be leading another Border to Border Trail Ride on Saturday May 10.

Here’s more info:

Just wanted to let you know that I’m leading a ride on the Border to Border Trail again on Saturday , May 10 at 11:30am. It is not listed in the online Ann Arbor Observer http://arborweb.com/ yet, but here’s the copy from April:

11:30 a.m.
“Border to Border Trail Ride”: Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society.
Newcomers and casual riders invited to join a very leisurely, family-friendly 22-mile ride along Washtenaw County’s Border to Border trail, with a stop in Ypsilanti’s Depot Town for lunch. meet at the Bandemer Park entrance off Barton Dr. at Whitmore Lake Rd. Free. 662-0205.

Its just 11miles each way and is mostly on an off-road paved path . Here’s another chance for people to get to know this great trail from Ann Arbor to Ypsi and have a wonderful lunch at Sidetracks! Hope you can join me!

Elizabeth O. Tidd

In the spirit of Curb Your Car Month, I wanted to share this email I received from getmedowntown (no relation to getDowntown).

getmedowntown is an awesome group that charters a bus from Ann Arbor to Detroit so that cool folks can enjoy some of the great cultural events in Detroit without having to drive, park and pay for gas.

Here’s more info, from Rebecca Lopez-Kriss, one of the organizers:

Hey all you hipsters, as you might have read in the Ann Arbor News, getmedowntown.com is still taking reservations for its next trip on May 10th, a fantastic journey where  you ride in style to check out arts and culture in Detroit from Ann Arbor, without having to worry about gas, parking, or getting lost.

If you haven’t managed to get Detroit Derby Girl tickets, you can still ride the bus and either check out the MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit http://www.mocadetroit.org/) for their opening reception for “Considering Detroit and Considering Architecture: Sustainable Designs from Detroit,” or have yourself a good pub crawl.  And do note: the MOCAD exhibit includes green architecture from Ann Arbor, including the next Ann Arbor Public Library.

AND if you are sated from all the ART, ARCHITECTURE, and GENERAL COOLNESS, there will be plenty of time for you to get a swank dinner at Union Street, or at the Majestic Cafe, or a drink with the hip kids at the Magic Stick.  (For you adventurous types, Atlas is only a half mile away, and is totally worth the walk.)

Get more details and schedule for the night and register at http://getmedowntown.com/.

I have been getting questions about the bus.  This is a charter bus with lush seats, a DVD player, and room for a cooler with snacks and drink to tide you over (should you choose to bring one ;-)  Think of it as a more comfortable, rolling tailgate, that doesn’t require you to get up early in the morning.

Pass this on to a friend!  Remember, $50 is up for grabs for the person with the most registered/paid referrals.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Rebecca, your bus captain