FYI, this is From Michigan Peaceworks.  Looks like a Bike Choir is being formed in Ann Arbor

DO YOU RIDE A BIKE? DO YOU LIKE TO SING? ANN ARBOR’S BICYCLE CHOIR IS FOR YOU!

Join us on Monday, April 20 at 6:30pm at Arbor Brewing Company for the inaugural gathering of Ann Arbor’s only choir-on-bikes, a fledgling symphony of self-propelled humanity.

What is a bike choir? It’s a group of 4 to 25 (or more) people who sing (often in four part harmony) as they ride together through the streets. Based on the only other bike choir we know of (Song Cycles – Toronto’s Choir On Bikes), the songs are usually familiar popular, jazz, classical, world, theater, or folk tunes usually adapted to sing the praises of bicycle transportation and / or the communities that embrace it. Though half the fun is composing and customizing new songs, we already have a good start with Toronto’s repertoire (available on CD), including:

Bicyclized Ode To Joy (adapted from Beethoven’s)
Two-Wheel Tango
Way-O (an adapted and urbanized version of Belefonte’s Day-O)
Kumanovao Byksko Oro (an ancient Macedonian bike repair song)
Bike Gang Song
Madrigal
Resolution (adapted from the Brecht / Eisler original)
Recitatistic (a recitatif describing an OECD finding on increased retail sales related to sustainable transport implementation) And more…

For this first meeting we may get to sing but its purpose is mainly to meet and see if there is a Bike Choir in Ann Arbor’s future. Sue Zielinski, co-founder of Toronto’s bike choir will be there to tell some stories and share experiences from her 10 years with Song Cycles. Please come along regardless of your level musical talent – there are many ways to be involved. We look forward to seeing you on the 20th!

*Sponsored by Michigan Peaceworks

Curious about the Commuter Challenge?

Signed up for the Commuter Challenge and want to check out the Competition?

Want some free food, stickers, and buttons?

Come to our Commuter Challenge Open House on April 23 from 5:30-7:30pm in Michigan Room at the Michigan League.  This is a casual event so stop by anytime that night.  There will be info about different commuting options, free food, cool stickers and buttons, and more!

To RSVP for the Open House, please click here.

This Commuter Challenge Ambassador blog post is from Frank over at the EPA.  He also coordinates the Ride Around Town (RAT) a bike-ride downtown that happens the second Friday of every month.  The next RAT is this Friday, April 10th, 6pm at Liberty Plaza.

Do you ever feel that you just can’t get away from the noise of this world? I find this especially true in Ann Arbor, because the city is surrounded by high speed highways with no sound barriers to protect close-by neighborhoods from the constant noise of traffic. No wonder many commuters choose to wear headphones or earbuds to listen to music or news as they walk, bus, or ride a bike to work (illegal for bicyclists, but it’s done all the time).

I invite you to discover yet another commuting option.  Plan your walking or riding commute to pass through one of the many city parks in Ann Arbor, even if it adds a few more minutes to your morning.  I am so lucky in this regard! My bike ride takes me through Gallup Park, over the Huron River on the wooden bridge by the canoe livery, then under Huron Parkway so I can reach the northbound side path on that road. Yesterday I biked this route for the first time since taking off my studded snow tires. I replaced the Nokian’s with Michelin City Tires which are slick in the middle, making them super quiet.  As I crossed the wooden bridge I became aware of the silence.  Cold, lightly snowing, even the geese were silent as they drifted in the current on the river.  A beautiful calmness came over me.

And in no time at all I was back on the road, dealing with cars at intersections, traffic signals and the rest.  Bicycle commuting takes constant vigilance, constant awareness of your surroundings.  But there are moments when you encounter a perfect calm, perfect silence, made even more perfect by its transience.

Seek the silence.  Active modes of transportation in this city can provide unexpected moments of serenity like this, costing only a few minutes of your time.

Bike need a tune-up?  Have an old bike you’d like to recycle?  Bring it to the East Quad Bike Co-op Spring Fix-up!  The East Quad Bike Co-op is a student run group that’s here to help the community get on their bikes.  Everyone is welcome.  Details below:

2nd Annual Spring Bicycle Fix-up!
Fix or recycle your bicycle
Host: East Quad Bike Co-op
Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009
Time: Donations accepted starting at 9am, event is 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Location: East Quad Courtyard
Street: 701 East University, Ann Arbor, MI

Help the the bike co-op help you!

Donate your old bicycle (starting at 9am) to the East Quad Bike Co-op so they can recycle the parts!

Bring your bicycle (from 12-3pm) to get fixed up for spring!

Labor will ask for donations to support the Student Environmental Action Coalition. www.seac.org