Living in Ann Arbor
for two years now I do love the city even more. Being in a small college town
surrounded by beautiful trees and vegetation and split apart by Huron River you
feel enchanted by the calmness and serenity of the nature. However, the lively
downtown area with its occasional fairs and festivals reminds you of crowded
metropolitan lifestyle. However, I found one of my best hobbies neither in
downtown nor in nature. I found it on roads!
As you can tell, Ann
Arbor is a very bike friendly town, You can see dedicated bike lanes on most of
the roads in town which makes it safe for cycling around the city. When I first
got my bike I found it pretty easy to get everywhere in town. At scale of a
city like Ann Arbor it is quite easy and fast to commute by bike. Moreover,
there are very pretty roads to bike in and around the town that you can bike in
couple of hours. Kind of a perfect plan for a weekend. Now I would like to
share some of my biking experiences in Ann Arbor.
The first story is
about biking along Huron River through the tunnel of trees, enjoying the
beautiful riverside and ends with a brunch at good old Northside Grill (Northside Grill). The road starts at
Barton Drive and goes along Huron River all the way down Barton Shore Drive,
then it goes up the hill on Spring Valley Road to a beautiful golf course on
the top of the hill, it descends down the Country Club Road where a bridge
takes you to the other side of the river. Biking down the Huron River Drive,
you reach the Broadway Street which takes you to Northside Grill, a perfect
place to have a delicious brunch and chill for a while after your bike trip.
Moreover, there are
beautiful roads in the suburbs that are perfect for biking. One of my favorite
short biking trips is a ten mile biking from Ann Arbor to Sidetrack Bar and
Grill in Ypsilanti (Sidetrack Bar and
Grill).The
path goes through Gallup Park Pathway which is a beautiful road that goes
around Gallup Park along Huron River. Then you pass the 23 highway an go all
the way down to Eastern Michigan University, Most of the times that I am there
I get out of the way and go for a ride in beautiful Eastern Michigan University
Campus. Getting back on the road you are just ten minutes away from your
destination where the famous handcrafted Sidetrack burger is waiting for you!
If you are interested
in biking with larger group of people there are many biking clubs and biking
groups with different levels of proficiency that you can find online (maize pages). Get a bike and enjoy
your ride in beautiful Ann Arbor.
Prepared by Omid Oliyan
Summer Orientation Peer Adviser from Iran
Ph.D. student in Architecture
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