Detroit, a final look

Our last day in Detroit. We visited the Shinola factory = a US company building quality watches, leather goods and bikes. Yes, a strange mix of products but they are creating jobs which is key to Detroit's growth. The bikes kept me occupied for a while and I resisted the offer for a test ride - I said I wouldn't come back ;)  They now have several shops around the US and the bikes are selling in Europe. They have a shop here in DC so I think I'll look more into the bikes as I'm keen to get a commuter bike to ride here. I bought a nice belt and Deb bought a lovely watch. She's a 'watch' girl and we both felt we were contributing to the Detroit economy - that was our excuse anyway.

 It took Deb bloody ages to choose a watch. They had a small cafe at the front so they shouted us a coffee so Deb could have some thinking time. The coffee was nice too so this whole Shinola experience was wonderful. We'll be eating baked beans for a month but it was worth it.

 


With a few hours left in Detroit, we went to the bike rental shop and hired some cruiser bikes to burn around some nice areas. In particular, we rode the Dequindre Cut - hard to say in a hurry without being offensive. Deb kept saying 'delinquent'. This used to be a railway line but now converted into a bike path. The path is lined with concrete blocks from the railway line and there is lots of graffiti on the walls. They are getting artists in to do professional artwork and it makes for an interesting ride. Look carefully at the racing cars - there's a cyclist in there !!

We took a late arvo flight home and we were both exhausted from a long weekend. We totally enjoyed Detroit and had some great memories of this trip.