• Frisinger Park, City of Ann Arbor.
  
• General contractor Rolla Frisinger (1890-1961), whom the park is named after; biography on Arborwiki, a city encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
  
• My October 2009 brief on football parking in Frisinger Park, which appeared on the agenda suddenly for one City Council meeting.
  
• Woodbury Gardens apartments; the earliest of these date from the late 1960s.
  
• Lakeland Trails State Park, a 13-mile-long flat trail with a gravel surface between Stockbridge and Pinckney; with information from the Michigan DNR.
  

Iroquois Street: Slow-moving streets with speed bumps and no traffic

Iroquois Street, located just south of East Stadium between East Stadium and Packard Street, is known far and wide for its "majestic speed bumps." These traffic calming devices are clearly marked with a 5 mph warning sign, and there are so many of them along such a short one block street that no one in a vehicle of any size dares to use Iroquois as a cut-through.

The speed-bump protected stretch of street got an "awesome" rating from the junior cyclist. Though the bumps slowed down the cars to the point that we didn't see any cars on a Sunday afternoon, they also provided a speedup for him accompanied by a "whee" sound. There were enough other kids out front on the street to make it clear that he would not have been the only kid his size in the neighborhood, but we were the only ones riding.

Riding in the street with a kindergartener for his first time out as a vehicle was a challenge. We took extra precautions at the beginning and the ending of the streets, and always kept close watch out for cars. Make sure that you have a bell or horn as a warning signal in case you do see someone coming who doesn't see you yet.

Links

• The Botanical Gardens on Iroquois, a May 2001 Ann Arbor Observer "Then and Now" column by Grace Shackman.
• An Ann Arbor Chronicle short piece on the Iroquois speed bump reconstruction.
• AnnArbor.com story on flooding in June includes mention of flooding on Iroquois Street.
• City of Ann Arbor on traffic calming.
• Black Eyed Peas, My Humps, a 2005 song with video.

South Industrial: Sunday morning ride

South Industrial Highway, which runs parallel to the Ann Arbor Railroad tracks between Eisenhower Parkway and East Stadium just to the east of South State Street, is a flat, straight, direct north-south road which is largely undiscovered by State Street commuters. Otherwise known as "Resale Row," it is the home of supply, resale, wholesale, light industrial, and repair shops and services of all kinds.

As hinted by its name, South Industrial is not a great bicycle road on weekdays. The pavement is sturdy but not smooth, and the traffic includes truck traffic which is not looking out for bicycles. The road is wide enough to accommodate a bicycle in the traffic lane, but it's not the ordinary vehicle that most drivers regularly see.

The street is, however, equipped with good sturdy sidewalks in good condition. These made excellent sidewalk paths for both the mountain bike and the training wheels. Our destination was the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop, and it's remarkable how much less you can actually buy when you describe that if you can't lift it home, you can't buy it.

Riding on a sidewalk with a kindergartener is always a challenge. You have to watch for traffic, especially traffic that is turning into or out of driveways. Of the whole week, Sunday morning is really the best time I can think of to make this particular trek, because there's too many chances for busy traffic other times to make it practical.

Links

• Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop
  
• I bought an electronic hygrometer, used to measure ambient humidity, for $1
  
• AnnArbor.com story on Resale Row.