Category: Walk n Roll

A Special Soul

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I was greeted with excitement as I pulled up to Haley’s house, as she ran up to me waving with a retro faded red wonder woman t-shirt on and R2-D2 socks, asking me to come play with her. Haley is one of our youngest Bike Dearborn participants; 4 years old. This one warms my heart every time I hear her sweet “thank you” shout-outs, as she pedals by me with her mom, Jessica, and her grandpa, Fred.  Her first ride with Bike Dearborn was last season at our Beaumont ride, where we first meet.  Jessica asked me to take a picture of the two of them and that’s when our friendship began.

Haley sports her Raphael Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle helmet, knee, and elbow pads when she joins us almost every week!  Raphael wears a red scarf around his eyes, which happens to be Haley’s favorite color. Raphael happens to be know as “The Dynamo”.  I would say that Haley fits most of his characteristics (I had to do some research): bold, original, sociable, and naturally are just a few to name!  I asked Haley why she likes Raphael the best, and she said, “he saves people and fights the bad guys”.

I spent at least an hour and a half with Haley.  We rescued her Pet Shop figures from being immersed in pink and green slim, played outside, and I got the opportunity to meet “Bosley”, the family’s German Shepard.  Haley was full of energy, as she gave me the grand tour of her house!  She was a gracious hostess offering me a tangerine and a bottle of water, as I sat on her couch to start the interview.  Haley shared with me that her favorite part of our rides is all the playgrounds we roll by.

Not only does Haley love to ride her bike, but she loves to dance!  I ended our visit with Haley and her mom sitting on her front porch, as she flipped through her favorite new book laughing and bringing life to, The Little Fur Family!  Haley will be on her way to Sacred Heart come fall; wish her luck!  I had many laughs with Haley and her mom!  This one has a special soul:)

Jen (#corkergirl)

 

               

         

 

 

 

 

Bicycle Friendly Business – LaBo Family Chiropractic

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Through our Bike Dearborn and Healthy Dearborn Walk n Roll hosted events, businesses in Dearborn are realizing the importance of becoming a bicycle friendly business. This can mean a number of things for the individual business. Most importantly, it’s recognizing a demographic of clientele that become very loyal to the business.

Our first featured business is LaBo Family Chiropractic. Dr. Heidi LaBo contacted us about hosting a Walk n Roll after seeing the success of our event across the street from her office at Joe and Reno’s Pizzeria. Dr. Heidi saw the value that could be added to her office and her patients by not only hosting a Walk n Roll event to introduce her business to our participants, but to add a permanent bike rack for parking near the rear entrance of her office.

I asked Dr. Heidi 3 questions.
1. In a few short sentences, tell us about your business.
2. What was the influencing factor in becoming a bicycle friendly business?
3. What steps did you take to become a bicycle friendly business and what do you hope to achieve?
4. Do you have any plans to do anything else to attract bicyclists to your business?

Dr. Heidi’s answers.
I am Dr Heidi LaBo and I’ve been a chiropractor in Dearborn for 20 years. We adjust patients from newborns just hours old to 98 years young and everyone in between. Becoming a bike friendly business made so much sense for us as we are a wellness facility! We educate our patients on proper body mechanics so they can prevent injury while they exercise and we love to promote healthy living. What better way than to ride your bike to an appointment! We asked to participate with Bike Dearborn to help educate our community on health and wellness. In preparation for the event I got a bike rack and bike parking sign. What a huge hit it has been with our patients. We have patients riding their bikes to their appointments everyday now. Seeing the large interest in patients using our bike rack has motivated us to hold a future workshop about proper bike riding posture and some stretching exercises prior to riding. Thank you Bike Dearborn for giving us this opportunity and for motivating us to reach out to the fellow bikers in our community!

Thank you Dr. Heidi and Staff at LaBo Family Chiropractic for making Bicycling Better in Dearborn!

The Tandem Bike in Itself is Unique

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Pat and Mary Margaret are an integral part of our Bike Dearborn Community.  The sweetness of affection these two display for one another is something to see!   Mary Margaret was born and raised in Dearborn. They currently live in the house Mary Margaret’s dad had built. They were married in 1970, 49 years and counting.  I did ask Pat, why they choose to join us every week, and he stated, ¨riding with my sweetheart, of course¨.

These two are not easy to miss on our bike rides every Wednesday.  Pat and Mary Margaret ride a red tandem bike, which is unique in itself!  Pat had the tandem custom made in California.  Mary Margaret had some health issues that lead them to start riding a tandem bike.  Riding a tandem bikes requires a lot of teamwork and trust!

The love of their daughter shined through when I was asking them questions.  Pat shared that she teaches at Ohio State and Mary Margaret bleeds green and white, not red, as they both smiled at each other, wearing their Spartan lanyards and we all laughed!

If you have not had the opportunity to introduce yourself to them, please do!  They have some great stories to share for their love for each other, biking , and their family.

Jen (#corkergirl)

2018 HEALTHY DEARBORN WALK N ROLL SCHEDULE

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May
May 2, 2018 6:15p – Kick off Event – Brome Modern Eatery, 22062 Michigan Ave. (PARKING)
May 9, 2018 6:15p – QahWah House, 6655 Schaefer Rd (PARKING)
May 16, 2018 6:45p – Oak Playground, 1601 McMillan St (Helmets Mandatory! Ride of Silence: rideofsilence.org)
May 23, 2018 6:30p – Ford Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave.  Met near the south entrance by the fitness center.  Multi-Modal Transportation Plan Input Pop-Up – Surveys will be available to fill out after the Walk n Roll
May 30, 2018 6:30p – Beaumont Hospital, 18101 Oakwood (Main Entrance)
We Walk n Roll promptly at 7p after our traditional group photo. 

June
June 6, 2018 6:15p – Habib’s Cuisine, 14316 Michigan Ave
June 13, 2018 6:15pm – Joe & Reno’s Pizza, 2311 Monroe St.
June 20, 2018 6:30p – Ford Field, Covered Bridge (Close proximity for Taste of Dearborn participants)
June 27, 20186:15p – Al Ameer, 12710 West Warren Ave.
We Walk n Roll promptly at 7:00p after our traditional group photo. 

July
July 4, 2018  No Walk n Roll – Happy Independence Day!
July 11, 2018 6:15pm – Sal’s Pizza, 5084 Chase Rd. 
July 18, 2018 6:15p – La Pita, 22681 Newman St.
July 25, 2018 – TBD
We Walk n Roll promptly at 7:00p after our traditional group photo. 

August
August 1, 20186:15p – The Butcher’s Grille & Market, 22713 Michigan Ave
Saturday, August 4, 10:00a – 3rd AnnualHomecoming Family Bike Ride, Registration begins 9:00am
August 8, 2018 6:30p – Geer Park (Close proximity to Jazz on the Avenue)
August 15, 2018 – TBD
August 22, 2018 – TBD
August 29, 2018 6:15p – Black Box Gallery, 3700 Monroe St.
We Walk n Roll promptly at 7:00p after our traditional group photo. 

September
September 5, 2018 5:45p – Tropical Smoothie Cafe east, 5858 Schaefer Rd
September 12, 2018 – TBD
September 19, 2018 5:30p – City Hall Art Space, 13615 Michigan Ave​
September 26, 2018 – TBD
We Walk n Roll promptly at 6:30p  after our traditional group photo. 

October
October 3, 2018 – TBD
October 10, 2018 – TBD
October 17, 2018 – TBD
October 24, 2018 –  5:30p Common Grace Coffee – Season Finale
Thank YOU for a Great Season!
October 31, 2018 – No Walk n Roll – Happy Halloween!
We Walk n Roll promptly at 6:00p  after our traditional group photo. 

We are looking for local Dearborn businesses that want to host/sponsor our walk n roll each week. We’re looking for family-friendly businesses in all areas of the city!! If you have a business or know a business that would be interested, have them contact us. Walk n Rolls are Wednesday evenings May-Oct. Thanks!