Glad you enjoyed the ride and truly do appreciate the feedback. -TdT

I participated in the metric century. It was great fun and a substantive display of how Detroit can become re-energized. On one hand it was sad to see many of the beautiful old buildings that have been abandoned or fallen into severe disrepair, on the other I was inspired to see some of the many examples of revitalization that respects and even restores the historic character of the city. With its rich resources of historically significant residential and commercial buildings, the huge natural asset of the Detroit River and its position as a gateway to Canada there is so much potential begging to be realized.

Just a couple comments/suggestions:
1.I was a little disappointed to miss out on tasting the food at the end from most of the restaurants, (particularly Slows BBQ since I’ve read so much about it). However, Mudgies Deli provided ample cole slaw. It tasted great and hope to get to Corktown soon to enjoy a whole meal at Mudgies. I did stay for the pizza and, so, did not starve.

2.I would have liked to have had some water to refill my water bottles at the end as I was riding back to Royal Oak. It was nice of Clif to provide their product, though, and since there was plenty provided, I was able to take more than my quota to serve the purpose. I’ve noticed on some century rides at rest stops that there are large dispensers of water and Gatorade (mixed from a powder) provided for riders to refill water bottles. Perhaps that can be an inexpensive option for future rides.

I left early from the first rest stop to set a faster pace for myself. I passed the 30 mile group coming from Belle Isle on East Grand Boulevard while I was going toward Belle Isle. The number of riders was very impressive, it seemed to be about two miles long. I later passed the metric century riders on the bridge to Belle Isle — they were entering the island as I was leaving, so I thought I was about 6 miles ahead of them. I was surprised when I got to Roosevelt Park, probably less than 10 miles later, that they were already there. Do you know if they omitted a leg of the ride?

It was a great ride and hope to be there next year.

However, it’s starting to outgrow it’s roots. With over 2000 participants (registered and bandits), only 4 porta poties at the rest stop, the seeming lack of police support compared to prior years, and the loooooong food lines at the end (and of course running out of food), I have to ask myself if I want to participate next year.

Nice job, but I’m not sure it’s sustainable in its present form. Please consider limiting ridership to less than 1000.

So only a couple of shots from the first corner:

http://adrianplatts.com

The pack looked awesome heading down Michigan!

Now, plans have conspired to enable us to make it, but we’ve canceled the trip because we don’t want to have to leave at 5-5:30am to make it over and try to fight the potential crowd, only to not get in and have our drive be for nothing.

Had the limit been pre-advertised, I may have purchased during the day today, knowing that we might not be able to use our spot, but that we would at least be able to ride if we headed over.

Maybe we will be able to make it next year. It looks like a great time! I hope that some of you East Siders can make it over for the Colorburst Tour my wife and I organize, which draws about 800+ people. http://www.rapidwheelmen.com/colorburst