Avalon Bakery in Detroit now sells Dequindre Cut Trail Mix Cookies (both vegan and not.)

They’re as awesome as the trail.

We haven’t determined just how many laps of the Cut you’ll need to ride in order to burn off a cookie — and maybe we won’t.

A couple recent items popped up on the July 27th Detroit City Council agenda that area cyclists might be interested in. Though we’re not certain that they passed, it’s likely they did since they were successfully reported out of committee.

First, a contact to purchase bus bike racks was before council.

Brown, reso. autho. Contract No. 2824443 - 20% State Funding; 80% Federal Funding – To Provide Bus Bicycle Racks, Spare Parts and Associated Hardware – RFQ #33730 Sportworks Northwest, Inc., 15540 Wood-Red Road N.E., Bldg #A-200, Woodinville, WA 98072 – Contract Period: August 1, 2010 through July 31, 2013, with Two (2), One (1) Year Renewal Options – Items (2) Unit Price: $38.00/each to $546.00/each. Lowest Total Bid – Estimated Cost: $353,999.36/Three Years – TRANSPORTATION

DDOT has said they would get bus bike racks on their existing fleet. They’re new buses already have them.

Second, and we’ve mentioned this already, but a grant application for extending the Dequindre Cut was approved by council committee.

Brown, reso. autho. Endorsing the Application to MDNRE Right of Way Acquisition. (DPW intends to submit an application to MDNRE for an amount of $500,000.00 to acquire the Right-of-Way (ROW) needed for the construction of Dequindre Cut, Phase II Project.) (REPORTED OUT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDING COMMITTEE 07-26-10) WAIVER OF RECONSIDERATION

This grant request would be for the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, which this year is flush with money. That means it’s very likely the Dequindre Cut grant will be approved. This grant is only to acquire the right-of-way. Additional funds will be required to improve existing bridges over the Cut and to build the trail itself.

It’s only three blocks long, but it connects the Dequindre Cut to Milliken State Park and the Detroit RiverWalk.

And it’s a beautiful three blocks.

Today, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and others cut ribbons on both ends of the trail to mark the official opening of the Dequindre Trail Extension.

The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy also unveiled their new banners along the Dequindre Trail and Cut. Those banners were designed by local school children and reflect a series of themes, such as “play”, “grow”, and “inspire.”

Below are some snippets from recent bike-related articles around the Metro area.

Dequindre Cut extension opens Thursday

From Crain’s Detroit Business:

Local and state dignitaries plan to officially open the Dequindre Cut extension Thursday.

The trail connects the first section of the Dequindre Cut Greenway from Woodbridge Street south to Atwater Street near the William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor and the Detroit RiverWalk, creating a continuous pedestrian and bike path from the river for about a mile into the city, nearly all the way to Eastern Market.

Green Alley breaks ground

From The Detroit News:

Detroit is now a few weeks away from having its first “green alley” — an eco-friendly patch of urban infrastructure behind the two Midtown businesses that spearheaded the project.

On Tuesday, a backhoe started tearing up the concrete, which will be recycled. Last week, the city government finished relining the late 19th-century sewer line with fiberglass-reinforced poly resin. Next week begins the preparation for permeable concrete, historic brick pavers and indigenous plants that will create a better-functioning alley with a pedestrian-bicycling pathway.

Bike route to link Marine City with Ludington

From The Times Herald out of Port Huron:

A new attraction is in the works for the Blue Water Area to bring in tourists — bicycle tourists, that is.

U.S. Bike Route 20 is in the development phase, but cyclists someday might be able to use a route from Marine City to Ludington — if all goes well.

On a national scale, the goal for U.S. Bicycle Route 20 is to connect the Bluewater Ferry in Marine City with the Oregon Coast, several cycling Web sites indicate.

Have Detroit greenways jumped the shark?

Moosejaw’s Summer 2010 catalog lists the best places in Detroit to “do it.” And according to the catalog, there’s “no better place to do it than Detroit.”

Among their “favorite spots around the city to make love” is:

#8. Any Underpass on the Dequindre Cut

Apparently there’s more than graffiti along the Cut. Doesn’t Moosejaw know about the security cameras?

(via Model D)