Watch Sadie on the First Episode of "Shifting Gears" with Jason Hall!

Check it out! Sadie was the guest on the first episode of "Shifting Gears", a new show with our friend Jason Hall from RiDetroit! Check it out on YouTube by clicking play below or by visiting: https://youtu.be/NIViQBp9gzI

If you're ready for a throwback, watch our first interview with Jason when Slow Roll was getting started here. 

Tour de Fat Comes to Chene Park

New Belgium Beer is bringing an interesting event called Tour De Fat to Detroit this Saturday, August 12th. The show, which will take place at Chene Park, will feature performances by Skylar Grey and Detroit's own Valley Hush alongside a collection of various performers, including circus performers, vaudeville acts, magicians, comedians, and mind-blowing provocateurs. It will also, of course, feature New Belgium Beer and all proceeds from the event will be donated to Slow Roll.

Tickets to check out the show are $25 and they can be purchased here. It's an early show that will begin at 4 p.m. and end around 9 p.m., which makes this a great place to start your night this Saturday. You can check out the full schedule for the event here.

~S 

Experience a Live Photoshoot From Behind the Lens

We've all seen beautiful shots of models wearing clothes on the cover of magazines, but we rarely think about all of the work behind creating that picture. Every aspect of that model's appearance has been sculpted. Their hair and makeup was done and the clothes that they are wearing were fitted to their bodies. The end result is always something appealing, but the process behind getting that picture is equally as appealing.

InkAddict has teamed up with District One Detroit to bring you a live behind the scenes look at a clothing photo shoot. They have teamed up with a collection of some of Detroit's biggest movers and shakers to team up for charity and  a once in a lifetime experience.

They will open up the doors of the InkAddict Flagship store this Saturday to let you get a behind the scenes look at a live photo shoot. Jason Hall from Slow Roll, Marty Sheedy from Project Scissor Gait, Amy "ACRONYM" Cooper and Dontae "Mr. Heatcam" Rockymore will be in house for the event and Atwater Brewery will be serving up some drinks. They are charging $10 to get in and drinks are FREE with admission for 21 and over.

We love the idea of hosting a live photo shoot so we reached out To District 1 Detroit to get some details about the event. Check out with they had to say and stop by the InkAddict Flagship at 8 p.m. this Saturday to see it all live and in person.


HID- What is PhotoFashion?
D1D- "PhotoFashion is an event where people get the opportunity to catch a behind the scenes photoshoot and how a brand is formulated. It's basically an excuse to have party. ;)"

HID- What will Jason Hall, Marty Sheedy, Dontae "Mr. Heatcam" Rockymore, Amy "ACRONYM" Cooper and drag race producer PAYSO each be doing at the event?
D1D- "One of our main goals is to showcase the best of what Detroit has to offer so it was a no brainier to reach out to these guys and see what their thoughts were as far as our style. We received an overwhelming response and all have agreed to not only model District 1 Detroit, but help promote the event as we want to make an impact for Detroit Dog Rescue. Eric Vincent from Ch. 955 is going to MC the event as well!"

HID- Is the beer really FREE?
D1D- "It is! Atwater brewery was kind enough to sponsor some of their most popular brews. All we ask for is a $10 donation at the door to help DDR."

HID- Why did you decide to donate part of the proceeds to The Detroit Dog Rescue?
D1D- "The greatest untold story about Detroit are the organizations that are putting in work and not looking for the glory. Being dog lovers and lovers of Detroit we enthusiastically wanted to help the ONLY NO KILL SHELTER in Detroit; plus DDR does an event in Birmingham called Doggie Couture so why not include them in PhotoFashion."

HID- Is there anything else you want us to know about the event?
D1D- "If you like what you see you will love District 1 Detroit’s PhotoFashion. Awesome people doing amazing things and a huge shout out to InkAddict for opening their home to us. The amount of support has been humbling and adds fuel to our drive. We may have a few more announcements, but you will have to stay tuned."

~S

Slow Roll Starts Rolling This Monday

Photo from Slowroll.bike 

A few years ago hipindetroit.com sat down with Jason Hall and Mike MacKool to talk about a weekly bike ride they had recently created. They were calling this new event Slow Roll and it was just beginning to catch on, the ride grew from a few hundred people to a few thousand people faster than anyone ever imagined. This Monday Slow Roll will kick off its 2015 season and we have no doubt that it is going to be bigger and better than ever. However, there are a couple of changes that you need to know about before you head downtown to meet up with your friends and ride.

First off, Slow Roll is now a membership only group. You cannot just show up and ride on Monday, you must be signed up to ride with the crew. They are offering two types of memberships. The regular membership is only $10 and it will get you into all 30 rides that they have planned for this summer. The premium membership is a $50 fee, this membership comes with a special members only t-shirt and some perks, including free entry to select events, early invites, prizes, and 20% off merchandise all season. The proceeds will go to a few different things, including obtaining permits, securing police support for traffic control, and event insurance. They will require that every rider signs a waiver when they sign up for their membership, essentially protecting the creators from the curse of more money more problems. They will also have a mobile check in system that everyone will need to utilize to help them count how many riders have actually shown up for each ride.

Slow Roll has stressed that they will not turn away any riders who want to join and cannot afford the fee. They will be using the extra revenue generated from premium memberships to cover the cost of people that really need it. If you are unable to pay, but want to ride, make sure to reach out. No one will be left out.

The first ride will take off from Z's Villa this Monday at 7 p.m. You can register online or head out early to register in person.

Here is the 2015 RFide Schedule so far:

4-13 // Z’S VILLA - 42 PIQUETTE AVE, DETROIT, MI 48202
4-20 // MOCAD - 4454 WOODWARD AVE, DETROIT, MI 48201
4-27 // TRAFFIC JAM & SNUG - 511 W CANFIELD ST, DETROIT, MI 48201
5-4 // SAINT ANDREWS HALL - HOMECOMING - 431 E CONGRESS ST, DETROIT, MI 48226
5-11 // THE CHILDREN'S CENTER - 79 W ALEXANDRINE ST, DETROIT, MI 48201
5-18 // THE FOWLING WAREHOUSE - 3901 CHRISTOPHER ST, DETROIT, MI 48211
5-25 // HOPCAT - 4265 WOODWARD AVE, DETROIT, MI 48201
6-1 // RUSSELL INDUSTRIAL CENTER - 1600 CLAY ST, DETROIT, MI 48211
6-8 // DIVISION ST BOUTIQUE - 1353 DIVISION ST, DETROIT, MI 48207
6-15 // TANGENT GALLERY - 715 MILWAUKEE AVE, DETROIT, MI 48202
6-22 // NO RIDE DUE TO FIREWORKS
6-29 // BATCH BREWING - 1400 PORTER ST, DETROIT, MI 48216
7-6 // CAMPUS MARTIUS PARK - 800 WOODWARD AVE, DETROIT, MI 48226
7-13 // BOOKIES BAR & GRILLE - 2208 CASS AVE, DETROIT, MI 48201
7-20 // MOCAD - 4454 WOODWARD AVE, DETROIT, MI 48201
7-27 // DNR OUTDOOR ADVENTURE CENTER - 1801 ATWATER ST. DETROIT, MI 48207
8-3 // DIVISION ST BOUTIQUE - 1353 DIVISION ST, DETROIT, MI 48207
8-10 // PALMER PARK - 19013 WOODWARD AVE, DETROIT, MI 48203
8-17 // ZENITH & MOVIE NIGHT - 3011 W GRAND BLVD, DETROIT, MI 48202

~S

Slow Roll #15 Tonight at St. Andrew's

Every Monday the streets of Detroit are filled with thousands of riders who come downtown to have some drinks and cruise around the city, this event is called Slow Roll.  They have recently had over three thousand people attend one of their famous Monday night rides. If you like riding and haven't  had a chance to join in, tonight is your opportunity to join in before the summer's over.

Tonight's Slow Roll ride will take off from St. Andrews Hall in Detroit.  The riders will meet up at St. Andy's around 6:30 and start rolling around 7 p.m.. They ride for a hour or two  and go approximately 9-14 miles in total.  When the riders return to St. Andy's their will be an after party featuring music from  DJ Dante Lasalle with Ryan DjDav Davenport and sounds by Source Audio Systems LLC. 

Slow Roll is always free but they do  ask riders to adhere to a code of conduct. Here are the rules:

1. Stay Right - ALWAYS leave the left lane open for cars and the SQUAD to get through. It is safer and just more respectful to others on the road. There will be times where we cant, but mostly we can.

2. Communicate - Shout out signals, stops, turns, passing, glass, obstructions, etc. There are others around you at all times, so let them know whats up.

3. Stick Together - If you see a gap forming, ride a little faster to keep the group together.

4. Stay Alert

5. Don’t Litter - Littering is not acceptable, if you see someone litter, make them pick it up. We show respect for our city.

6. Encourage Positivity - Negative or aggressive behavior will not be tolerated on Slow Roll.

7. Respect - Treat everyone and everywhere we go with R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

8. Be Prepared - Have a spare tube for flats, bring water, a helmet and be prepared for 2+ hrs of riding that ends in the dark, so bring a light kit.

9. Have Fun

10. Make Friends

11. Corking -We have a team of CORKERS that will handle this. We do NOT block cars unless critical to the safety of the ride.

12. Wear A Helmet -It’s just the safest way to ride.

13. Is My Music Too Loud? - You like music, we like music, but please make sure people can still communicate.

14. Roll Slow -THIS IS NOT A RACE. Stay behind the leader at all times.


To learn more about Slow Roll and keep up with their weekly rides, follow Bike City (the creators of Slow Roll) on Facebook here.

~S

Detroit Rolling Supper

This Wednesday, May 14th you can meet some fellow Detroiters for dinner and a ride. Detroit Bike City is starting a new event called Detroit Rolling Supper. Riders will meet at The Traffic Jam & Snug at 6:30 p.m. and head out together. The group will leisurely ride from there to Vicente's Cuban Cuisine and Ottava Via to eat dinner. Then, the ride will return to The Traffic Jam where riders will be served one of their signature desserts.

Tickets to join the ride are $60 and this includes the tour, dinner, soft drinks, tax and gratuity. Unfortunately alcoholic drinks will be billed separately and are not part of the package. You must provide your own bicycle to be part of the ride and helmets and safety gear are highly encouraged.

This is a classy version of Slow Roll and a really cool way to experience the city on a whole new level. The Traffic Jam is located at 511 West Canfield in Detroit. Tickets are available for purchase here.

~S 

Slow Roll Third Thursdays at Eastern Market

Slow Rolls aren't just on Mondays anymore! If you aren't a Monday person or you just can't make it out to the hugely popular Slow Roll bike rides on Monday evenings, this is your chance to still get in on the fun. Starting Thursday, April 17th the guys at Detroit Bike City will begin having a monthly ride on the third Thursday of the month. These rides will always meet at Eastern Market, unlike the Monday rides that rotate through starting points. But, that means they will be taking over the Market on Thursdays as the group plans to have food truck rallies and after parties in conjunction with the Slow Rolls. They will also have "Alley Cats" and "Sprint Races". We're not sure what that means exactly, but we're looking forward to finding out!

If you want to be a part of this brand new Slow Roll night, head down to Shed 2 at Eastern Market at 6:30 p.m. tonight. Make sure you bring a helmet and some extra tubes for your tires, if you have them. Remember, these are casual rides at a slow pace and you are riding in a big group. So this is a ride for everyone! For more details on Slow Roll and what Detroit Bike City is all about, check out our interview with Jason Hall and Mike MacKool below. Make sure to "like" Detroit Bike City on Facebook to stay in the loop on their upcoming events.

~C

Get Ready for NO AM Bicycle Week & Slow Roll - Interview with Jason & Mike of Detroit Bike City

Slow Roll has become one of the most popular events of the summer. Every Monday people head down to Detroit with their bikes and go for a ride through the streets of the City. What started as a group of a bout 10 friends going for a weekly bike ride, has grown into a group of thousands of people from all walks of life joining together to ride.

Although many people have heard of Slow Roll, they don't know about the group behind these weekly rides. Detroit Bike City is an organization that is dedicated to promoting cycling in the City of Detroit. Jason Hall and Mike MacKool formed Detroit Bike City from a bicycle club they started called Bikes & Murder. The organization has grown over the years and now provides a ton of different rides and events, but their biggest event of all is coming up this week.

Thursday thru Sunday, March 27-30, marks the North American Bicycle Week. Being referred to as NO AM Bike Week, these 4 days will be full of events, bike rides, demonstrations and the Detroit Bike City Expo at City Hall. Basically, bicycles will be taking over Detroit this weekend. Not only will they be taking over Detroit, but Windsor too! There are a ton of cool things going on in conjunction with this event, but a few that stuck out to us are demos at Brush Park BMX on Friday, the Tweed City Charity Party at Cobo, the first Slow Roll of the season, and of course, the Expo on Saturday. The Detroit Bike City Expo at Cobo Hall runs from 10 a.m. 'til 6 p.m. on Saturday and features bike shops, seminars, and booths featuring pretty much everything Detroit. But, after the Expo is probably the event that we are most excited about; The Aftermarket.
The official Detroit Bike City after party is being held at Eastern Market in Shed 3. There will be bike ramps, vendors, a full bar, and music by Guilty Simpson, Stuck Lucky and The Suicide Machines! Tickets for the Expo are $12 with kids 12 and under free and they can be purchased here. Tickets to the after party can be picked up online here for $12 or you can pay $15 at the door. Proceeds from this event will go towards improving the bike infrastructure in Detroit. Check out a full schedule of NO AM Bike Week Events here!

There are so many great things going on as part of NO AM Bicycle Week and all year long thanks to Detroit Bike City. We wanted to find out more about the organization and the guys behind it. So we sat down with Jason and Mike at the Lager House to find out how the group started and learn more about Slow Roll and NO AM Bike Week. Check out what they had to say.

If you made it all the way to the end of the video, you heard Jason & Mike right. They are awesome enough to let us give away a pair of tickets to The Aftermarket the Detroit Bike City Expo After Party! To enter to win, email us at hipindetroit@gmail.com with Aftermarket in the subject and your name in the body. If you want to double your chances to win, head over to our Facebook and share the flyer for the show. Make sure you click "share" so we can see that you did though!

This party is going to be huge and so is NO AM Bike Week! So bust out your bicycle and get to some of these events this weekend! For all of the details on Detroit Bike City, the Expo, Slow Roll, and NO AM Bicycle Week, make sure you "like" Detroit Bike City on Facebook or visit them at detroitbikecity.org.

~C

Slow Roll - Aptemal Block Party

 

Summer is slowly rolling along just like you should be tonight at this week's Slow Roll. Tonight the take off and endpoint is Aptemal Detroit's boutique located at 1353 Division Street in Eastern Market.

In case you don't know, Aptemal is the brains behind the popular clothing line Detroit Hustlers Harder. They are calling this the block party because they will literally be blocking of the street to have a party. They will be selling a special edition Slow Roll shirt, have food and snacks made by Jesse Knott of Urban Pheasant, and the Red Bull truck will be making a stop to share the sounds of DJ Dante LaSalle with special guests Eddie Logix and Doc Waffles. Red Bull will also be handing out drinks and doing some special giveaways throughout the evening.

Everyone should meet at the boutique at 7 p.m. and the ride will start at 7:30. As always we encourage all of you to wear a helmets. The party will start as soon as the riders get back. This event is free, but you must register at www.theslowroll.eventbrite.com to be included in the nights giveaways. Only a few more rolls left so don't miss out!

~S

Slow Roll with Snakewing

Slow Roll is slowly becoming one of the most popular weekly events in Detroit. Last week's ride boasted over 700 participants and each week the numbers keep growing. The basic idea is to have people meet in one central location on Monday and then ride around the city as a group. The ride always ends in the same place it started, usually a bar or a resturant. When the riders return they are treated to drink specials, food specials, and sometimes even a performance by a band. The best part about this event is that it's free and all are welcome.

This week Slow Roll is having an extra special ride that is taking off from the Magic Stick in Detroit. They have scheduled performances by Snakewing, The A-Gang, and Size Queen and they will be celebrating the 40th birthday of Kevin Hickner from Snakewing. In honor of Kevin's 40th birthday, they will be selling 40's at the bar. Admission to this show is free if you have a Southern Comfort "Be Bold Detroit" wristband. Otherwise you can pay $3 get in.

To learn more about Slow Roll check out Bikes and Murder on Facebook, they are the creators and sponsors of this event. Remember Slow Roll happens every Monday and the next few rides are scheduled as follows:

8/12: Division Street Boutique

8/19: St. Andrew's

8/26: McShane's Irish Pub

9/2: Great Lakes Coffee

As always, helmets are strongly encouraged!

~S

Slow Roll Presents: Pedals Under The Stars

Summer love is in the air and Slow Roll is giving you the perfect excuse for a date night. This Monday, July 1st, Detroit Bike City and Southern Comfort present Slow Roll Pedals Under the Stars Homecoming Dance. The event will be taking place at St. Andrew's Hall and sounds pretty much like your high school homecoming. The group is asking that you dress up, they're encouraging you to find a date, and there will even be spiked punch.

The evening will start off per the usual Monday night Slow Rolls with riders meeting up around 7 p.m. Since the party is at St. Andrew's after the ride, that is the meeting place. This week's ride will be a little shorter than normal, since everyone is expected to show up looking quite dapper. Once the group gets back to point A, they will head inside to dance the night away to the music of DJ Dante LaSalle while enjoying complimentary drinks and food.

If you are a frequent rider of Slow Roll, you may have already obtained a red "Drink Responsibly" bracelet. If so, that's your ticket in the door Monday night. If you don't have a bracelet, admission for you is still more than reasonable at $3 or a canned good. The dance starts at 7 p.m. So even if you don't plan on riding, you can head inside and wait for your friends to get back. If you do plan to ride, you can park your bike inside once you get back. For the rest of the details on this super fun event, head on over to the Facebook event page.

~C

Get Your Slow Roll On

A few years ago I experienced my first Tour de Troit. Two of my brothers and I drove down to the city at the crack of dawn and joined thousands of other riders to venture throughout Detroit on our bikes. This experience was fun and exhilarating. To ride through the city and see people, places and things that I don't usually see was eye opening and fun. My only complaint was that this event only took place once a year. There was so much more that I wanted to explore and its is much more fun and much safer to ride with a group.

Shortly after wishing for more rides in the city I learned about Detroit Bike City and their weekly ride called Slow Roll. Unlike Tour de Troit, Slow Roll is not a big corporate event that you must pay to be a part of. Slow roll is a weekly ride put together by Detroit Bike City that encourages people to come out and ride around the city with a big group of people and see people, places and things that they might not usually see. It is family friendly and rides at a steady pace so that no one will feel left out.

The idea is that the group takes off from a bar or restaurant in the city and rides around looking at some of the landmarks of Detroit. Then, after the ride is over, they all head back to the meeting spot for some drinks, food and camaraderie. It started with about 40-50 people and has turned into over 200 people meeting and riding weekly. They will be hosting rides all summer and each week they take off from a different location. To keep up on their plans you can go the their website and check out the calendar here. In the meantime, we sat down with Detroit Bike City and had them fill us in on all the details. Hope to see all of you at the next ride!

Hip In Detroit- Why did you start Slow Roll? When was the first roll? What is the basic idea of the event? 
DBC- "We started Slow Roll in Spring 2011 as a means to connect with other riders. Once we saw that we had an audience we thought why not take advantage of that and use that show people Detroit and what we felt like the real story is about our great city. Since then we've used it as a means to help repopulate the city by showing people the real community and beauty in the neighborhoods."

Hip In Detroit- Where does the ride start and where does it end? What time do you usually take off?
DBC- "The ride meets at rotating Detroit venues like Sugarhouse, Rodin and Lagerhouse at 7pm and leaves at 7:30pm, returning to the venue for a free after party with live entertainment and food and drinks specials catered specially for our riders."

Hip In Detroit- How many people usually ride? What's the most you have ever had? Is this family friendly or mostly young adults?
DBC- "This season has been amazing! We started our first week with 40 by week 6 we had 275+ and we expect to keep growing. Theres several reasons we believe our ride has grown so fast. First off we are 100% family friendly. We pride ourselves on being safe and keeping a decent pace so that everyone can feel comfortable riding with us. We aslo work very hard a providing information and educating riders on proper laws and how to interact with traffic."

Hip In Detroit- Does the ride cost anything?
DBC- "Our ride is 100% free! It's really just a ride where you see the route and choose to come. We dont sell tickets or make any profit off of this. It's just our way of giving back to the great city we love. If one person moves here because of Slow Roll then we've done our job."

Hip In Detroit- What should a first time rider bring to join the group? Any special items or suggestions to make for a better ride?
DBC- "The first time rider should bring a helmet, a light kit, a good assortment of tubes and patch kits for light repair on their bike if needed. They should also bring the willingness to listen and learn the proper way to ride in a group."

Hip In Detroit- Do the bars that you ride to/from offer any specials to entice people to join in on the fun?
DBC- "The bars/restaurants all have to have drink and food special. Whats been great is a lot of the venues offer to contribute to some type of after party thats always free. We've had Dante Lasalle, Cold English and DJ 2040 so far, but we have plans for live bands and films after as well. This summer were we will push the fun limits of what we can connect to bicycles and Detroit."

Hip In Detroit- Tell us about Detroit Bike City, what is it all about? Do you do any other events that we would be interested in?
DBC- "Detroit Bike City is actually the name of our major bicycle expo that we do annually at Cobo Center. Detroit Bike City is everything that is bikes. We have bike demos, custom bicycle builders, major bike brands, tech shops and a bike swap all under one roof. It's a fun day for everyone that once again showcases Detroit true place in the convention center world, its rightful place in the top cities as far a bicycling and that Detroit has amazing events that everyone from everywhere can attend. In our second year attendance went up 10% to 2,000 and vendors and sponsors up 50%. It is our intention to become not only the show to attend in Michigan, but in the mid-west region hopefully becoming a 2 day trade show by 2015. Along with Detroit Bike City we also have movie series that we run at the Woodbridge Community Garden on Sunday nights called "Bike-In Theater" starting May 26th with the premier of Arrested Development."

~S