Taste-full Tours in Metromix!

Check out the Night Move and Taste-full Tours in Metromix!

Culinary road trips for your eating, drinking and learning delight.

Speaking of transportation...

Check out this Craigslist post from the "Best Of" list. It's been a Night Move fave since we first came across it in August. Copied and pasted below:

Bike for sale

What kind of bike? I don't know, I'm not a bike scientist. What I am though is a manly guy looking to sell his bike. This bike is made out of metal and kick ass spokes. The back reflector was taken off, but if you think that deters me from riding at night, you're way wrong. I practiced ninja training in Japan's mount Fuji for 5 years and the first rule they teach about ninja biking is that back reflectors let the enemy know where you are. Not having a rear reflector is like saying "FUCK YOU CAR, JUST TRY AND FIND ME".

The bike says Giant on the side because it's referring to my junk, but rest assured even if you have tiny junk that Giant advertisement is going to remain right where it is. I bought this bike for 300 dollars from a retired mercenary that fought in both World War 1 and World War 2 and had his right arm bitten off by a shark in the Phillipines while stationed there as a shark handler. When he sold it to me I had to arm wrestle him for the honor to buy it. I broke his arm in 7 places when I did. He was so impressed with me he offered me to be his son but I thought that was sissy shit so I said no way.

The bike has some rusted screws, but that just shows how much of a bad ass you are. Everyone knows rusted screws on a bike means that you probably drove it underwater and that's bad ass in itself. Those screws can be replaced with shiny new ones, but if you're going to go to that trouble why not just punch yourself in the balls since you're probably a dickless lizard who doesn't like to look intimidating.

The bike is for men because the seat is flat or some shit and not shaped like a dildo. If you like flat seated bikes you're going to love this thing because it doesn't try to penetrate your ass or anything.

I've topped out at 75 miles per hour on this uphill but if you're just a regular man you'll probably top it out at 10 miles per hour. This thing is listed as a street bike which is man-code for bike tank. The bike has 7 speeds in total:

Gear 1 - Sissy Gear
Gear 2 - Less Sissy Gear
Gear 3 - Least Sissy Gear
Gear 4 - Boy Gear
Gear 5 - Pre-teen Boy Gear
Gear 6 - Manly Gear
Gear 7 - Big Muscles Gear

I only like gear 6 and 7 to be honest.

Additionally, this tool of all immense men comes with a gigantic lock to keep it secure. The lock is the size of a bull's testicles and tells people you don't fuck around with locking up your bike tank. It tells would-be-thieves "Hey asshole, touch this bike and I'll appear from the bushes ready to club you with a two-by-four".

Bike is for 150 OBO (and don't give me no panzy prices)

Yuck.

A plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills was using his patients' fat to make biodiesel. Yeah, I know, you want to puke. And yet, it's kind of a good idea... it was just going to go to waste, right?

Check it out on Forbes.com: "Fill 'Er Up With Human Fat."

According to the article:

Love handles can power a car? Frighteningly, yes. Fat--whether animal or vegetable--contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel.

A gallon of grease will get you about a gallon of fuel, and drivers can get about the same amount of mileage from fat fuel as they do from regular diesel, according to Jenna Higgins of the National Biodiesel Board. Animal fats need to undergo an additional step to get rid of free fatty acids not present in vegetable oils, but otherwise, there's no difference, she says.

Um, ew. Apparently the doc and his girlfriend have fled the country because using human fat for stuff is definitely illegal, on top of the fact that he was letting the girlfriend and his assistants perform surgeries without licenses, and dozens of patients reported having too much cut off of them and "left them disfigured."

I'm totally disgusted and yet all I can do is wonder what human fat biodiesel smells like. Ew, I'm sorry.

I get by with a little help from cow guts

So I'm not sure if this is how Clean Emission Fluids (our biodiesel supplier, located on the grounds of NextEnergy in Detroit) does it, but apparently turning corn into biofuel has gotten easier in the past year.

"An enzyme from a microbe that lives inside a cow’s stomach is the key to turning corn plants into fuel, according to Michigan State University scientists," and according to this article, on the Environmental News Network: "Cow stomach holds key to turning corn into biofuel". Um, gross?

Basically, they pull a specific gene from a cow's stomach. This gene produces the enzyme that converts grass and other food into the sugar that fuels the cow. And they've figured out how to grow corn that has that enzyme. Magicians, I tell you.

If they put it in the right place, the enzyme makes the whole corn plant is now usable for biofuel. According to the article, "If the cell produced the enzyme in the wrong place, then the plant cell would not be able to function, and, instead, it would digest itself."

Read the article for more info. It's really super cool, but for some reason talking about cows' stomachs and enzymes and things digesting themselves grosses me out.

Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart! Biodiesel!

It's been a while, faithful readers, and for that we apologize. Anyway, today we'll be talking about biodiesel. Enjoy...

The Night Move runs on B20 blended biodiesel. That means 80% of it is diesel and 20% of it is biofuel. Detroit's own Clean Emission Fluids has an on-demand blender, called a F.A.ST. unit (fluids affordably stored), which is where we get our blended biodiesel. The biofuel we're currently using is made of corn. Since I don't really speak biofuel, I found this explanation of biodiesel for your enlightenment, from biodiesel.org:

Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.

Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two products -- methyl esters (the chemical name for biodiesel) and glycerin (a valuable byproduct usually sold to be used in soaps and other products).

Anyway, we may move to pond algae soon instead of corn. It seems logical to me to make the switch, since using algae wouldn't threaten our food supply. Read about "Why Algae Will Save Us From the Energy Crisis" this Esquire magazine article.

Stay tuned for Night Move biodiesel developments, we'll keep you posted as they occur.

Learn more about biodiesel on Wikipedia.

Public Transit NOW

I went to a Model D event last night on public transportation in Detroit. One speaker said mass transit is the crucial element to connecting social and commercial centers, and that without such connectivity, we can never expect our city to grow or the community of suburbs and city to fuse.

You've heard talk about the light rail system that's being planned. Did you know the reason they're funding it privately, at least for stage one, to get it built as quickly as possible? Asking for federal funding would push the timeline at least five years. They're trying to do something about our public transit problem now.

The Night Move is a step in that direction. It's something we can use now.

The Night Move introduces mobile booking!

Did you know you can now book a ride on The Night Move using your iPhone or Blackberry? Just go to www.thenightmove.com/booking, like you would on your computer, and go through the booking process. Then, to get on the bus, you can show the confirmation screen on your phone to Dupree* instead of a paper ticket.

So if you're out Friday night and decide to hop on The Night Move to get you around between Royal Oak, Ferndale and Detroit, pull out that iPhone! Note: if no one in your group has an iPhone, I suggest you be the first. That way you not only have access to The Night Move mobile booking, but you also have a super sweet phone and all your loser friends will be jealous because they're still living in the past.

See you on the bus!


*For those of you who don't know, Dupree is our all-star, totally awesome and huge superhero driver. If you haven't met him yet, do yourself a favor. The guy is quite a character.

Weekend link list roundup

Thanks to Steve Neavling for the Freep Sunday coverage: "Night Move bus rolls into city scene with green goals";

to Tom Greenwood for the Detroit News spot last week: "Uptown-downtown shuttle service starts";

and to Sarah Hulett for the Michigan Radio story: "Shuttle Service Starts for Weekend Nightlife."

Here's the AP article, printed in the Chicago Tribune, among others: "Night Move bus offers green after-hours transport"

Here's the story Channel 7 WXYZ News posted: "Uptown Downtown Shuttle Available"

This is the Metromix article: "Night Move"

In case you haven't seen it or contributed: "New Bus Service from Suburbs to Downtown" a message board discussion on a site called Discuss Detroit.

In case you missed "Detroit Today" on Wednesday

...here's a link to the show: The Night Move (and others) on WDET's "Detroit Today." I've been told I was too casual, whatever that means. Apologies if you agree.

Thanks Motor City Blog!

Check out this awesome video our friends at Motor City Blog put together for us. We gave them the exclusive first ride on the bus, and they gave us this video and some super sweet photos. Check out their post here: Motor City Blog rides the Night Move.

Thanks a trillion, guys!

After 5 Detroit

One more and then I'll stop: "Let the Night Move Move You!" on After 5 Detroit. Thanks, Lindsay Bryant!

Transportation Riders United

Transportation Riders United (TRU), found at www.detroittransit.org, found out about The Night Move and posted this on their blog and homepage: "A new transportation option is coming to metro Detroit!"

Thanks, TRU, for your support. We love what you're doing and plan to get involved in the very near future. (Note to others: According to their website: "The mission of Transportation Riders United (TRU) is to improve transportation access and mobility in Greater Detroit." Maybe you should get involved, too.)

Crain's!

If you subscribe to Crain's Detroit Business you can access our story here: "Nighttime shuttle to connect Detroit, Ferndale, Royal Oak." If not, pick up a copy at the bookstore and read about The Night Move on page 24.

Wow, when Crain's thinks you're noteworthy, you're in, right? The Night Move is huge. And I'm conceited.

Blogging on Metro Mode

Chris and I have such valued and important opinions that we were asked to guest blog on Metro Mode. Check out Marvin Shaouni's sweet photo of us with moving traffic in the background -- very cool.

According to our favorite transportation writer over at Crain's, Bill Shea, "The public will get its first glimpse this week of a draft of a three-county regional transportation plan that spells out how to improve current regional mass-transit options, where to build new elements such as light rail, and how to pay for it all." We've been following light rail plan developments for a while, so this is pretty interesting stuff.

Shea says, "Both Woodward plans say the line would feed into the 48-mile Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail line under study by SEMCOG and targeted for 2010 operation."

2010?! That's so soon! How awesome would public transportation be? We're one step closer to building Detroit up to greatness.

You're interested, right? Us too. We'll keep you posted. For now check out the original article here.

More from Discovery News

Outer space is sweet. Rockets are sweet. This is not exactly relevant to what the Night Move is doing, but all this coolness simply cannot go unreported. Discovery News' Irene Klotz wrote yesterday about a privately built rocket that its creator wants to sell to NASA. The creator is a web developer, instrumental in the development of PayPal, among other things. He started a company called Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and built a rocket that's now in successful testing stages.

Talk about being able to do anything you put your mind to.

The current shuttle is to be retired in 2010, because it's old and unsafe, and the new one NASA is developing won't be ready until 2015. Meanwhile, we will soon need a way to access the almost-finished $100 billion International Space Station. Without depending on (and paying billions to) the Russians to transport us there, we need another solution.

Enter: Private rocket builder Elon Musk -- a true Rocket Man, if you will.

Read all about it here.

Run your car on trash!

Discovery News, on the Discovery Channel website, is my one of my favorite spots ever. Anyway, according to Discovery News writer Jessica Marshall, "Within the next two years, some of us may be running our cars on trash." Apparently there are two companies, one in Illinois and the other in the UK, claiming they can produce mass amounts of ethanol from garbage. Cheap, safe, non-foreign fuel, and landfill reduction, while preserving our food supply -- think of the possibilities! And check out the full story here.

Car runs on a wine buzz

Prince Charles has converted his 38-year-old Aston Martin into an eco-friendly vehicle, CNN reports. The car runs on -- get this -- wine. Check out the story. That is SO awesome.