Sometimes just slowing down for a ride on an eBike is all we need.
Jason Hall, founder of RiDetroit, is on a mission to educate and inspire with his one of a kind curated eBike tours, rolling through some of Detroit’s most meaningful destinations.
EXP: Why did you launch RiDetroit?
JH: I missed the ability of having these kinds of conversations. I wanted to connect with people and give them the opportunity to do all of the things they had asked for. For years people wanted to ride with me and pick my brain about this type of stuff and I am the guy who is willing to give that information.
EXP: Why did you choose eBikes over traditional bikes?
JH: Because it’s a pedal assist electric bike, we take you away from the thought process of how hot is it, how hard am I going to work, how far are we going? We try to zone you in more on the fact that you are on an experience. You are going to get to talk to people that you might have never talked to, see things you definitely have never seen, and get to experience technology you’ve probably never experienced before.
EXP: Will you talk about more about what Murals in the Market is?
JH: Murals in the Market has been voted by Smithsonian as one of the best mural festivals in the world. I am lucky enough to be the official tour guide. It’s a festival where artists have one week to complete whatever size mural they are doing. Some of them can be up to four or five stories in height. It’s all in one area in Eastern Market so you have an amazing synergy that is happening during that week with artists that are painting live. What they leave behind is this amazing museum of International art that you can see at anytime.
EXP: What is your favorite tour to give?
JH: The pizza tour!
EXP: What stops are on that tour?
JH: Buddy’s, Michigan and Trumbull, and Supino’s. We got some good pizza here!
EXP: On one of your recent tours, you said the phrase, “walk on walk.” Will you explain what you meant by that?
JH: There is always a lot of traffic and action on Martin Luther King Blvd. and Woodward Ave. There are a lot of cars and people walking. So one day, I was standing at the walk, and I was noticing that so many of the problems that happen at that particular intersection happen because people are not doing what they are supposed to do. At the intersection, we have a sign that says walk and don’t walk. But the majority of humans get to the intersection and don’t look at that sign and see walk or don’t walk. We see walk when we want to. We don’t walk when it’s convenient. Sometimes we just don’t take these opportunities that are naturally given to us to slow our minds down. You know what I do at intersections now? I say hi to people!
EXP: What advice would you most like to give people right now?
JH: Look around. Slow down. Look right. Look left. Look up. Look down.
Click here to listen to our full podcast interview with Jason Hall.