Novi retirees are ‘easy riders’

By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Bill Emrick doesn’t need to worry much about the high gas prices affecting the nation—he often explores his surroundings on two wheels.

I rode bikes when I was young,” Emrick says. “I also used to collect old bikes.”

Emrick, who moved from Oxford to the Novi community of Fox Run along with his wife Marie, saw a notice for a biking group on campus and immediately signed up.

Club poised for growth
Although the biking club right now is small, its members hope that will change soon, especially since there are at least 35 bikes in storage at the community, all belonging to would-be cyclists.

Every Friday, the club gathers for a jaunt throughout various trails in the surrounding area, including the Novi Lakeview Park and Walled Lake.

“I have two bikes—a Cannondale and a mountain bike,” Emrick says. He uses the latter for his rides with the club.

Being a professional cyclist isn’t a requirement to join the club; however, wearing a helmet is.

“A good friend of mine avoided a concussion because he was wearing a helmet,” he says.

Club members look out for each other as they ride through the neighborhood.

Emrick enjoys the exercise of bike riding, among other benefits.

“There’s a freedom there; you just forget about everything when you’re riding,” he says. “Except the traffic, of course.”

Besides riding with the club, Emrick also rides on his own three or four times a week.

Free ride
“It’s one of the most inexpensive exercises around,” he points out.

Fellow bike club member Jack Beggs and his wife Rosemary moved from Troy to Fox Run last fall. “I’ve been riding for about 25 years,” he says. “It’s my exercise of choice.”

One reason cycling appeals so much to him is the fact that it can be done anywhere. “You can bicycle anywhere you live,” Beggs says. “It’s excellent exercise; and you get to see different scenery as you go.”