Residents combine exercise, arts to create Ann Arbor Bike Choir

By Sheila Pursglove, Special Writer

Sue Zielinski enjoyed singing in the shower, in the car, and as
she rode her bike around Toronto, Ontario, where she helped to
found “Song Cycles — the Choir on Bikes” in the early 1990s.

“I had heard a great version of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on
the radio one morning. I was singing it while riding to work,
realizing I could hardly even hear myself because of the traffic
noise around me,” said the Ann Arbor resident. “I thought, ‘This
would be so much better with 20 others singing.’

“So, I started tentatively talking about the idea and eventually
found Greg Furlong, who became our fearless choir director every
Monday night and every gig for 10 years. When we started the bike
choir in Toronto, I was able to sing every week and learn a lot
more.”

When Zielinski moved to Ann Arbor in early 2006 to work with
Sustainable Mobility & Accessibility Research &
Transformation, a University of Michigan project, she brought the
idea with her.

“Laura Russello, the executive director of Michigan Peaceworks,
invited me to make a presentation on sustainable transportation in
Ann Arbor. For some reason, I started talking about the Toronto
bike choir. I can’t remember if I actually sang one of the songs,
but it’s possible,” she said. “Laura approached me after and said
something like, ‘We so need that in Ann Arbor,’ and she immediately
started organizing the first meeting at Ann Arbor Brewing Co.,
which actually drew more people than we thought it would — and
we’ve never looked back”