For those who can’t get biking out of their system during the winter months, here is a way to pass your time until you can’t get out riding again. Go to a bicycle museum. There are several of them in the Great Lakes area. Even if you aren’t a bike enthusiast, you may still enjoy the historical items that these museums have on display.

If you live or travel around the Great Lakes region and are looking for something to do indoors during the cold weather season, I found a few interesting bicycle museums to visit that would be of interest and keep you warm at the same time.

The Bicycle Museum of America is located in Bremen, Ohio. The museum has hundreds of bicycles on display, ranging from 1800s antiques bikes to Pee-Wee Herman’s bicycle.

This museum also has classic Schwinn bicycles that will bring back memories for many of those who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s. While I personally never owned a Schwinn as a kid, I was able to ride my friend’s pink Schwinn that had the banana seat with the monkey handle bars. It didn’t get any better than that.

In Sparta, Wisconsin, you will find bicycles and space items in the Deke Slayton Memorial Space and Bicycle Museum. Donald “Deke” Slayton was an astronaut from the Sparta area. He was on the Apollo-Soyuz space mission in 1975.

This museum was dedicated in his memory and has hundreds of bicycles on display for those who want to enjoy bike items from the past. The museum also has space items on display, such as Slayton’s astronaut suit, moon rock and other space related items.

The location of the bicycle and space museum is appropriate since Sparta, Wisconsin is known as the “Biking Capital of the World” with various bike trails that offer many, many miles of scenic biking.

When you are in the Three Oaks, Michigan area, you will find a few antique bicycles on display at the Three Oaks Township Library and Museum. You can check out a book and take a look at the older bicycles that are located on the 2nd floor.

Whether you enjoy biking or not you will likely find something of interest at these museums to look at. For those who do ride, you will appreciate the bike improvements that have been made over the years to make your riding easier and a bit more comfortable.