They do have a hard stop on one of the final bridges before the fancy connector bridge. But had no signage saying trail closed up til that point.

https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/projects/hennepin-lake-improvements/

https://www.minneapolismn.gov/media/-www-content-assets/documents/Hennepin-Lake-Improvements---One-Pager_V2.pdf

I'm glad I went. I'm bummed that the city is spending $20k on interim improvements this fall that include adding sharrows striping on the two blocks of Hennepin to show that bikers can take the lane. They're also adding paint to show where delivery and rideshare drivers can park in the hope that the drivers don't park in the bike lane (example) but call me a pessimist, I don't think people read or follow directions nowadays. There will be some delineators (flex posts) though (we can start a pool on how long it'll take for them to get squished).

But in 2028, they'll pour the concrete for grade-separated bike path for Hennepin Ave and then curb protected on Lake St for the one block. I went toward the end of the open house and I did hear grumblings from some folks about why the city is doing these improvements...

Wtf is up with the canvassers who think that blocking the bike lane on Lake and Bryant to trap cyclists into their donation pitch is an appropriate thing to do?? That’s such a busy intersection and clogging bike traffic at that spot is incredibly dangerous. This afternoon they trapped the guy at the front of the commuting peloton in a sales pitch so when the light changed to green, all the other commuters had to slowly and chaotically waddle around the canvassers and their mark which confused the drivers turning left and gave them just enough time to almost run us over in the intersection. The canvassers delay cyclists ability to start crossing which gives drivers who want to turn left 2 choices: either go while the cyclist are stuck behind the canvassers or wait and likely miss the light. This happens multiple times a week and I’m shocked nobody has been killed yet. THEY LITERALLY STAND IN THE BIKE LANE. What they’re doing is as inappropriate and unsafe as going up to a car at a red light and knocking on their window to trap them in a sales pitch. I’ve explained to them so many times how dangerous their tactic is but it’s always new people. Seriously, how do I contact the ACLU to tell them to cut that shit out? Or can I call 311 or something? I genuinely just can’t believe how oblivious they are about something that’s so clearly fucking dangerous. You’d think people have a shred of common sense.

For people who live and/or bike in Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Edina, Excelsior, Saint Louis Park, Hopkins, and Maple Grove, I want to put WMATA on your radar. They're a wonderful group of people advocating for better multimodal transportation in the west metro.

https://westmet.org/wmata-launch-party/ - come join the launch party on October 3 to meet these lovely folks and see yourself in the movement too!

Just venting! This afternoon, I stopped in a bike lane to let a car clear before turning. The car HONKED at me while I was stopped, then waved at me, so I was confused about whether I should go or not, but other than putting my foot back on a pedal, I didn’t start going — then they sped ahead while shaking their finger at me.

I was stopped and waiting for him to pass! I think some drivers are looking for reasons to be pissed at bikers? Every other car I’ve let by at that turn has been completely normal, and I’m always doubly cautious right there, so I’m frustrated because apparently that’s not enough for some drivers.

Rare candid sub hed: A devoted St. Paul bicyclist died this summer when he hit a just-opened car door. The driver was not cited, and few ever are.

Fine article generally, although it does fall short in not noting "This can significantly be mitigated by providing appropriate infrastructure, not paint next to parked cars."

Gift link: https://www.startribune.com/risk-of-getting-doored-keeps-wary-minnesota-riders-on-the-edge-of-their-bike-seats/601871390?utm_source=gift

Hey MSP I made this for reporting vehicles in bike lanes with one tap: https://www.loudbicycle.com/bb

Boston is ignoring almost all our reports, but MSP is actually sending out people to the locations that get reported. Hope you can make it useful! Let me know if you have questions or suggestions.

Yeah bikes get stolen all the time but fucking A. Kryptonite heavy chain lock, right on Ford parkway in St. Paul. Middle of the day. All kinds of people around. Went in to a dentist appt for 1 hour. Came out and nothing there. No cut lock no evidence of anything that ever existed. Man am I just fucking deflated. As a type this. While walking home. Fuck.

This past Saturday around 6pm, I was going down Upton Ave (about 45 minutes into a bike ride) when a car pulled into the bike lane in front of me causing me to slam and flip into their car. The bike helmet saved me from serious harm, hospitalization.. or worse. I think it was my head that took the most impact. I ended up on the pavement circled by a bunch of people. I was full of adrenaline, angry, confused, weirdly embarrassed.. I was thrilled to be standing with no broken bones. I wanted to leave, but was convinced by bystanders to stay a bit longer and monitor my body. A guy from the Picnic restaurant across the street came out with water and invited me inside to rest, so I locked up my broken bike and went inside. The pain began to kick in, along with some bruising. I got the driver's contact info and insurance but didn't get witness information. Nor did i file a police report. My bike and I got home by bus. I reached out to the driver the next day after going to urgent care and bike repair shop.

Now.. long story short, I'm needing witnesses and evidence. I'm hoping someone reading this was there or heard about it from a friend/neighbor and knows someone who was there, and who could provide witness testimony. PLEASE private message me if this is you. It would be very helpful for me, as I'm totally on the hook for expensive bike repairs. Also, there's a few lessons here: File a police report even if you feel "fine." Get contact info from witnesses. Don't trust people (sadly). Wear a helmet because it might save your life!!

Hourcar members - read the email you got for the free $5 code.

Although Brigid was able to fit two bikes into the Evie, I will have to report that it took me 20 minutes and a ton of sweat to get my one e-bike into the Evie I booked to get it to REI for servicing. Thank god I was able to just bike home after the bike was serviced because I'm never doing that again.

My commute to work has me taking Van White north from the N Cedar Lake Trail. With the construction of 394 around there and the closure of on/off ramps, I feel like the intersection gets a little messy during rush hour. I’ve found that it’s super easy to avoid the intersection altogether by taking a little detour under the bridge past the Basset Creek Valley station.

The photo shows where to turn when approaching from the west. Sorry I don’t have one from the other direction it was dark last time I approached from downtown.

Some of you may be like ‘duh’ but I also drive through this intersection with once or twice a week and I’ve found that when I’m driving through I notice lots of cyclists trusting cars and crossing Van White on the NCLT most often without engaging the crosswalk lights. That’s fine if that’s you, no judgment (I don’t hit the crosswalk light either, I think it requires you to actually stop which is dumb), but for those of you who just want to avoid crossing at grade, it’s a quick and easy detour. Hopefully they put up some directional signs.

I live in Payne Phalen, and I admit I was spoiled in my last job; it was in White Bear Lake, but I could take Vento to most of it, and low-use residential streets to the rest. Sadly, the owners retired and the companies they sold it to broke up the company (and nobody buys another company today without enough IT staff to deal with it, so the writing was on the wall for me). Now I bike from my home to Fridley.

The company is fine - they used to make bike trainers before losing the market, but the only real way from my home is going through Roseville and County Road C. Every other day I nearly get hit by someone making a turn after speeding and not looking right in front of them - I've lost track of how many drivers seeing making the "O" face when they realize they almost hit me... and then drive off or start honking their horn because my right-of-way impedes their car brain or something.

Then there's Snelling and Country Road C; the intersection that Ramsey Country and MNDOT do nothing about. And when I say nothing, I mean not even bothering to reply to an email about it. Nobody going eastbound bothers with the crosswalk; you're forced to be aggressive because if one goes through, then all 15 cars behind them go through and you either miss the light completely, or get through late and then the carholes going northbound get all pissy.

I really wish there was an alternative way to or from work (there were several when my commute was WBL), but there's no reasonable alternative, except to ditch the bike and drive. But driving is no better.

I hate Roseville.

Just something to be aware of. New bike racks were installed on Como Ave SE. I was under the impression that the city did it, but I’m not sure. I was happy to see them and have been using them. However, I took a closer look today and realized I can hand loosen the bolts. These are useless.

As I said, I think the city installed them, so I reported it to 311.

Just be sure to check what you lock your bike to.

Got hit by a car on my ride today. I was crossing a street in a cross walk with a walk signal, on an off the road bike path. The car turned right, while I was crossing and I couldn’t break fast enough… I hit the side of the car and went down. Somehow I wasn’t injured… we will see tomorrow.

The driver pulled over instantly and was immediately apologetic and making sure I was okay - offered to call an ambulance and I have all of their info. Bike is shifting poorly but nothing obviously broken. I plan on getting it looked over and the driver was more than willing to pay for any repairs etc.

What else should you do in that situation?

I noticed many drivers not looking both ways to make right turns at intersections on my ride and just had a bad feeling…wild. I feel safer on the actual roads at this point.

https://talk.dot.state.mn.us/st-anthony-village-area-transportation-plan/surveys/silverlakeroundabout

word on the streets is they're asking people a million questions on whether they should permanently put in the design that's research-backed to be better than the four-way stop sign. go figure.

The saint paul classic only benefits one person now: Known vehicular cyclist and nepobaby Rich F Arey. There are other posts on this sub that cover his history.

He has personally funded a disinformation campaign about the Summit Avenue Regional Trail.

Each of these organizations is greenwashing an anti environmental/anti bike safety advocacy effort for a small amount of money from Richard.

Literally shameful stuff. Please share around!

Don't be like me and thought that those trenches were due to incoming speed bumps - that's separate

It's like 3.2 mi around the lake, and the Bde Maka Ska/Harriet/LotI parkways are craggy as hell in various places.

Made a post about this a couple days ago. Here's the finalized itinerary for the day, from my Strava post:

There's reportedly no Taco Bell century this year so I'm hoping to get people together for a day of riding while supporting a bunch of local taquerías around the metro. This should be the final route for Sept 19, meeting up a Lito's Burritos at 10:00a, rolling out at 10:30a, and ending there as well.

Stops included:

1. Lito’s Burritos – 901 W Lake St, Minneapolis
2. Mi Pueblo Express – 2281 Commerce Blvd, Mound
3. Aurelia’s – 16388 Wagner Way, Eden Prairie
4. Texatonka:
   1. Brito’s – 8114 Minnetonka Blvd, Minneapolis
   2. Bodega Taco Bar – 8005 Minnetonka Blvd, St Louis Park
5. Taquería Victor Hugo (Truck) – 4086 Lake Dr, Robbinsdale
6. Los Cactus – 4905 Central Ave NE, Columbia Heights
7. Tacos El Primo – 3909 Minnehaha Ave S, Minneapolis
8. El Charrito Taquería – 168 Cesar Chavez St, St Paul
9. Lito’s Burritos

14-16 mph is the intended average pace throughout the ride. Some will inevitably split off from the group by themselves or in groups, which is entirely okay, so I encourage everyone to download the route onto a bike computer or smartphone. Think of this as a self-supported ride, but with sticking together as much as possible highly encouraged.

Bring lights, flat repair kit, plenty of water for in-between stops, and as many friends as who are willing to give it a try. I'll add the msp.bike link once it's on there.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56566893

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bqrf3klkc3a2w2226a21a/COURSE_500467025.gpx?rlkey=csgkqsifxojpnxnzx075p9opw&dl=0

Took my first 100 mile ride this weekend. Trail through Pine Bend Bluffs had a severe wash out, next rainfall it will likely be completely gone. And the trail into Hastings via the dam was blocked by construction, which was passable during non construction time (aka the weekend). Very nice ride otherwise

https://strava.app.link/DJEsr1Gpv5b

The protected two-way bike path that's being built in the next two weeks on Grant St will exist for two blocks and then becomes sharrows west of LaSalle Ave.

I found this out when I reached out to staff for timeline and details. I was so excited about this connection thinking it was actually going to go west to Willow St but nope.

I shared my disappointment with the kind staff who took the time to answer my questions, and this is the last response I received. It is so counterproductive to not close the gaps right now and then ask for funding down the line when enough people complain about the bike gaps - the city applied for grant funding recently to close the Bryant Ave and Hennepin Ave bike path gaps (not even a sure thing to receive the funding).

"Thank you for sharing your valuable feedback. 

The new protected bikeway is currently planned only between Nicollet and LaSalle for several reasons:

• This segment of Grant Street is part of the [All Ages and Abilities Network](), which guides the City’s prioritization of bikeway investments.
• Grant Street between Nicollet and La Salle has a higher number of reported crashes, which elevates its priority for safety improvements. You can read more about this on the City’s Vision Zero webpage.
• West of LaSalle, Grant Street becomes narrower, making it challenging to install a protected bikeway without removing existing elements such as parking. A change of that scale would require a longer engagement process and a larger project budget. 

That said, the City recognizes the benefit that a bikeway extension to Spruce Pl or to Willow St could provide. The team is evaluating the inclusion of this section in the upcoming All Ages and Abilities network update, which would help incentivize future opportunities to improve bikeway safety and connectivity in this area.

If you would like to share feedback related to the All Ages and Abilities network or to bicycle infrastructure outside of active projects, I encourage you to reach out to the City Bicycle and Pedestrian coordinator, Alex Schieferdecker, at [alex.schieferdecker@minneapolismn.gov](mailto:alex.schieferdecker@minneapolismn.gov)."

Or am I overreacting? It felt super dangerous.

Saw a cyclist get hit by an SUV that ran the red light going westbound, the cyclists were travelling north. He tapped on his brakes and then proceeded to blow the light, sending the cyclist flying back 15-20 feet into the median.

It sounds like the cyclist was conscious at the scene (a miracle, considering how far they went and the speed of the suv). It looked like they were wearing a helmet.

I'm so sorry for all of the people that were there that witnessed this. So many other cyclists were right there.

I hope they are okay. And I hope we can see a pedestrian bridge here in the near future. And I hope for less distracted drivers.

I can't believe how little thought went into this detour. They want you to navigate the Cedar-Franklin intersection all by yourself, no help from even signage, let alone a marked off temporary bike path like other detours. I tried doing this today with two kids in a burley and I will not do it again until the trail has reopened.

So, I learned today that Corpse Whale Racing isn't organizing their annual Taco Bell century this year. Assuming what I heard is correct, I want to hopefully organize something similar but stopping at local joints instead.

My idea so far is to start somewhere that's easy to get to for a lot of people by bike, so probably Lito's at Bryant & Lake, and then from there getting some faster, uninterrupted miles in out in the suburbs by heading out to Mi Pueblo Express in Mound, followed by Lago Tacos in Excelsior and Aurelia's in Eden Prairie (Aurelia's is a must imo).

From then on I'm not sure so I'm looking for ideas for good places in the metro (mix of urban and suburban) that:

1. Are safe to bike to
2. Have counter service for quick in and out
3. Have space to loiter with our bikes and eat

And of course I'd appreciate any additional suggestions. I'm planning to put something together for mid-September on a Saturday preferably, starting around 10 am with a ~14-16 mph average pace, so not spicy (save that for the tacos) but not party pace either. No rules like having to eat something at every stop, this isn't a challenge beyond the fact that it'd be over 100 miles or riding. If people want to help me organize it, I would appreciate that too.

Map is very much provisional, but I live in NE and do very much want to include Los Cactus and El Taco Riendo. (Not mentioned: Brito's in Texatonka, Tacos El Kevin, Mi Guanajuato, El Charrito in St Paul, Habanero on Lake St., then ending again at Lito's).

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/56566893

Hell of a sign to encounter at the BOTTOM of a long hill. (The fences are pretty impassable.) There is construction going on above, so that’s probably the reason, rather than an attempt to restrict the options for the unhoused, as I initially suspected. This makes the passage from the east side to downtown pretty dicey as the Lafayette bridge and 3rd street bridges are also closed.

I’ve been bike commuting from a metro transit park and ride. Today when I showed up to my car a metro transit employee approached me stating that I would get ticketed or towed for using the parking and bike commuting from there. I was super confused because the lot is never even half full? Like is this really a policy they enforce wouldn’t they want more people to not be driving downtown? It’s absurd and I plan on calling in the morning to see if this is actually a policy. Rant over.

Not sure if this is for a special event but this big trailer was in a Bloomington hotel's parking lot this morning. It was not there yesterday Tuesday 8/4