Digest of r/cyclingmsp

Finished the year with a great river bottoms ramble. All in all, my biggest year of cycling with >12,000 miles outdoors, and almost all in MN with a little WI and FL.

Hey guys!

One final push for signatures for Livable Lyndale. Please sign if you haven't already to support a dedicated 2 way bikeway on Lyndale to help support the businesses and induce green transportation.

Try to sign before next week when new council members are sworn in.

I'm planning some bikecamping trips for the summer, and after doing a few solo trips this past summer I thought it would be fun to try going on a group trip.

I found out that Farmstead Bike Shop (RIP) did some trips in the past, but I'm not aware of any other groups that organize trips.

Are there any other groups in the Twin Cities that do group bikecamping? Thanks.

Is this event still active? Any other fatbike group rides?

Thanks

Hi was curious if anyone has biked downhill to St. Paul city from Grand over the past week. I mean with a normal bike and studded tires. There don't seem to be any recent comments here concerning road conditions.

Also, starting at least two days ago, there have been the nasty ice streaks on many roads, also in Minneapolis.

Please excuse the typos.

Last century I did was 114 mi in October and this was genuinely more difficult. Cold air + heavy, slow grocery/winter bike + studded gravel tires = serious test of willpower.

All that fuss in NE was to get from 47.5 to 50, just cuz.

Damn it was fun. By numbers there's nothing all that impressive here but winter (esp. with both snow, ice, and wet) is a different beast.

First three days were on a hybrid with a front studded gravel tire; fourth was, as you can see, on a road bike with regular tires and plastic fenders.

Nothing too interesting here, just wanted to share given weather forecasts putting the kibosh in long-ish recreational rides for probably the rest of the year.

And don't worry, I still got to see family and friends plenty.

Hoping this means the bit between Kenilworth and midtown greenway is finally fully open!

I biked from Uptown to the Como Conservatory today and for the most part it was okay but the painted bike lane on Como Ave west of Raymond Ave (red circle) sucked mega bad. A speeding pick up truck came within inches of my bike and that was a little too much even for a confident bicyclist like me. Also, the speed limit was 25 and people were going 40. We love the lack of traffic calming through this lovely part of town full of HOUSES.

Anyways, to folks who regularly commute between Minneapolis and St. Paul, what is your low stress route to get to the green section of the Como Ave with the separated bike path? More broadly, how do I bike to the Como Conservatory without risking death?

This is niche, but for any DMV (DC - Maryland - Virginia) transplant living in Minneapolis, the location of the Como Conservatory reminded me of the U.S. National Arboretum. It was so BEAUTIFUL but located in a suburban context with few biking options. The power that be need to stop gatekeeping nature from bikers. We would like to see the pretty plants too!

"You can ask any front end staff person for a People Powered Perks punch card, then you can get it punched any time you come in to the store using sustainable transportation (via walking, taking the bus, biking, rollerblading, etc!). When the punch card is filled you can bring it back to the store to be entered to win." - response from a staff member.

(also, I don't know who need to know this but Seward sells toasted sesame oil in their bulk refill section - bring a container!)

Drop your fave local small businesses that reward sustainable transportation. I'm on a mission to spend money locally this holiday season ❄️

This is the first time I recall this section ever being plowed in the winter. Hopefully this is a regular thing now that they’ve redone the trail!

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen any announcement yet and was pleasantly surprised to see just now that the Kenilworth Trail and final section of the Cedar Lake Trail appear to be formally open! Zero trail closed signs, zero barriers, directional signage up! The only remaining part to open is the little zig-zag detour at the Greenway/Kenilworth connection.

Loose snow is fully plowed from the Greenway to the river, but there is a lot of ice, including some nasty ruts. Studs needed but relatively narrow tires should be fine.

I'm glad they repaved the western half in 2021, but I haven't heard anything about plans to redo the the other half. The snow certainly evens things out a bit, but east of 5th Ave S, the bumps and cracks have been getting worse and worse every year. It's especially bad east of the Sabo bridge.

Hey everyone, I live in a rural area and I have advanced arthritis in one of my knees, am bow legged, and I got some bone spurs. From all of this I have bone on bone grinding on the inside of my knee. A high tibia osteotomy has been recommended and I was just wondering if anyone here has had a similar procedure and if so could you share your recommendations on a hospital/surgeon.

I’m an avid cyclist, do the occasional century or two in the summer, mountain bike every chance I get, and just love bikes! I have family in MPLS so seeing someone in the cities for consultation/second opinion would be nice as the options where I live are far and few. My goal is to be able to do a mountain bike century (Lutsen 99er?) with as minimal pain in my knees as possible. Currently cycling is fine, but any type of hike a bike, or hiking in general, can get really uncomfortable really fast. I’m in my 40s too and I want to be able to ride well into my older years. Thanks for any suggestions or input anyone can share!

Holdtight

Slow going but had a blast. Gonna do my best to get another 20 in tomorrow.

Rough ride home but I made it. This was from S 4th St and Park

See pt. 1 here.

I emailed [BACPAC@minneapolismn.gov](mailto:BACPAC@minneapolismn.gov) requesting to speak at their December 16 meeting and included the message that I shared with Ward 10 in the email too. Here's the response I got back from a city staff. I found info about the committee here. I encourage everyone who has similar concerns about their neighborhood bikeways to reach out if you haven't already.

I plan on showing up at 4 PM on December 16 to share my thoughts in person. MoveMN is also hosting a Minneapolis Volunteer Team Meeting later that evening a few blocks away, so I'll be able to hop over afterwards. If you've been looking for ways to plug in, I hope that what I've shared can be a launching pad for your activism.

Are there rooms for improvement? Yes. Will you need to watch out for some ice chunks? Yes. Can you visibly see where the path is and where you’re going? YES!

What: Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition Monthly Meeting When: Wednesday, Dec. 17, 5:30 – 7:00 pm Where: Highland Park Library

Head to saintpaulbicyclecoalition.org to sign up for the monthly email.

Starting to think that I should wear a lanyard with a whistle so that when drivers pull down their windows to scream at me, I can blow out their eardrums.

(email sent to ward 10 Aisha Chughtai's office)

Hey people! I recently made a webpage for my personal observations on bike trails on the twin cities. It includes text and an interactive map you can click on different segments for. Obviously opinions differ about what’s “good” and “bad” plowing, but hopefully this will be helpful to people. I’m torn on how to report on roads with no protected infrastructure, since in my experience, most of painted bike lanes are not plowed very well. But, this information might still be useful if you ride in the road after a snowfall! I’m open to adding that if people think it will be useful.

https://mspwintercycle.github.io/

The way it works for now is just sending an email of an experience you had on your bicycle, and I’ll update the website and the map. I’m open to suggestions on how to improve things, I know a manual repository isn’t the most efficient way but I wanted to get something quickly out there to gear up for the winter. I see posts on this subreddit looking for ride reports, on BlueSky, Twitter, etc, so maybe this would be helpful as one resource for winter biking in the twin cities.

Thanks!

10F in the backyard, -2F in town. Looks like I am not riding in, sadly. Hopefully Friday.

First commute in snow this year - I took my normal route of Ayd Mill -> Marshall -> River Rd, and there was enough snow / ice / debris on Marshall that I was taking the lane for 90% of it. That felt OK with morning traffic and full daylight, but I won't do the same during evening rush hour (bad enough getting buzzed in the bike lane by the B Line on the 1-lane parkway sections).

How's Summit looking? Or Jefferson? I could possibly take the river all the way round to West 7th/Shepherd, but I don't know the state of greenways on the STP side.

I'm on studs but not fat tires; sidewalks are absolute last resort due to snowbanks at every intersection this morning.

I have a gravel bike (a Marin) with fenders, in-hub shifter, and studded tires. How does a set up like this compare with a fat bike for winter commuting?

I find that my current bike is pretty good everywhere except where there's loose snow (e.g., where there's a pile that has slipped off the edge of a plow blade). Would a fat bike be better on that surface? And do those wide, knobby tires mean you don't need studded tires, or do you get studded fat tires?

I may be just looking for an excuse to blow too much money on another bike...

Last question: what's a good, not crazy expensive fat bike for this use case (if a FB makes sense for this use case)?

Thanks and happy winter riding!

Where can I find el cheapo Santa garb in St. Paul for the Saturday ride?

I read post after post here about cyclists complaining about conditions in the city. Well now I have data on on my side - the city has published a report on factors involved in serious or fatal crashes. Cyclists show up multiple times on the list!! I hope this will finally end the grouching from this crowd, and that you will all reflect on this and incorporate it into your actions. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

GET YOUR HOLIDAYS ON HENNEPIN PASSPORT STAMPED BY PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES!!! Queermunity is stamping with the most adorable sled!

…with my new Arctodus. Incidentally, I passed 12,000 miles for the 12 months since last December first during the ride today.

I have been bike commuting for about 18 months thru Mpls, but I skipped last winter when it there was snow and ice. I purchased my 45NRTH Gravdahl tires for my Surly Preamble based on smart bike friends advice. Was told NOT to put them on too early.

Seems like this weekend would be the right time. Asking those who know better.