Tour de Fat: A fun event with or without beer and a bike

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I know the whole focus of the Tour de Fat is beer and bikes but when you’re hanging with a 10 year old and you live pretty far away from the location, beers and bikes are less appealing than event as a whole. But I’m happy to report that Tour de Fat can be fun with or without the beer and bike.Tour de Fat is an annual festival sponsored by New Belgium beer to celebrate biking and raise money for bike-focused nonprofits. Taking place in Loring Park, the festival includes lots of local bikers in costume, beer, food trucks and a series of different acts and activities.Black Joe Lewis headlined the show. He is a little funk, a little soul. Perfect for the hot sun and funky crowd. Continue Reading

Transpo Convo with Bill: Bike lanes are where the snow goes

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Transpo Convo is an ongoing series in which I interview people about their transportation use. This second installment features highlights from my conversation with Bill D., in which we chat about icy winter riding, revamping roads for greater cycling infrastructure, and how to build effective cycling advocacy. Continue Reading

VIDEO: Dinkytown Greenway expands, grand opening

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Phase III of the Dinkytown Greenway, an off road bike trail that connects the University of Minnesota with downtown, opened on July 20 with a ribbon cutting ceremony and two group rides. Phase III utilizes a tunnel under the 35W bridge approach that was built under the bridge when it was reconstructed.Council Members Jacob Frey and Cam Gordon led group rides from Gateway Park and TCF Stadium and met Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and other local leaders at Bluff Street Park, near where the tunnel connects Bridge #9 and an off-road bike trail that leads to the far end of the University of Minnesota campus with on-street bike lanes on 2nd Street South that lead to downtown.This video takes a look at the Gateway Park Group ride and the speeches and ribbon cutting at Bluff Street Park: Continue Reading

Lake Street: BIKE friendly?

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It’s rare that I bike more than a few blocks on Lake St. without having some variation on “Get the fuck out of the fucking road!” shouted at me from a passing car. Given the overall vibe on Lake, this isn’t remotely surprising. Continue Reading

Can you find the Dinkytown Greenway? You can help point the way.

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A bicycle and pedestrian trail that opened through the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis a year ago has been too hard to find, say community residents working to improve the Dinkytown Greenway’s visibility.“We want a gateway kiosk, other signs with maps to help people find their way around,” said consultant Richard Lang, a principal with Visual Communications. “We want to create some interest, identify what the streets are and how long the distances are.”Lang, a consultant working with the University District Alliance and other communitymembers, will organize a plan to determine the best means to mark the bicycle and walking trail to help people find their way and learn about the community at the same time.The Dinkytown Greenway begins near the TCF Bank Stadium on the east end of the campus, diverges from the auto traffic at the north end of Oak Street, passes under Dinkytown, goes across the Mississippi River on bridge No. 9, and ends at Bluff Park on the West Bank. By mid July, the trail will continue from Bluff Park through a tunnel under I-35W to 13th Avenue South, ending about six blocks from the Guthrie Theater and the new Vikings Stadium.But because the greenway cuts across the grid under Dinkytown, many people have been confused about where to enter the trail. A walking entrance is a path across the street from CVS Pharmacy just east of the Fourth Street bridge. Continue Reading

A crash lesson in crash causes

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A friend of mine recently had a bike-riding experience worthy of story-telling, and agreed to share it here. Della Kurzer-Zlotnick, the author, will be moving to Oberlin for college this fall. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | We Ride Northeast, 2014

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This Saturday the Northeast Community Development Corporation (CDC) hosted the third annual Northeast Ride, a bicycle tour of ‘Nordeast’ Minneapolis. The ride raises funds for the CDC, a 501(c)3 which promotes the arts, community, and economic development of Northeast Minneapolis. The approximately twelve mile ride began at the Northeast Armory and ended at Indeed Brewing Company. Bicyclists traversed through all of the thirteen Northeast neighborhoods, with stops in nine.The previous two years used the same route, but this year brought a change. ‘It’s a unique part of the ride that it goes through all the neighborhoods in Northeast. Continue Reading