Learn about the bike trails of the Twin Cities and the new bike exploring options offered by the North Star Commuter Rail  on Tuesday, August 30 at the Minnesota State Fair. I’ll be presenting two shows, at 9:30 am and 1:00 pm, on the Sustainability Stage in the Eco-Experience building. The building is located in the northeast corner of the fairgrounds near the Fine Arts Building.

While you’re there, talk to the folks at the Metro Transit booth. They will show you how easy it is to take your bike on North Star and they’ll have copies of my brochure “North Star, You , Your Bike” for viewing. Ask for the business cards with a discount code for ordering the brochure from bikeverywhere.com.

Bike parking is free at the State Fair. The closest lot to the Eco- Experience Building is Lot #3 at the intersection of Hoyt Ave and Snelling Ave. You can also park at Snelling Ave and Como Ave or at Commonwealth and Gortner near the UM St. Paul Campus.

Stick around after the talk to say Hi and talk bike trails. See you at the State Fair.

The Heartland Velo Show will be coming to Madison, WI August 27-28^th: The show features frames, components, apparel and accessories from the independent bike market. The weekend long event will also feature demonstrations, panel discussions, seminars and, because it’s Wisconsin, beer and entertainment. The show will bring together aficionados, enthusiasts and casual riders in a celebration of the Madison bike scene.

The 2009 National Bike Summit will take place from March 10-12 in Washington DC. Once again, the BFW will be taking a lead role in coordinating the activities of the Wisconsin delegation.
For more information on the summit, please visit the web page of the League of American Bicyclists.

The Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis, Wisconsin, has never been an easy venue to bike to. There were no bike racks, no security and no official encouragement to ride to the fair. That has changed dramatically in 2008. Thanks to the efforts of Jack Hirt of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin and the enthusiasm of Kathleen O’ Leary of the State Fair, bicyclists will be welcomed with open arms this year. “Pedal to the Park,” the State Fair’s official name for the promotion, will encourage bicycling to the State Fair by offering bike parking near the north and south entrances to the park. If you are a member of the Bike Federation or on the mailing list of some bike shops in the Milwaukee area, you will soon receive an email encouraging you to “Pedal to the Park.” The email blast is expected to reach nearly 30,000 cyclists.

Bikeverywhere has helped with the promotion by producing a custom map of bike routes to the State Fair and sending out promotional materials to bike dealers in the greater Milwaukee area. This is the same assistance that we gave to Summerfest earlier this summer and similar to the custom bike route mapping Bikeverywhere did for the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts. You can download copy of the map here. Eventually the map will also be available for download on the Wisconsin State Fair website.

This year you can add a bike ride to the corn dog/Midway/animal barn experience of the Wisconsin State Fair.

Aaron Isaacs, author of “Twin Cities by Trolley: The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul” will lead a bike ride along the rail trails of the Twin Cities. The ride leaves at 1:30 on July 17th from St Paul’s Vento Trailhead east of downtown where Payne intersects with West 7th. David Gepner, ride coordinator, describes the ride as “More intellectual than aerobic, and more fulfilling than pure exercise with a stop for a treat and discussion at the nostalgic Dari-ette Drive In.” Isaacs book has received 6 reviews at Amazon.com, all of them 5 star. You can see the book and reviews here.

Bicycle Film Festival 2008 is in Minneapolis. The event runs for three days from Thursday, July 10 to Saturday, July 12. The festival features films from the 1979 classic Breaking Away to film clips as short as 1 minute in length, plus European road racing films and inspirational cross country tours. Film venues include the Riverview Theater, McPhail Center for Music and Theatre De La Jeune Lune. Each day finishes with an After Party including drinks, contests, music and socializing with fellow bicyclists. This promises to be a fun event that has something for everyone in the diverse world of Twin Cities Cycling. More information.