Gary Sjoquist has been a professional bicycle advocate for 20 years, long enough to accumulate a rich trove of stories that put him in the middle of some of the most significant advancements in recent bicycle history. Hired in 1998 by Quality Bicycle Products, Gary says he was given a “long leash” to do what he could for the promotion of bicycling in Minnesota and across the nation. His fingerprints are all over the $25 million federal grant to promote bicycling in Minneapolis, he was a founder and early executive director of Bikes Belong, now People for Bikes, he was instrumental in Safe Routes to Schools, Cayuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails and most recently the NICA High School Mountain Bike League. He’s been inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in the Marin Museum of Bicycling.

Gary told his story this weekend at the last of the 2018 SpokesPeople series at the Cycling Museum of Minnesota. His entertaining talk was rich in anecdotal information and creative tactics for getting everyone from powerful congressmen to local business leaders on board with bicycling programs. He makes bicycle advocacy sound like fun.

Thanks to Gary for his tireless advocacy on behalf of bicyclists and to the Cycling Museum of Minnesota for their wide ranging SpokesPeople series of talks.

The 2018 Twin Cities Bike Map is in stock and ready to ship. The updated map reflects the last three years of research into the best and most scenic trails and bike friendly roads in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the entire Twin Cities metro. This is the twelfth edition of the Twin Cities Bike Map and it’s the most up to date and accurate map you’ll find in the Twin Cities. New roads have been added, some roads that no longer qualify as bike friendly have been removed and many trails have been added, tweaked and aligned to meet the changing bike environment of the Twin Cities. use the paper Twin Cities Bike Map to plan your next ride, then download the mobile Twin Cities Bike Map to your phone and use it to track your route, make adjustments on the fly and add your favorite points of interest directly to the map.

The new Stillwater Bridge across the St. Croix River has a wide, protected bike and pedestrian lane for crossing the river between Minnesota and Wisconsin. During our visit this weekend, we also discovered that the bridge is a popular destination for folks who want to get to the middle of the river to take in the scenery. The bike/ped lane has observation areas looking upriver toward Stillwater or the active boating scene on the water.

The crossing starts at a bike lane on Hwy 95 north of the bridge and runs two miles to County Rd E, nearly a mile inland from the Wisconsin bank of the St. Croix River. The bridge is accessible by bike from Stillwater and points south and west, but the layout of the roads and trails has changed considerably.

Stopped by the bike camping site in Carver Park Reserve. The site has been expanded, adding more space for tents and at least two extra hammock options. The site also has a couple of picnic areas and the LRT trail from Hopkins has bike camping signs at The Depot and at the turn to the bike trails in Carver Park Reserve.

Darren Drummer, operations supervisor for Carver Park Reserve, has additional improvements in mind for the site, including pavers around the campfire and movable seating with backs (bicyclists rarely carry chairs on camping trips),

Interested in riding your bike to the Minnesota State Fair this year? Parking will be easier with 100 new bike parking spots at the State Fair bike parking corrals. For more information about bike related activities at the State Fair, check out this great post from Have Fun Biking.

Larger bike corrals relieves the hassle-factor going to Minnesota State Fair

 

Updated two mobile maps today on Avenza. The updated Twin Cities Bike Map includes the Nine Mile Creek and the Spring Lake Park Trails mentioned in earlier posts plus numerous smaller changes and tweaks not mentioned in Facebook posts.

The updated Twin Cities Bike Trails map now shows all trails that have been added or tweaked since this map was last updated in January of 2016.

If you’ve purchased either of these maps in the past, you can download the updated maps for free.

The Spring Lake Park Trail covers a lot of ground in its short, five-mile stretch along the Mississippi River near Hastings. It runs atop bluffs near the eastern trailhead, bridges a deep ravine, drops to near River level then rolls to the western trailhead off Highway 55. The trail runs through recently seeded prairie (heavy on Black-eyed Susans this time of year), some woodlots and lots of terrain.

Round trip distance is under 12 miles, but riders looking for more distance have plenty of options. From Schaar’s Bluff, the trail continues southeast through the park and along residential streets to the edge of Hastings. Watch for a somewhat obscured sign that directs you down an incline to the River where you will cross an earthen dam and ride up to Lock and Dam #2. The trail follows the Mississippi River downstream to the heart of Hastings for food and drink.

The City of Hastings has its own trail system for more mileage options. Stay on the River Trail past downtown, then follow trails and quiet residential streets to Vermillion Falls Park and an attractive trail along the Vermillion River. It’s possible to return to the main trail using residential trails and streets or you can backtrack along the original route.

The final option in the Hastings area is to cross the new Hwy 61 bridge over the Mississippi River., the bridge has a separated bike and pedestrian lane, then drop into the city marina and continue following the trail toward the city of Prescott, WI. The trail ends at a popular beach on the St. Croix River.

The Nine Mile Creek Trail, part of the Three Rivers Park System, runs from 76th St. in Richfield to Valley View Rd on the west side of Highway 100. At first blush, this hardly seems like a destination trail. Riding through inner ring suburbs along residential streets doesn’t inspire a “Must See” response. Although the trail has multiple sections along residential streets, there are highlights that make it surprisingly pleasant for an easy afternoon ride.

The most surprising section of the trail is in Edina between Centennial Lakes and Southdale. The trail has an urban park setting with abundant green space, pools, flowing water, sculptures and park benches. The photos below hint at the amenities along this trail.
A stretch of trail along the east side Highway 100 alternates between a short stretch that is loud and somewhat stark to a quieter rolling wooded trail near a lake.

The trail flies over Highway 100 on a dedicated bike and pedestrian bridge then crosses woodlands, Nine Mile Creek and wet lowlands on boardwalks. One of the boardwalks is nearly a mile long.
Eventually the Nine Mile Creek Trail will hook up with other trails in the Three Rivers System, offering an escape route from Richfield and Edina to major trails throughout Hennepin County and beyond. The completed portion of the trail is on the mobile Twin Cities Bike Map.

Three Rivers Parks has just opened a bikes-only campsite in the Lake Auburn Campground at Carver Park Reserve. Tentatively called 2oaks, the site is unique in several ways. Besides being a bikes-only site, it is based on the European concept of the “Commons.” It can hold about 5 tents and two hammocks.

A fire ring, bike rack and picnic are shared by all campers. Riders share the site and register when they arrive, there are no reservations. As a camper, you may have the site to yourself or share it with others, all of them fellow bike campers. The cost is minimal at $10 per tent.

With this arrangement, Three Rivers makes it easy to take that spontaneous overnight trip or plan a small group outing without reserving multiple campsites.

Carver Park Reserve is approximately 30 miles west of Uptown Minneapolis or 15 miles west of The Depot in Hopkins on the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail. The route is car free and the distance is close enough that a leaky tent or forgotten sleeping bag can be remedied with a phone call to a friend or family member. who could drive to the campsite within the hour.

This is not a site for large group outings. Large groups will be encouraged to reserve group campsites anywhere in the Three Rivers system.

 

Today was Bike-to-Work day at Quality Bicycle Products so the locker room was full. We shuffled gear around to accommodate the crowd and were covering the usual subjects; animal sightings in the park, wind direction, temperature and upcoming rides, when someone brought up the spec on a prototype Surly bike. The locker room is over-represented with bike engineers, marketing copywriters, brand managers and sales reps. Many use their daily commute for testing bikes and components that won’t be on the market for another year. Even mountain bikes get a work-out on the daily commute by test riders who drop into the bottomlands of the Minnesota River to weave through an occasionally flooded trail before emerging half a mile from work.

Aaron, from the next row of lockers, responded with an animated monologue about the bike. The rest of the locker room went quiet as he expounded on the subtle design points and ride feel of a prototype bike that had him excited. At first, there was nothing unusual. Engineering discussions are commonplace in the locker room. Most of it flies over my head, but I’ve observed enough to realize that the inane ramblings of bike reviewers in consumer bike magazines is nothing more than filling white space and making advertisers happy.

Aaron was still talking as he stripped down, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He paused in front of our lockers to emphasize a point and continued talking as he shuffled to the showers. I caught a couple of arched eyebrows and knowing looks. We could hear the shower curtain slide to the side and a spray of water cascade off the walls. Aaron raised his voice so we could hear him over the shower noise.

“I want some of his coffee,” an engineer stage whispered. “I’ve got a long day ahead of me.”

Passing through “Spokes,” QBP’s lunch room, I overheard an auto-commuter discuss his drive to work. I can’t remember if he had a good day (traffic flowed smoothly and the lights were green) or a bad day (some idiot cut him off). The conversation is so predictable that I tune it out. Kim, the outgoing server behind the counter, greeted me by name as I passed by. She has an uncanny ability to remember everyone’s name and brightens our days with her greetings.

Several tables in the Atrium, beyond Spokes, were loaded with bagels, cream cheese, doughnuts and juice, the rewards for riding in on Bike-to-Work Day. I grabbed my share and passed through the doors to the near total silence of IT, stepped up to my computer and logged in to start the work day.