Visited Minneapolis, looks bike-friendly

[Ninabike]

I was in Minneapolis this weekend for my niece's wedding. Didn't do any riding, but my brother and SIL took me all over the place. I saw tons of cyclists, mostly road bikes, on great bike paths along lakes and separated from street traffic. Since I don't know the area, I really don't know exactly where we were, but wherever we went, it looked great for riding. Of course I realize for you cyclists who live there, your riding season is limited, but I sure do envy you when the weather is good. BTW, I also got Chigger bites at the outdoor wedding!! It was all worth it though.

[Norse]

Sunday there were an enourmous amount of bikes out as it was the annual Minneapolis Bike Tour. It's actually the only time I ride along/around the Mpls. lakes as any other day it is too dangerously clogged with joggers, walkers, strollers, folks who don't give a hoot about staying off the paths marked for bikes only...

But yes, overall it is a great place to be a cyclist - actually, the whole state is pretty darned nice for bikers.

[SpinSpinSugar]

It's very nice to bike here in Minneapolis. The whole area is pretty much flat with a few rolling hills so it's not too hard or intimidating for newbies to get into. It also makes for a fast ride almost anywhere - so leaving the car at home is pretty easy.

SpinSpinSugar

[Ninabike]

I didn't get to see the ride on Sunday, but on Saturday we drove around so many lakes I was kind of lost. I think one of the lakes was Lake of the Isles. Is that the one with the beautiful homes along the shore?

[northstar]

Oh, there are many lakes with beautiful homes along the shore, but Lake of the Isles probably has the most! :)

The paths around the lakes are very, very busy and not terribly enjoyable for anyone who wants to go more than 10 mph. But there is a thriving bike commuter population here that keeps growing - I believe we're second only to Portland in % of commuters (even considering our winters).

Google the Martin Sabo bridge, very cool bike/ped only infrastucture here that is part of the Midtown Greenway (which rocks!).

[Ninabike]

Ooooh, nice bridge. We do have a few bike paths in parts of the Los Angeles County area, but we also have to compete with skateboarders, joggers, etc. Our bike paths here are really not conducive to commuting since they are not in the right places. Mostly, we get places by freeway. In Minnesota, we did drive out to Sherwood and it seemed like there was a bike path along the entire highway, but separated from traffic by a grass divider. I was just really impresed by the beauty of the entire Minneapolis area and suburbs and the number of bikes I saw.