Steve Johnson - Best Bike Rides Minneapolis and St. Paul: Great Recreational Rides in the Twin Cities Area

Steve Johnson is a self-propelled recreation junkie and fan of all things outdoors. He grew up roaming the northern lakes and forest regions of Minnesota and Wisconsin and spent his nascent college years exploring up high in the Colorado Rockies. An avid hiker and huge fan of road and mountain biking, Steve can usually be found on a hiking trail in the woods somewhere, or with his bike and a wide open road. With a spare hour or five, he is outdoors and in tune with natures finest.

A regular contributor to Backpacker and other regional magazines across the country, some of Steves other work includes Loop Hikes Colorado, Bicycling Wisconsin, Mountain Biking Minnesota, and spinoff sporting events projects. And dont miss his first childrens book, Jack & Lauren in The Big Bog. Steve lives and writes in southeastern Minnesota and far north Wisconsin.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of this book will be donated to The Nature Conservancy.

Minneapolis and St. Paul are indeed twins in that they are geographically side by side, and they share a common bond in the Mississippi River, but they have distinctly different personalities. Minneapolis has been likened to a West Coast city, with its urban artsy chic, action-packed nightlife, and glimmering office towers. The citys park system is legendary, and a very visible and key cog in its character, as seen most every summer day in the healthy and active vibe around Lakes Calhoun and Harriet. St. Paul is more relaxed, cradled by bluffs and elegant, European-inspired historic districts, with an oft-quieter mood. Stately boulevards give way to miles of forested river frontage blending into a picturesque river harbor. In cycling-speak, Minneapolis is kind of like a track bike, full speed with no brakes, while St. Paul is a balloon-tire cruiser. Both cities do, however, combine their characters to make this an award-winning place to call home. Each downtown boasts a vibrant arts scene, with renowned theaters and museums and a stacked schedule of headliner performances. An array of Fortune 500 corporations base their operations here, and amateur and pro sports teams perform on grand stages like Target Field and the Xcel Energy Center. Both have qualities of the other, being such close siblings and all, like miles and miles of book-worthy riding, a yearlong calendar of lively, two-wheeled events, and a cycling community forged from the very essence of the sport.

On the ground, the Twin Cities reflect the same glacially influenced origin as the rest of the state, highlighted by lakes and rivers and gently rolling topography. You wont find Alps-like climbing here, but there are enough short, steep hills to test your legs, especially in and around the river bluffs, and the mix of flat, riverside cruising in town and undulating countryside in surrounding communities rounds out a palette of made-to-order riding terrain.

The latitude line on the globe makes the Twin Cities the coldest major metro area in the United States. Bah. Think a little snow and cold slows us down? Sure, climate-controlled skyways were inspired here so people could move about the cities with a normal body temperature. Some days are so frigid that being outside too long could be deadly, or at least freeze off a finger, and we have seen wind chills approaching -70 to -100 degrees, but thats what were made of and what makes us proud. Just put on another layer and get out there. Take a look around next winter. The bike paths and streets are still full of bikes, pedaled by riders bulbous with gear to ward off the chill. Big, burly steeds with names like Pugsley plow furrows through new snow leading to the office or coffee shop or bike shop. You just know theres a smile behind that icicle-fringed balaclava. The flip side of our winters is, well, the other six months of the year. Warm-weather riding that can be short-lived, but what a glorious time it is. Spring can be finicky with unpredictable days of cold, wet, and wind, but it is an easygoing transition time, in step with emerging flowers and leaves and a rising thermometer. Summer days are typically perfect, with temps around 80, but watch out for bouts of stifling humidity when it feels like you can grab handfuls of air and you sweat buckets just reaching down to tie a shoe. With red-orange-yellow proclamations, the sauna-like conditions are cleansed by crisp fall air settling over apple festivals and corn on the cob and family picnics. More than a few of your brethren will declare this the best riding season of them all, and its hard to argue when you coast down a sinuous ribbon of tarmac unrolling through a deep crease in a bluff, smoldering in fiery autumn dress.

Oh ya, you betcha, doncha know. Grab a buddy, corral the kids, hop on your bikes, and go for a ride in Americas best bike city. Theres never been a better time.

Here is a short list of the many organizations that make Minnesota a great place to ride a bike.

Modeled after similar bike-sharing systems throughout the world, Nice Ride started with 65 bike stations in Minneapolis, and has since expanded to 145, in both downtowns and neighboring communities, with roughly a half million rentals. In 2010, Nice Ride was the largest bike-share system in the United States, and the programs initial fleet of 700 bikes has grown to over 1,300. The solar-powered stations communicate with a central server and report the number of available bikes and docking points at each location in real time to users through online maps and phone apps.

Users buy access to the bikes by the day, month, or year, during which time they can take one bike at a time from any of the 145 locations, and return it to any other location. A $65 annual subscription allows access to the bikes, with no charge for the first 30 minutes, and usage fees for additional time. The clock starts over after returning to a station, so you could do those short, in-town trips all day long for free, with so many convenient station locations. The program has been wildly successful and is another feather in the cap of the metros rise to the bike-friendly top of the heap. Nice Ride operates the stations from April to November. Get all the dirt at niceridemn.org.

Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota

bikemn.org

Working to make Minnesota even more bicycle friendly

Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists

Minnesotas mountain biking scene would not be what it is today without this dedicated group.

morcmtb.org

Bolder Options

bolderoptions.org

Teaching and promoting healthy youth development

Full Cycle

fullcyclebikeshop.com

Local shop that employs and trains homeless youth

Open Streets Minneapolis

openstreetsmpls.org

Advocating to make Minneapolis a better place to ride

Minnesota Cycling Federation

mcf.net

Minnesotas bike racing headquarters

Explore Minnesota/Pedal Minnesota

exploreminnesota.com/pedal-mn

An invaluable route-finding tool, with area tours and events

For much more information and links to other groups, bike clubs and teams, and gear companies, check out the Twin Cities Bicycling Club page, at biketcbc.org

The City of Lakes does its riding residents proud with nearly 200 combined miles (and counting) of on- and off-street bike lanes and trails. Much of this mileage is centered along water, around which Minneapolis was born and prospered, be it lakes, rivers, or streams. Sinuous pathways trace the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, from the historical downtown mill ruins south through forested limestone bluffs. Cyclists can linger all day long in the city, rolling along the Greenway through one of the hottest restaurant and arts scenes in the country, ride with the lively college vibe at the U of M campus, take in vibrant neighborhood festivals, or kick back on an overlook high above the river. A popular summertime destination is the chain of lakes, just south of downtown, with well-traveled pathways circling a foursome of tree-lined lakes, highlighted by Lakes Calhoun and Harriet, with sailing races, kite festivals, live music at the bandshell, and good old-fashioned days of fun in the sun.