I’ve been publishing the print version of the Twin Cities Bike Map since 1983. In 2013 I introduced the mobile version of the map and watched mobile sales rise while print sales have declined. Although I’ve seen a COVID related surge in print map sales during the last year, the overall trend has been down,… […]
Looking for a hilly ride to put some burn into your legs? Try this route, near the Afton area. It incorporates about 1800 feet of climbing into a 30 mile ride. We started at the pin and went counterclockwise. The last leg was mercifully flat and we had a tailwind.
The Twin Cities Mobile Bike Map has been updated. Changes include the St. Paul Grand Rounds, the new trail connector in S. St. Paul, the first stage of the new paved River Bottoms route and changes in a number of suburban cities. Check the Avenza app on your phone. Updates are free if you’ve already… […]
I’ve been publishing the print version of the Twin Cities Bike Map since 1983. In 2013 I introduced the mobile version of the map and watched mobile sales rise while print sales have declined. Although I’ve seen a COVID related surge in print map sales during the last year, the overall trend has been down, to the point where I can no longer profitably run small press runs. I’ve decided to discontinue the printed version. It’s the end of an era. I will no longer sell the print version through my website, but you should be able to find maps at Twin Cities bike dealers through the end of the season. The mobile version of the map is still available and will be updated regularly.
Looking for a hilly ride to put some burn into your legs? Try this route, near the Afton area. It incorporates about 1800 feet of climbing into a 30 mile ride. We started at the pin and went counterclockwise. The last leg was mercifully flat and we had a tailwind.
The Twin Cities Mobile Bike Map has been updated. Changes include the St. Paul Grand Rounds, the new trail connector in S. St. Paul, the first stage of the new paved River Bottoms route and changes in a number of suburban cities. Check the Avenza app on your phone. Updates are free if you’ve already downloaded an earlier version of the map.
The latest update on the mobile 2017 Twin Cities Bike Map is now available on Avenza. If you’ve already downloaded the map since 2017, you can download the updated version for free and pick up numerous small road and trail changes. If you still haven’t downloaded the 2017 map, expect much bigger changes that reflect not only the newest changes, but older changes such as the extension of the Nine Mile Creek Trail across Hwy 100 and across a long, beautiful boardwalk near Bredesen Park in Edina.
Burl walks with his shoulders high and rolled forward. His head leads his shoulders by a couple of inches, but otherwise his posture is upright, especially for an 80-year-old man. I first noticed him several years ago on my morning bike commute. He always looked to be hunched against the wind, even on a calm summer morning.
I waved and said “Good Morning.” It startled him, but he managed a “Hi!” in a voice too low to hear. Although I could read it on his lips. We repeat the routine whenever we pass each other. That simple exchange inevitably raises my spirits.
Others notice.The dog walker in Hyland Park, for example, picks up the vibe and says “Good Morning.” In early spring and late fall he walks the trails wearing a heavy jacket with wool hat, gloves …and shorts.
The runner doesn’t notice. He runs with a heavy shuffle. The balls of his feet land with a thud and shift forward with each step. He runs with a permanent grimace, eyes mostly closed and head down. I see him frequently. We pass within inches of each other each morning, but we’ve never exchanged a greeting.
For one glorious summer, I saw a young woman gliding the trails each evening. She skated with a sweeping exuberance unlike any other inline skater I’ve seen and it showed in a radiant smile that engulfed everything ahead of her. I didn’t see her for at least one season, then she returned with a male companion. I haven’t seen her since.
There are people who I don’t expect to see again. The elderly couple, for example, with squeaky bike chains. I saw them several times per week for a couple of seasons. They disappeared for a while, then one morning the man was on the trail alone. It was the last time I saw him.
It’s been many years since I’ve seen the older woman who walked the morning trails regularly in full sun protection: a large floppy-brimmed hat, long sleeves and a loose piece of material draped over her hands.
One morning I waved to Burl as I passed, then spontaneously slowed, circled back and introduced myself. That’s when I learned his name and his age. He worked in the warehouse at Super Valu and felt a lifelong gratitude for the way they treated him. His niece, a Physical Therapist, got him to start walking, something he does daily. In winter, he walks the mall. That’s all I know about him. I don’t know if I’ve spelled his name correctly and I can’t guarantee that the details of our conversation are accurate. It doesn’t matter.
I saw him again last week, after nearly a month. I felt a sense of relief, waved and said Good Morning. He said Hi and raised a hand. A few minutes later the dog walker said Good Morning and the runner passed by without a word.
I was recently contacted by Steve Strom of Posters on Board. He’s seeing a steady stream of map lovers come to the store to frame or wood mount their favorite maps, and a request to wood mount the Twin Cities Bike Map caught his attention. He is now carrying the laminated and folded versions of the map and would happily mount or frame them for you.
Bikeverywhere introduces the latest in its series of long distance bicycle tours with the Great Lakes Bicycle Tour. This tour touches four of the five Great Lakes: Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. The tour also includes Niagara Falls, the Niagara River, the Welland Canals and Ontario Vineyards. The entire tour can be downloaded to your phone or tablet where it will be accessible even if your phone isn’t compatible with the Canadian cell phone system.
Part 1 follows the eastern shore of Lake Michigan with its massive sand dunes, pretty shoreline towns and quiet back roads, then heads east across Central Michigan to the southwest shore of Lake Huron. It follows the Lake Huron shoreline south to the St. Claire River, passageway for the giant Lake Freighters that ply the Great Lakes. Stop at Marine City, the point where the tour crosses the St. Claire into Canada, or take the ferry across the river and follow a bike path south to Port Lambton.
Part 2 of the tour connects to the north shore of Lake Erie, the third Great Lake of the tour, and follows it to the Niagara Falls/Welland Canals area. Lake Freighters use the Welland Canals to bypass the Niagara River. A quiet bike path follows the canals north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, the fourth and last Great Lake. The route continues east through Ontario vineyards to the Canadian bank of the Niagara River. An attractive, although busy, bike path follows the river south to Fort Erie and a bike friendly river crossing to the city of Buffalo, New York on the United States side. Buffalo has an international airport and Amtrak for your return trip, or you can extend your ride by touring the Allegheny Mountains and historic Virginia.
The 2019 mobile Twin Cities Bike Map is available at the Avenza Map Store with some interesting updates. See the screenshot below for the recently opened extension of the Three Rivers Park system’s Nine Mile Creek Trail. The trail now spans Highway 100 on a new bridge. To the west, the trail includes an extended boardwalk across marshland and to the east it runs on its own path through Edina and Richfield to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport.
Avenza Maps has also introduced new technology that makes Explore More by Bikeverywhere more user friendly. For starters, you can link directly from the Avenza Map Store to the Explore More Dropbox site. You’ll see the link in the map description.
The downloaded placemarks also support hyperlinks. For users that means the description for Baker Park Reserve, for example, will be a direct link to the Park’s official web page. Wherever possible, I’ve updated placemarks throughout the Twin Cities Bike Map with hyperlinks.
I’ve also made the downloads easier. You can now import all of the placemarks in one step rather than download each category separately. Avenza has also updated and simplified the interface for importing placemarks.
2017 promises to be an exciting year for Bikeverywhere’s mobile maps. More announcements to come.
Abandoned bikes are an eyesore for the city and two that I had been watching for months really started bugging me. Minneapolis, in my opinion, should have removed them a long time ago. I decided to dig into the problem a little and maybe write a blistering editorial about the city’s indifference to this blight.
That’s when I discovered that the problem wasn’t with the city. Their policy is quite simple. Call 311, their number for all city services, or email 311@minneapolismn.gov and tell them where the abandoned bike is located. They will take care of it.
City policy, which applies only to bikes on public property, is that an unlocked bike or a bike that is parked illegally will be removed immediately. A locked bike will be tagged for 24 hours to give the owner time to claim it, then it will be removed.
I sent an email explaining where each of the two bikes was located and what I had observed. Both bikes were removed in less than a week.
The key here is citizen involvement. The city doesn’t just swoop down and take away bikes, it waits for someone to complain. I like that approach, and with that knowledge, I’ll be more vigilant.
What I won’t do is report an abandoned bike within 24 hours. There are all sorts of legitimate reasons why a rider may leave his or her bike unattended for several days or more. I have no desire to create a hassle for those riders. But when a bike starts showing signs of neglect: a rusty chain, flat tires, missing components, I’ll make the call or send the email.
Bicycle touring in the Allegheny Mountains isn’t for the faint of heart. The climbs, and descents, are steep, the mountains are high and there aren’t a lot of flat stretches to catch your breath and recover. But for those who are up for the challenge, the rewards more than match the challenges. Bikeverywhere’s newest mobile map, Allegheny Mountains Bike Tour, lays out a route from Buffalo, New York to Yorktown, Virginia that follows the spine of the Allegheny Mountains through upstate New York, western Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. The route follows mountain streams, climbs peaks, explores valleys and passes through dozens of small towns. Check out Allegheny Mountains Bike Tour Narrative, a first person account of riding this route in the fall of 2016.
Niagara Falls is one of the natural wonders of the world. Bicyclists can access both the American and Canadian Falls quickly by bike, but they don’t have to limit themselves to viewing just the falls. Bike paths along both the Canadian and American sides of the Niagara River allow bicyclists to follow the entire 30 plus miles of the river between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. Another bike trail connects the two lakes by following the Welland Canals where riders can get intimate views of giant Lake Freighters as they pass through the locks and canals that bypass Niagara Falls. There are also road loops through vineyards, smaller trails and urban areas such as Buffalo, NY to explore. Bikeverywhere now offers the mobile Niagara Falls Bike Trails for riders who want to see Niagara Falls and all of the scenic trails and byways that the Niagara Falls Area offers.
Our annual full moon pilgrimage to the Cannon Valley happened this weekend.
We met in the back parking lot of the Cannon River Inn in Welch Village. The sun had set nearly two hours earlier and the moon was high in a cloudless sky. Our destination was Miesville Ravine, 8 miles west on gravel roads. We left the parking lot with headlights lit and rode through the single intersection in town. A block later we were in the country and one by one the lights went off, leaving only the blue white light of the moon to guide us. Our rides created a steady hum of crunching gravel, tree branches cast black, sharp-edged shadows across the road, an owl called in the distance, an animal rustled leaves in the woods and the night air turned chill. This is what we came for, that surreal feel of riding at the wrong time of the day, in the wrong season, with inadequate lights. Every noise and shadow could be interpreted as ominous or fascinating. We chose fascinating.
A car’s headlights approached from around the bend. Our headlights blinked on in response, but by the time the car reached the last riders in the group, the leader’s lights had gone dark. Headlights narrow the view. We were here for the expansiveness of the night. The road leveled off briefly, then turned and resumed its climb. The climb felt long and exhausting but warmed us for the regroup at the top.
We passed between two barns, one large and red, slightly run down and cast in shadows, the other low and white reflecting enough moonlight to create a ghostly aura. A moment later the road dropped sharply through deep woods. Headlights returned as riders raced to the bottom in an adrenalin rush of gravel and gravity. Then the night resumed.
The old farm road up the ravine wasn’t meant for bicyclists. On the other hand, it didn’t say No Trespassing and it was within park boundaries, so we slipped around the gate and began our ascent. We needed headlights to avoid overhanging branches on the high side of the trail, the rocks in the middle and the ravine on the low side. They went off again at the top when the landscape turned to open prairie. The farm track skirted the edge of the prairie, then plunged through the middle along an old windbreak of trees. A Loch Ness style piece of farm equipment deep in the prairie inspired a headlight-illuminated photo session and some high jinx.
By the time we returned to the ravine, we were chilled and ready for a break. The front riders dashed through the woods and up the road to a picnic table. By the time the rest of us arrived, the table had been laid with a spread of food and beverages including hummus dip, cheese, chips, a lit votive candle, salted peanuts, beer and a couple of flasks of hard spirits. We emptied our packs, adding hot cocoa, guacamole dip and more chips to the cornucopia. We had matches and would have happily gathered firewood, but the site lacked a fire ring.
We would have lingered at a campfire. Without it, we leaned on the food and flasks for warmth, then moved on to a short exploration across the road where the glare of headlights cast picnic shelters in an eerie set of light and shadow.
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The return ride reversed the outbound route so what came down on the way out went up on the way back. The ascents warmed us. The descents chilled us and a slow burning meteorite confused us as it lit up the sky for a couple of long seconds.
The ride ended too soon for some, but for others a warm car with heated seats held a lot of appeal.
The apartment building that I live in is very bike friendly. Most of the 150+ residents in the two buildings have one or more bikes. The bike racks in the photo below are two of about a dozen. All are pretty full. In the Spring, the maintenance fellow and I have a bike clinic during which we tuneup any bikes that folks bring us. I’ve also led an introductory ride down the Greenway, which is three blocks away, and around the lakes. I also take several folks out whenever interest is there. And my bike buddy, a resident during the summer months, and I ride together almost every day from May 15th to October 15. We ride many different routes from 15 to 100 miles.
Recently, I ordered a Twin Cities laminated map from you for the Ellipse management to hang so interested parties can review the local trails. Management plans to order a second one so that they can mount each side on a wall.
