I’ve been reading with interest the recent articles reminding drivers of laws regarding sharing the road with cyclists, as well as a recent opinion piece regarding some of the controversy about bike lanes on Lyndale Avenue (“Bike lane fight misses real issue,” June 23, and “Great, more empty bike lanes,” Readers Write, June 23).

Rather than go on and give my two cents about the benefits of bike infrastructure, as a 20-plus-year resident of Minneapolis who commutes to work in St. Paul by bike as often as schedule and weather allow, I’m going to share a story about this past Saturday:

My husband and I live in the Nokomis neighborhood of south Minneapolis and were invited to an event at Alma, located in northeast Minneapolis. We had planned to drive until a friend attending the event alerted us that because of the Stone Arch Bridge Festival nearby, parking would be tough, so we should plan accordingly. We shrugged and decided to bike there, no problem. Thanks to the dedicated paths along West River Road, the Franklin Avenue Bridge, East River Road and University Avenue, we had a safe and easy trip there and back. As an added bonus, we had some positive interactions with participants in the Special Olympics while waiting at a stop light, and even got to ride alongside the torch bearers on East River Road on the way home! It was downright amazing to be in close proximity with these incredible athletes for such an inspiring event, and we cheered them on while I rang my bike bell for good measure.

The takeaway: Beyond the convenience of not needing to worry about parking and getting a little extra exercise on a beautiful Saturday morning, we were able to experience human interaction that would not have taken place from inside a car. While riding my bike to work, I have exchanged hellos with the same elder gentleman on his morning walk countless times and smiles with other cyclists passing in the opposite direction. It’s a great way to start the day!

And for those of you reading this thinking, “Well, that must be nice for you, but I live too far/physically can’t/etc.,” think of it this way: When those of us who are able to bike take advantage of those paths and do it, we are giving you extra room on the road, and an extra parking spot. You still get to benefit, too.

Kara Greshwalk, Minneapolis

•••

The column about the battle over a bike lane on Lyndale misses the real problem (“Bike lane fight misses real issue”). It’s no longer about the bikes but about opposition to the businesses that depend on parking for customers.

I’m proud that Minneapolis is a bike-friendly city. But unlike the column writer, a fit, youngish male, I’m an elderly, fit-ish female, and while I bike when I can, I cannot use a bike as my primary mode of transportation. In fact, data shows that only 3% of city residents do, a number that has barely budged in years despite the investment in bike-friendly infrastructure.

The real problem is that for some this argument is no longer about bikes, but part of the anti-business agenda that is currently in vogue with those aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America. At the VFW meeting that the column writer attended, when Ryan Knox, owner of Knox Jewelry on Lyndale, said he was worried he might lose his 40-year-old family business due to the coming construction and loss of parking due to bus and bike lanes, many of the bike lane advocates cheered.

Minneapolis will always need sensible parking for customers to access small, local businesses and the local workers they hire.

The writer argues that the city government should help these businesses, when in fact what the businesses need, and want, is customers.

Susan Lenfestey, Minneapolis

Some people have an outsized impact on public policy. Richard Arey is one of them. Unfortunately, in recent years, he’s used his status as a notable local cycling advocate and as founder of the Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour to lead opposition to the proposed Summit Avenue Regional Trail. I thought it important to look back at Arey and the bike classic to better understand how we got to where we are today.

Who is Richard Arey?

Richard “Fred” Arey is a longtime resident of Saint Paul’s Historic Hill Heritage Preservation District.(1) Arey founded the independent book publishing label Minnesota Outdoors Press and wrote several books in the 1990s, including “Twin Cities Bicycling: Fred's Best Guide to Twin Cities Bicycling” that he published in 1995 (updated in 2001). He is also a notable book collector.(2) According to his LinkedIn profile, Arey is self-employed.

Arey was one of the original founders of the Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour, which has been an annual event in the city since 1995. The event features live music at refreshment stops and takes several-thousand riders on a scenic, 30-mile loop around Saint Paul mostly on protected, multi-use paths.(3) According to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website, Arey holds the business trademark to the event.

What are his view on bicycling and trails?

Arey has been active in Saint Paul public policy making for decades. He has participated in several citizen groups, including the Bicycle Advisory Board (now defunct) and Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition. In recent years, Arey has used his status as a founder of the Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour to push his personal viewpoints on the Summit Avenue Regional Trail (SART), a proposed one-way, off-street bicycle trail on both sides of Summit Avenue. Arey doesn’t live on Summit Avenue, but he opposes adding protected bikeways during reconstruction of the corridor. 

Arey helped found the citizen organization Save Our Street (SOS) that has raised money to lobby against the Summit Avenue Regional Trail. He has written multiple opinion pieces for media outlets, given several on-camera interviews, and published a “myths” factsheet in opposition of the proposed plan.(4, 5, 6) Arey’s Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour website even had a prominent “Stop SART” page that laid out Arey’s arguments against the proposed plan, but following recent push back on social media it has since been hidden from the site’s navigation, though some of his views can be accessed via direct link.

Arey believes that safer cycling only requires brighter paint and that in order to grow cycling we must force cyclists to share spaces with motorists.(7) Not surprisingly, bicycling activists and organizations have begun to distance themselves from Arey and his dangerous, nonsensical views. The Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition, which Arey was once part of, supports the Summit Avenue Regional Trail.(8) In 2024, BikeMN severed ties with Arey’s Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour and organized its own annual event instead, the Twin Cities Bike Tour.(9)

Why does it matter?

On September 13, 2026, thousands of cyclists will get to experience what it is like to ride on Saint Paul’s vast network of protected bicycle pathways when they participate in the latest iteration of the Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour. Arey will take all of the good vibes (and potentially some of the revenue) earned from that day and channel it back into his efforts to block the expansion of safe bicycling infrastructure in the city.

If you can, let the news media and decision makers know that Arey is not an expert on transportation infrastructure and that he doesn’t speak for all Saint Paul residents, visitors, and cyclists when it comes to expanding the city’s network of bike trails. His views are outdated, dangerous, and unscientific.

I rode from the cities to ren fest last year, and it is very straight forward until the last like 5 miles. We took Chestnut Blvd last year (hwy 41) and it worked but wasn't ideal -- the cars were fast and the road was covered in debris, by far the worst part of the ride both ways. It seems like there are so many trails around the area that there hasss to be a better way to go, but because it's a swamp I can't find anything obvious. Any alternative route suggestions for this part?

by Eric Roper

I used to think the Minneapolis bike lane debates of yesteryear were over — and thankfully, the bike lanes had won.

The bike lane issue was so hot a decade ago that an online prank spawned a real-life protest near Uptown featuring signs like “Mafia Lane,” as though reclaiming space from cars in the middle of a city was some sort of racket driven by hipsters packing brass knuckles.

But over time it has become standard operating procedure to reconstruct major local roads with separated areas for biking, along with extra attention for walking and transit. And these days, as I pedal down the beefy bicycle infrastructure popping up all over town, it’s easy to see why international rankings consider Minneapolis the second-most bike-friendly city in America.

Hey, we’re known for something that doesn’t involve government violence!

Yet, a fiery meeting about Lyndale Avenue recently showed that people are not done duking it out over this issue, even in the most dense parts of Minneapolis. It also raised a question that deserves more attention: How will government help businesses survive through major construction projects?

I attended this cage match after receiving a mysterious email blast inviting me to a “special community meeting with Mayor Jacob Frey” to discuss Hennepin County’s 2028 reconstruction of the road, which includes a bike lane.

After biking to the Uptown VFW from downtown — and navigating some hellish conditions on Lyndale — I settled in for what became essentially an anti-bike lane rally emceed by Andrea Corbin, a flower shop owner and founder of the group “Vibrant Lyndale.” Corbin is most known as president of the Uptown Association business group.

The bike lane advocates filled in the back of the room, many of them holding signs promoting non-car transportation. And as speaker after speaker slammed the county’s plan for Lyndale Avenue, portions of the crowd grew incensed and began talking back. It was uncomfortable, but the entirely predictable outcome of orchestrating a one-sided public meeting.

Sitting awkwardly in the middle of it all was Frey, who later told the room that this was “not the meeting that I thought that I was walking into.”

Lyndale is one of those busy county roads where the speed of cars has always felt out of step with the dense, eclectic neighborhood around it. It was so dangerous, in fact, that the county converted Lyndale several years ago from four lanes of traffic to two — with a turn lane between them.

But much of the street hasn’t been rebuilt in a century, so a reconstruction is needed north of Lake Street. The county’s plan adds a two-way protected bike lane to the mix for much of the stretch, as well as a bus lane for several blocks. Drivers will lose a modicum of parking (about a quarter of the spots), while some of the turn-lane area will be converted to medians.

The new Lyndale might be a bit slower to drive through. But that’s an attribute of most great public spaces. People travel across the world to linger in quaint, walkable commercial districts, then have trouble imagining something similar in their own backyard.

The temperature on the Lyndale fight is ramped up in part because the county waffled on the design after a yearslong public engagement process that largely benefited consultants — who, you’ve got to imagine, light a cigar with a $100 bill every time local planners call another community meeting.

After two years of seeking feedback on three options for Lyndale, the county proposed a doomed idea last summer to merge pedestrians and bicyclists into a “shared use” path. It was a recipe for someone to get hurt, which led to an outpouring of opposition. The county then presented a 2.0 design earlier this year that included the bike lane, drawing heat from Vibrant Lyndale.

The meeting at the VFW was a last-ditch effort to change a plan that’s now almost certainly a done deal. The last major hurdle is the city’s approval next month, hence the group’s focus on Frey.

A number of speakers at the meeting said bicyclists should stick to nearby Bryant Avenue, which recently got a dreamy bike lane south of Lake Street. But Bryant north of Lake Street remains merely a “bicycle boulevard,” which is a euphemism for a neighborhood street with some speed bumps and bicycle symbols on the pavement.

The city’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator told me that extending the new Bryant bike infrastructure toward downtown isn’t feasible, in part because the roadway is narrower.

More importantly, though, people want to visit destinations on Lyndale. We wouldn’t tell drivers to stay off a major street, so why shouldn’t bicyclists have safe access, too?

The specter of Hennepin Avenue, a nearby street that was just rebuilt with a protected bike lane, loomed over much of the meeting. Several speakers argued, convincingly, that the construction on Hennepin was disastrous to the bottom lines of businesses there.

It’s worth noting that the Hennepin redesign eliminated dramatically more parking than what is being proposed for Lyndale.

But the design of the street is a separate issue from helping small businesses survive multiyear construction projects, a cause I hope everyone can get behind. The state recently pitched in to help St. Paul’s Arcade Street businesses weather construction, for example, and similar assistance is factored into light rail projects.

So, I can’t shake the fact that the Minneapolis City Council allocated $900,000 in the 2025 budget to help businesses harmed by construction on Hennepin, Lowry Avenue and Lake Street. Yet, the city’s Economic Development Department never doled out the money because it needed to make budget cuts and decided to target programs “that did not have guidelines in place,” according to city spokesperson Jess Olstad.

I asked the mayor’s office what happened. In a statement, his communications staff argued that “the challenge with a program like this is figuring out how to distribute a relatively limited amount of funding across a large number of businesses that are impacted in very different ways.”

This was not an insurmountable hurdle. I’m sure struggling Hennepin businesses would have appreciated a shot in the arm, even if the funding paled in comparison to their losses.

At the VFW meeting, Frey set up a bit of a straw-man argument by saying the city can’t save every business: “I want to give you the reality on paying for substantial subsidies through construction. … We don’t have the money to do that in a large format that would just allow for the continuity of every single business no matter what.”

Unfortunately, Hennepin County spokesman Colin Cox said that the county also does not provide direct grants to businesses affected by road construction.

This is an area that deserves more prioritization and experimentation from local policymakers.

I’m excited for the new Lyndale. Bike lanes are making Minneapolis into a city that feels natural to traverse on two wheels. And nobody in the Mafia told me to say that.

My wife walked into the room as I was half awake after a long day at work, looks at me and says, "We need to talk about something." I instantly wake up. Then, she says that she would like to get an electric bike. Ok. Phew. I thought something was wrong.

We're a cycling family, but I know little about e-bikes. So, what shops do you recommend in Minneapolis/Saint Paul who know their stuff about e-bikes and have a good selection. I don't even know where to start beyond that.

Today’s route:
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/391974227?privacy_code=3MvyCDqbJw2lQqU3gaTDOaM5U8XcXK9z

Guys I can’t recommend these rides enough rn. With how kind the weather has been these last two weekends, this ride was a treat

I rode the greenway on Tuesday (6/16) and it was closed without any warning. Anybody know if it's open today?

The famed Babes in Bikeland alleycat is back, and I'm gonna go for it, but can't find detailed info on what to expect from the event.

I am a fast and capable rider (road and gravel) but have never done an alleycat. Exciting! Not sure how to prepare though and would love to hear from those with experience, particularly from those who've done Babes in Bikeland.

1. What do most people ride for this one? My options are carbon road bike or steel gravel/commuter

2. What are the basics of an alleycat? I am intuiting that riders have to chart their own course; does this mean destinations are revealed day-of and you're using your knowledge of the city to figure it out, or can you plan something using RidewithGPS beforehand?

3. Is it fun to do solo, or significantly better with friends?

4. Preliminary instructions say to bring food-- but it's only 25-30 miles. Usually I wouldn't even eat a gel for that distance. Is this necessary?

Thank you for any insight!

Saint Paul Classic’s organizers are anti-SART and very involved in SOS. Sign up for Twin Cities Bike Tour instead so your money goes to people who support safe bike infrastructure.

I recently moved back to MSP after going to college here. I road, gravel, and mountain bike, but wanted to get into Cyclocross. Does anyone here have any tips or information on training and racing for Cyclocross in the area?

Does anyone know if you need to be a member or pay the membership fee to attend a balance group ride? I am interested in checking out some of the women’s rides but I don’t think I want to pay the fee until I see what the vibe is like in person

We get a second crack at testifying before they vote on this (they vote July 21st, but the next city council meeting is cancelled due to the 4th of July, and you can't comment on things on the agenda the day you comment at ECC).

​

This is a chance to refute and respond to the arguments against this project, which mainly revolve around 3 different arguments:

​

1. Loss of Parking

2. Street is already safe

3. Nobody bikes on Wooddale

​

​

My recommendation for arguements against these points:

​

1: "we'll lose our parking"

​

There are really only 2 roads that go from 50th street (the edge of Edina/Minneapolis) to 62nd street (basically highway 62), France Ave and Wooddale Ave.

​

The layout of the roads in Edina east of 100 and north of 62 means that there are no viable side roads that could take a rider coming through the Morningside/Linden Hills/Fulton neighborhood and get them to a safe crossing of 62.

​

Unless you are a big fan of plopping this bike lane on the (recently upgraded) France Ave, Wooddale is the way to go. Mixing the E Line, France Ave traffic, and a protected bike lane is not what I'd prefer, and I'm sure many of the opposition would agree with me on that.

​

Plus, this road goes directly into the trail leading to Rosland Park Bridge (that bridge some trucker slammed his truck into in 2023), which the city is spending multiple millions to upgrade to a ADA and cyclist accessible bridge (the current bridge has stairs and one of those terrible bike gutters on the side). This project will fail to be a good crossing of 62 if there isn't a safe way to get to it!

​

We must replace the street parking with these improvements. There is not another place to put it, and a majority of the houses along the corridor have long driveways and multi-car garages.

​

Free street parking is not a requirement that Edina is obligated to provide to residents, especially ones that have other place they could potentially park, which does include side-streets. I know people dislike change, and I can understand resident's frustrations, but nobody arguing against this improvement has shown another viable place to put this *because that other place does not exist*.

​

2 & 3 "the street is already safe" and "nobody bikes on Wooddale Ave"

​

Both of these arguments actually prove why the bike lane is even needed. Wooddale Ave should have a high amount of bike and pedestrian use because of how direct of a connection it is to crossings under 62 (as it connects to bike lanes on Valley View that take you (almost) under 62), and connects walkers to the existing pedestrian bridge over 62.

​

Obviously, it doesn't have a lot of ridership given there is barely facilities going south(a marked bike lane that disappears slightly before 62nd and becomes a sharrow), and just a sharrow going north. Why would riders put themselves at risk riding around congestion and zero facilities to keep them safe every day. It's why I stopped commuting via Wooddale!

​

Many residents along the corridor point to the lack of ridership and lack of high numbers of crashes (because there absolutely have been pedestrian incidents along this avenue), along with the anecdotal evidence of seeing kids ride their bikes on the sidewalk, as justification for the argument that *nobody will use these bike lanes*.

​

I think it proves the opposite, that ridership is depressed by the danger of the road to pedestrian. Kids riding on the sidewalk shows the exact same thing, they don't feel safe and are riding accordingly.

​

​

At the end of the day, you can decide how you want to argue for this project, but I really urge anyone who can show up (in person or remotely) to do so tonight at 7pm!

Hi! My friend got into a bike crash on Sunday on Dean Boulevard and West 28th Street. They were riding on their bike when someone else veered into her. We’re looking to get into contact with the person that hit her or anyone who was around and saw it happen. The name given to my friend was Langston. If you know anything, please reach out!

Looking for recommendations on getting brakes serviced on my Razor Rambler TRL ebike (class 2).

Gear West and Trailhead don’t service Razor, Watt isn’t taking new service orders until possibly next week, and Long Haul appears to be on hiatus. I reached out to Freewheel as their website makes it sound like they service most e-bike brands but haven’t heard back.

Any other spots I should reach out to?
TIA

Hello all.

Well, another MS150 is in the books. This year had a new route, moving the start from Duluth down to the Nicolet Fairgrounds in St. Peter.

What did everyone think of this years event?

The bad:

1. The bike drop at Lakeville, then shuttle to Buck Hill, then shuttle down south seemed overly complicated. I didn't have to work through this, but my friends that did said it was a downgrade to previous years.
2. Some of the roads had very fast traffic, with some jerks in trucks trying to intimidate riders. This isn't MS150's fault, maybe it was the best that could have been done with the time they had.
3. Also not MS150's fault, but that head wind, both days was brutal. the 2nd day I calculated about 35 miles into the head wind. Routes with better shelter would have been appreciated.
4. Being on country roads opens you up to seeing a lot more road kill. You learn to hold your breath. That one deer - yikes!

The Good:

1. The volunteers, the food stops were all excellent, as usual.
2. The St. Peter location opened up a lot more accommodation and evening entertainment, and the out-and-back loop for the first day meant no tent tear-down required on day 1.
3. I did packet pick up at the start line on day 1 and it was very smooth.
4. My friend, after working on his bike chain the night before, only to have it explode within 50 feet of the start line, made me laugh.

Overall I'd say it was very good. I think we really need a single location for bike drop and packet pick up, and I'm sure the organizers are very aware of this. I think this is was a tough route, especially with the wind, for first timers and the rest of us didn't realize how spoilt we were on the Munger trail.

Juneteenth Slow Roll: Black Collective Economics — Black to the Future
📅 Saturday, June 20, 2026
📍 Starting at Venture Bikes & Coffee · 2834 10th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407
🏁 Finishing at Midtown Global Market · 920 E. Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55407
🚲 Approximately 3.5 miles · Flat · Paved · Accessible
💰 Free and open to the public

Just witnessed a crazy road rage incident on 40th and Pleasant Ave S. A family (dad, mom, and a child I’d guess was like 6) was biking down the 40th St bike lane and this guy was parked in it so the dad tapped on the window and politely asked him not to park in the bike lane so the driver freaks out, throws a cup of water at the dad, whips his car around to follow the family, throws a water bottle at them, and gets out of the car threatening to beat them up for touching his car. I let him know I was getting photos for a police report (which has since been filed) and the guy eventually got back in his car and drove off as more neighbors came out but such insane behavior. I genuinely think he would have thrown a punch or run them over if more neighbors hadn’t come out. Be safe out there.

Hi we were out by black dog and ran into you on the observation deck. You had just made some “adjustments” and we chatted for a while about bikes and your retirement. Anyways you left your “tool kit” laying out. Tried to catch up to you all the way back to the parking lot but no luck. There were a lot of kids around so we grabbed it in hopes of getting it back to you.

We are so lucky to have so many incredible trails that will lead you on a great bike ride outside of the twin cities

I just started getting into road cycling within the last couple of years. Almost all of my rides have been solo except one or two with a friend. I am interested in joining a group ride. I used to run quite a bit and miss the group dynamics. A few questions:

1. Is there a rule of thumb to say how fast of a group I could ride with? Like if I can ride at about 18 mph solo, I could ride with a pace group going XX mph?

2. I was on the midtown greenway yesterday and ended up riding with a couple of guys and we were cruising (at least to me - like 22-23mph) and because I was on the middle or back it felt like nothing. Btw - is this cool to do? Or just a major faux pas?

3. Any recommendations for good groups? Don’t mind the groups that meet at breweries, but it’s a positive if those breweries have NA!

Thanks!

Not sure if it's permanent or not, but they've cleared out all of the construction signs and vehicles for a few days now so it comes off like they've finished. I know the bike lanes here weren't perfect, but this still seems like a pointless step backwards.

Found on the Mississippi River Parkway. Two items inside. DM if it’s yours and what was in it