David, yours truly and Randall looking a bit damp, chilled and glad to be on the tail end of a day in the saddle.

Last month I spent the better part of two weeks in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Since scheduling had me there over a weekend I hit the web and set up a bike rental and dig around for a group ride to hit up. Julie, a dear friend and expert bike fitter for Specialized bikes clued me into Eriks Bike Shop over in Dinkytown, right across the  mighty Mississippi River from downtown Minneapolis.

A few well spent minutes on the web had me locked and loaded on a Specialized Secteur for two days.  A few more key strokes led me to the Twin Cities Bike Club ( TCBC website and calendar) and their club ride calendar.  The advice here is to pack your riding kit (remember to research weather conditions, better yet bookmark that and follow it the week before you land) .  Late March pretty much every where can be a mixed bag of weather.  Cool, very cool, wet, sunny, warm(ish) or not.  Layering is the concept.  Bring your shoes, pedals and helmet.  Remember to take some important measurements from your bike set up.(another good reason invest in a proper bike fit)  Seat top to Bottom Bracket (or pedal ), seat to center of bar, seat to controls.  This will allow you to best approximate some of the geometry you’re come to know on your own bike.

As it was the bike shop I had picked was a modest 20 minute stroll from the hotel, Eriks Bike Shop over in Dinkytown, across the Big Muddy from where I was staying.  The staff at Eriks were awesome.  Super accommodating.

Totally in tune to my intent and motives.  Did the requisite signing of the waver and monetary transaction (bike shops will charge your card with a value for the bike which is completely refundable when you return it- unscathed.  If you have any trepidations read the contract and fine print).  Shawn swapped out the pedals with mine, adjusted and tweaked the set-up with the measurements I gave him (cm and mm please-  that is how we measure it right?)

Though the calendar showed we had crossed the threshold into spring on the ground reality said something else.  Harsh winds that cut to the bone and temperatures that went from early morning teens to afternoon low thirties (Fahrenheit) were real time conditions. That West Coast clime I’ve accustomed to left me reeling and second guessing that early AM roll out.

My rented Specialized ready to rock (and roll)

Saturday showed up blustery, occasional bouts of light rain and…. well lets just say it was f’n… cold too.  The ride calendar called for an 8am rendezvous at Dunn Bros. Coffee on East Lake near the Big Muddy (Mississippi River).

Ride leader for the day was Randall Huskamp of the TCBC.  ( Twin Cities Bike Club )   We started as a group of six in a pitter patter of rain and cold.  I felt less like a fish out of water as I noticed the guys in the group were rugged up pretty much like I was.  Rolling out along the Mid Town Greenway spinning a quick cadence provided the best defense against the frigid and damp morning.  Sections of the Greenway are made up of a long ago abandoned railroad right of way that traversed the city.  Forward thinking city planners and local bike advocacy  groups worked to create a smoothly paved and groomed bikeway that stretches for miles.  One of its landmarks is the Hiawatha Bridge  designed by Martin Olav Sabo.

A graceful suspension bicycle span over the railroad tracks provides a lyrical focal point on the skyline.

Well designed and beautiful to ride.

The greater Minneapolis area boasts something like 90+ miles of bike lanes and share-ways as well as a whopping 85 miles of dedicated bikeways.  During my several days of riding there I can attest to how extensive it is as we rolled through many a mile on our routes.  Riders can either stay on the marked bikeways or use them to get outside the city limits and into the surrounding countryside as we did on our ride out to  Lake Minnetonka. Minneapolis boasts major props by a number of polls and publications like http://www.walkscore.com/bike. Bottom line is that this is one bike friendly city and place to be.  And the riding is super.

The guys had a 60 mile ride mapped out.  One realization was that the stories about town and city limit sign sprints are true.  I swear every time I looked up there was another mad dash sprint for one. Gotta keep on your toes for this kind of mid-west riding.  One I have to say is that its a good way to get your sprint on.  I think I came away with a couple of seconds at best.  Whew!

One thing I came away with is that its kinda flat out there in the middle of the US of A.  Lots of false flats, short hillocks and longish ramp like sections to the terrain.  Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area where climbing is a part of swinging a leg over a bike this was a bit of a change.  Considering the travel, work schedule and such that was all okay with the legs.

After nearly 60 miles of riding in and out of the rain, the cold and wind it was good to sit up and soft pedal back to the hotel.  Long hot shower, a bit of grub and good to go.

Here are several take-aways from riding Minneapolis.  First is that the riding there is top notch with no reason not to take advantage of the options.  Second, cycling is alive there and there are a lot of friendly folks to meet along the way.   Lastly, never under estimate weather.  You’ll thank yourself for it later.