Bicycle Commuting in Minneapolis – Part 1: Ditch the Car

It’s been a long time since I’ve done any bicycle commuting. I’ve owned a bike or two, or three…okay, maybe that number should be more like 26. Amazingly enough, they’ve all been for racing or touring. I would have to go all the way back to my teen years in 1985, at one of my first jobs at Freewheel’n Cyclery in Wausau, Wisconsin, to remember the last time I rode a bike to get to work.

Sustainability Meets Technology on the Trails of Elm Creek

It was an unseasonably warm autumn day when I pulled into French Regional Park in Plymouth, Minnesota. The fall colors were near peak–a perfect day for a hike–but instead I was there to meet with friend and fellow cyclist, Jay Thompson. Jay is a project manager for Three Rivers Park District, a 21-park, 27,000-acre system in the Minneapolis/St. Paul western suburbs. French Regional Park is home to the Three Rivers’ Field Operations Center, which is where I was headed.