Celebrating our Veloduct - the Midtown Greenway

As a car free family we are blessed to live within 3 blocks of the Midtown Greenway. This former rail corridor provides a 5.5 mile bike-pedestrian path through the heart of south of Minneapolis. It is our "veloduct" to the Mississippi River to the east and the Minneapolis Chain-of-Lakes to the west. Along this route we frequent the Midtown Global Market and, before kids, the nightlife and shopping buzz of Uptown.

Tonight we celebrated the Greenway and the Midtown Greenway Coalition by attending the Coalition's Progressive Dinner Fundraiser. Here are some pics of us and some of the other celebrants.

I caught up with Hillary, Theo, and Henry riding the "Roo". Hillary and Theo donned their sprout helmets and pinwheels from the May Day parade. Note the pinwheels on the Roo.


We encountered Coalition staff members in their super hero duds...

And Executive Director Tim in his cowboy duds.


First stop, appetizers on the west side of the Greenway.


Check these two out - they dressed as the Greenway!

This fellow seemed like a great contender for the best dressed costume, but he actually came directly from his office in his work clothes. (He's Danish.)


Hillary on her way from appetizers to the main course at the Midtown Exchange.


With the pinwheels and the matching helmet, Hillary won the best decorated bike prize. Henry was there to collect the gift card which Theo obsessively guarded. (I think he went to sleep with it!)


Eastward to the final stop - dessert. Stopped to photograph the awesome bike-pedestrian bridge that threads the Greenway over Hiawatha Avenue and the Light Rail Line.


Thanks to the Greenway Coalition and all of its supporters for all they do!

Facing the rain

When it comes to avoiding the worst weather during my commute, I have it made. If it is raining or snowing I can always take the bus. Walk 4 blocks, hop on the 53 and get dropped off 35 minutes later in front of my office at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Today I chose the rainy route. I woke up psyched to ride to work. But it started to rain during breakfast. I decided to just go for it. The rain was moderate at times but then eased as I reached the State Capital (above). I lucked out and avoided the possible thunderstorms. My feet and shorts were wet, but it was so worth the ride. I looked at drivers imagining myself in their seat saying, "that poor biker, what a miserable day to be riding." But my feeling was just the opposite.

Chautauqua, NY - a bike-friendly community embedded in my knees

From the scar on my knee a memory emerges. I was about ten-years old with my family on our annual vacation at Chautauqua Institution. I was biking along on my banana seat Schwinn when I spotted my sister, lifted my left hand from the handlebars to wave to her, and flashed a goofy grin. She waved back. I waved more exuberantly, until my front-wheel hit a bump launching me head-over-heels and grinding my knee into the gravelly road. Twenty-eight years later the scar persists as a reminder of the place where I first experienced the freedom of a bike.

Where I grew up there was no biking to the candy store. But for two weeks every summer my family brought our bikes to Chautauqua and my parents let us ride everywhere whenever we wanted. We biked to Bestor Plaza to get candy at the bookstore, to the lake to swim, to art class, and to Boys and Girls Club. Best of all, we biked across Thunder Bridge, named for the sound made by bikes crossing it. This 135 year old community is so safe and bike-friendly that mom and dad comfortably let us go wherever we wanted, as did all other parents. And it continues today. As I write looking over Chautauqua Lake, Chautauquans of all ages cruise by on bike and foot. Mom and dad now save themselves the walk and catch the bus that passes in front of the house. Lecture and concert-goers crowd their bikes around the Amphitheater.

I look forward to the year when Theo and Henry and their cousins are roaming freely on their bikes with the Chautauqua breeze in their hair. As the roads are much improved, with any luck their knees will fare better than mine.

P.S. To find out more about the photo I used for this post, check it out here.