Winter Bicycling State of Mind
Looking to get out for a ride? Trails are mostly clear and ready. Conditions are favorable to those with winter bicycles, winter clothes, and a winter cycling state of mind…
We went for a family walk this morning. Unfortunately, not a family bicycle ride. In my family winter bicycling currently only works for one of us – that wouldn’t be a) the dog and b) me.
That leaves my husband, who is actually just headed out for a ride.
He exercises outside all winter long on his bicycle until the temps hit around 15 degrees (“and that’s got to be a pretty nice 15″).
For both of us bicycling keeps us fit, keeps down the weight, and most importantly ~ keeps us happy. It is amazing what a little time on a bicycle can do for you. Now if only I could extend my riding season outdoors a bit more…
Though I absolutely love riding a bicycle, currently when the first sand and salt hits the pavement, it’s indoors for me. Partly because I do not like to be cold, partly because I couldn’t wrap my brain around being outside for any extended length of time in the winter after moving here from California 5 years ago, and partly because I do not have a ‘B’ bicycle.
In my family winter bicycles are called ‘B’ bikes. Our ‘A’ bikes (aka – a bicycle you don’t want full of sand, salt, ice, etc.) spend the winter with us inside. Literally. I do not have a ‘B’ bicycle, but after going to the Freewheel Winter Bike Expo yesterday, and being out on the trail today, I have to say I wish I did. Minneapolis embraces a lot of things, that’s what makes living here so great ~ and winter bicycling is getting a bigger and bigger hug lately thanks to clear trails provided by the City of Minneapolis and an ever growing contingent of dedicated cyclists. It’s starting to feel infectious. Or could it possibly be that since we have only had two days of ‘winter’ this year, it seems tolerable? I am not sure, but living with someone who gets out there all winter long, and in a city with so many active winter cyclists, it certainly starts to rub off. Winter bicycling dates…now how fun would that be?!
Sometimes wrapping your brain around something takes awhile, perhaps it is time to start saving for that ‘B’ bike…Maybe when the funds are available, the brain will have caught up as well.
Did you get out and ride today? What are the conditions like where you rode? What prevents you from riding during the winter? Why do you ride during the winter? What would help you get out and ride more during the winter?
For more tips on Winter Bicycling, please reference Alex’s great Winter Bicycling Post’s to get yourself in the groove: Getting Ready for Winter! (Part I), Getting Ready for Winter! (Part II), Light up the Night!
Implementation Plan Passes!
The Bicycle Advisory Committee’s recommendations for implementing the Bike Plan (which passed back in July) passed the Minneapolis City Council’s Transportation and Public Works committee unanimously today. You can see the full recommendations here.
There’s a lot of incredibly important stuff in this document, and you can see some highlights below the fold.
Among other things, the plan recommends that Minneapolis:
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Pass a Complete Streets policy -
Advocate for state standards that would allow for better streets for bicyclists -
Support a study on the economic impact of bicycling -
Hire a new full-time Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator (this is underway) -
Develop a process for converting low-volume roadways to greenway-style bike facilities (like Milwaukee Avenue) -
Reduce regulatory barriers to bicycle-related businesses -
Adopt comprehensive bicycle parking guidelines for City worksites -
Create a permitting process for closing streets to motorized vehicles for “Open Streets” events -
Fund the construction of the projects on the bike map, fund ongoing operations and maintenance to keep all bike facilities in the city ridable, and advocate for more funding for bicycle projects from the State and Federal governments -
There’s much more in there, and it’s all great. Succeeding on bringing any of these policy recommendations forward and gaining the Council’s support would be a big win; succeeding on all of them is massive.
Nick Mason, the chair of the BAC, did a great job presenting to the committee this morning. Public Works staff Don Pflaum and Heidi Hamilton worked closely with the BAC to come to consensus on the language that went to Council this morning. The BAC’s Engineering committee chair Matthew Hendricks ran the meetings where we came to agreement, and worked more than anyone to develop the final text.
I also think that this couldn’t have happened without the efforts of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition. The passage of a robust Bike Plan was our most important policy goal for the year – and as of this morning, we’ve reached it.
