MPLS Bike Capitol

50 Reasons: Minneapolis Is The Bike Capital Of America

Published on Jun 28, 2015

An original production by GearJunkie.com and Twin Cities filmmaker Erik Nelson (www.eriknelson.co), ’50 Reasons’ stakes a claim that Minneapolis is the bike capital of America. The film documents the local bike culture, from publicly-funded trails, infrastructure, and programs, to engaging Minneapolis/St. Paul personalities and bike-based businesses.

The film reveals a cross-section of the city’s scene to make its case that biking in Minneapolis/St. Paul is unique to any other experience in America, including a diversity of biking options, vast public support, bike art and culture, bike design, competitions, massive adoption of bike-commuting, and a population that rides year-round, from humid summers to the depths of the Minnesota winter.

The full list, including 50 “reasons,” are below. And this is just a start to what makes riding in Minneapolis/St. Paul the best in the U.S.

1. The Grand Rounds Scenic Byway
2. Theodore Wirth Singletrack
3. M.O.R.C.-built Mountain Bike Trails
4. The NSC Velodrome
5. The Midtown Greenway
6. Martin Olav Sabo Bridge
7. Winter Biking Fanatics
8. Bike Cops With Fat Bikes
9. Beez Kneez Honey Delivery
10. Taco Cat
11. Greg LeMond
12. Nice Ride MN
13. Koochella Racing Team
14. Biking Musician Ben Weaver
15. Bike Weddings
16. ARTCRANK
17. Bike Tour To ‘Save The Boundary Waters’
18. Cars-R-Coffins
19. MPLS Bike Love
20. Bunyan Velo Magazine
21. The Stupor Bowl
22. Minneapolis Bike Week
23. Open Streets Minneapolis
24. Dedicated Bike Lanes
25. Babes In Bikeland Alleycat
26. Adam Turman Bike Murals
27. MN Public Radio PedalHub Podcast
28. QBP
29. Surly
30. Salsa
31. All-City
32. Wolf Tooth Components
33. Search And State
34. Park Tool
35. Twin Six
36. Banjo Brothers
37. HED Wheels
38. Donkey Label
39. Peacock Groove
40. ‘Official Winter Biking Day’
41. Birthplace Of Modern Fat Bike
42. ’30 Days Of Biking’
43. SPOKES Organization
44. Pedal MN
45. Brake Bread
46. Copenhagenize Index 2015
47. Independent Bike Shops
48. Regional Bike Chains (Penn and Erik’s)
49. One On One Bike Shop
50. The Bike Junkyard

Matty Lang

About Matty Lang

Matty Lang has been interested in land use, transportation, and cities since he fell in love with Paris, France while studying there in 1998-1999. He is a filmmaker living in Minneapolis. He loves film, bicycling, and basketball. Follow him: Vimeo | @MattyLangMSP | Facebook