As a very long overdue follow-up to my original post, I’d like to announce an update.
Cyclegating is still happening this Saturday!
After a couple months of back-and-forthing with the University of Minnesota, the City of Minneapolis, and various other quasi-public entities, I concluded that the easiest way to put on the event this year is to just buy a parking pass like any other vehicle and set up camp in Lot 37 (the one directly north of Mariucci Arena). Although the original plan was to put it in that PERFECT location between the surface lots by the Dinkytown Greenway, the respective bureaucracies won’t let it happen for now.
But that’s okay! We will party in the parking lot, try for that location next year, and all will be well in the world.
Here is the plan for Saturday’s gameday:
8:30am – Organize a crew at
Gold Medal Park in the Mill District near downtown Minneapolis. I’m thinking we all meet near the corner of 2nd Street and 11th Avenue, across from the Izzy’s Ice Cream building, to make that group wayfinding a bit easier for layman folks. We will bike over around 8:45am towards the U of MN, and arrive at our prestigious parking space at 9:00am. My goal is to get to the lot a couple hours before to ensure a really solid stall next to the Greenway entrance/exit.
First we whip into place at Gold Medal Park.
Then we nae nae our way to the tailgating lot.
9:00am to 11:00am – Cyclegate! Our group will partake in tailgating activities for a couple hours of lighthearted fun in
Lot 37. Bring a football to toss! Throw a mini-grill in the back of a Burley, and bring it on over with some bacon on the side! Folding chairs galore! Get a vestibule of some sort to cover the elements! If you can bring a beanbag corn hole game, bejeweled with bike art and laden with gems from your cousin living in Copenhagen, that’s neat-o!
Gametime – Most people go to the Minnesota vs. Kent State football game. I will plan on sticking back at the tailgate lot to watch all of our tailgating items. Feel free to hang back with me to chat and enjoy the September afternoon if you don’t wish to go to the game in person. If you happen to have a radio boombox or portable speaker set, please bring! I would like to listen to the game without trying to surge my phone data. I hear these old boombox relics have build-in radios that can pick up signals(???) from out of thin air(???) without needing 4G LTE(?!?!?!?).
Postgame – More cyclegating action! People trickle back to Lot 37 and continue the bicycle action. Everyone then happily bikes back to their respective postgame destinations, while avoiding all the traffic.
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Feel free to join in the fun at any point throughout the day. I will send frantic updates on the
event Facebook page to let everyone know where exactly our crew will be in the massive parking lot. My hope is to have a easily accessible spot that would allow for any cycling straggler to discover.
Some other important tid-bits are listed below.
See you on Saturday!
Official Hashtag: #Cyclegating
Official Motto: “Unabashedly Whimsical”
Official Event Rodent: Gopher, obviously
Related
As a very long overdue follow-up to my original post, I’d like to announce an update.
