Editor’s note: Walk the Talk is Streets.mn’s carefully curated, highly partisan collection of both serious and fun-loving events, community meetings and opportunities for engagement that we think will interest our readers. Email your ideas to managing editor Amy Gage: [email protected].
Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition monthly meeting; Wednesday, August 17, 6 p.m.
Founded in 2010 in response to the St. Paul City Council’s decision to disband the city’s own Bicycle Advisory Board, the SPBC is an all-volunteer coalition that advocates for active transportation and seeks to “build common cause” with neighborhood and governmental groups to improve biking and walking infrastructure throughout the city. Since the pandemic, its monthly meeting has become a moderately paced bike ride followed by food and beverages wherever the group ends up.
- Meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17, in front of Union Depot on the 4th Street Plaza. Says co-chair Andy Singer: “We’ll have a short discussion of what’s going on in St. Paul, including Summit Avenue, and go for a ride on one of the city’s beautiful trails.” Subscribe to the mailing list or contact Singer by clicking here.
Northside Ramble; Saturday, August 20, 1 p.m., North Minneapolis
Explore the north side of Minneapolis by bike and benefit the community through a bicycle and history tour that promises visits to “unique local breweries.” Sponsored by the Rotary Club of North Minneapolis, the Northside Ramble will raise money for Gotcha Glasses, which provides neighborhood children with needed eyewear. Other sponsors include Cycle Sisters, a BIPOC women’s biking group in Minneapolis, and two breweries: La Doña Cerveceria and Pryes Brewing Company.
- Tickets are $15 for northside residents, $30 for others and $50 for sponsors; purchase by Friday, August 19. Your ticket buys you a T-shirt, a drink ticket at the two breweries and a guided tour of North Minneapolis history. Meet at 1 p.m. at La Doña Cerveceria, 241 Fremont Ave. N. Helmets are required.
Bike-Walk Leadership Network; Wednesday, August 17, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., via Zoom
Cyclists statewide know the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota for its well-organized, engaging rides, including the upcoming Saint Paul Classic on Sunday, September 11, as well as its advocacy for biker safety and inclusion. Education is a big part of the mission, too, as evidenced by the “third Wednesday” webinars over lunch hour, via Zoom, through the Bike Walk Leadership Network.
- On Wednesday, August 17, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., hear Minnesota Department of Transportation Planning Program Coordinator Josh Pearson discuss statewide transportation priorities through the Minnesota State Highway Investment Plan (MnSHIP). Bike MN staffers Ted Duepner and Angela Olson — both committed to cycling as their primary form of transportation — will join the conversation. Click here to join the Leadership Network, and email [email protected] to access the Wednesday session.
Other items of interest:
- Bilingual Monarch Festival: Sponsored by HeightsNEXT, a sustainable community movement in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights, the Bilingual Monarch Festival on Wednesday, August 17, will feature food trucks, games, traditional Mexican dance and music, a monarch costume parade and more. The free event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at Sullivan Lake Park, 721 51st Ave. N.E., in Columbia Heights.
- Cathedral Hill with Bill Lindeke: The Twin Cities’ own Urban Geographer and a co-founder of Streets.mn, Bill Lindeke will lead a Social Hour & Neighborhood Stroll on Wednesday, August 17, 5:30 to 8 p.m., for Sustain Saint Paul, which “champions abundant housing, low-carbon transportation and sustainable land use.” Meet at Boyd Park, 335 Selby Ave., St. Paul.
- East Side Grand Round: This bike tour will highlight my favorite sections of St. Paul’s Grand Round bikeway, the Como and Wheelock Parkway sections to the east— featuring safe, spacious, off-road infrastructure. Move Minnesota, a transportation advocacy organization, is sponsoring the event on Friday, August 19, 5:15 p.m. Meet at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market, 290 5th St. E., near CHS Field downtown. Click here to sign up in advance.
Photo at top courtesy of Cycle Sisters, Minneapolis