As Streets.mn podcast host Ian R Buck noted in a recent episode, the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota is best known as an advocacy organization, particularly for its lobbying work at the Minnesota Legislature and through its 11 chapters throughout the state. (Soon to be 12.)
The Bicycle Alliance, however, built its reputation and membership through annual, organized bike rides such as the Tour of Saints in rural Saint Joseph and Saint Cloud; the Rock-n-Roll the Lakes ride in Albert Lea; the Lake Alice 100 in Fergus Falls (where participants can claim a century ride by pedaling around a lake 87 times); and the granddaddy of them all: the 30-year-old Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour, a primary fundraiser for BikeMN.
But even though the Bicycle Alliance staffed and largely oversaw the Saint Paul Classic — which drew some 5,000 riders in its pre-pandemic heyday, starting and ending at the University of St. Thomas — the ride’s owner, Richard Arey, parted ways earlier this year with BikeMN Executive Director Michael Wojcik.
That left the Bicycle Alliance team with nine months to organize an entirely new metro-area ride, one that would be distinct enough to appeal to a diverse — and different— group of riders while being familiar enough to entice Saint Paul Classic loyalists to pay for a second Twin Cities ride in as many weeks.
Meet the Twin Cities Bike Tour (TCBT), which will debut on Sunday, September 15 — exactly a week after the Classic traverses its usual routes in St. Paul, starting and ending at Como Lakeside Pavilion, the ride’s home base since 2021. “Two Great Cities, One Great Ride” is how Ted Duepner, BikeMN’s supporter relations and engagement manager, describes the new enterprise.
Designing a Different Ride
As the Bicycle Alliance team was scrambling to design a new metro-area ride for this September, they kept a single word in mind: Differentiate. BikeMN wanted a ride distinctly different from the Saint Paul Classic, which prides itself on music at rest stops and an abundance of parks scenery — and which this year is operating as a fundraiser for Friends of the Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County, a nonprofit founded in 1985.
And so, TCBT has been intentionally designed as a two-city ride whose longest route — the 46-miler — takes riders along portions of more than a dozen different trail systems in Minneapolis and St. Paul. All three routes begin and end at Wabun Park near Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, where guided yoga and stretching by Alex Daye (certified through Yoga Sanctuary in Minneapolis) will invigorate and prep the early-morning riders.
“We felt our ridership was ready to see more of the Twin Cities,” says ride co-organizer Kerri Kolstad, who runs Wahoo! Adventures, a TCBT sponsor. Ride planners are excited about the Minneapolis focus, especially given that the city’s one-day Minneapolis Bike Tour ended in 2018.
The 20-mile route is primarily in Minneapolis, widely considered one of the nation’s best cities for bicycling. The two other routes include the family-friendly 6.6 miles, free to any rider under 18 years old, and the Flagship 46 miles (priced at a buck a mile), which will include a good chunk of the Saint Paul Grand Round.
Other goals were paramount for the new Twin Cities Bike Tour, Wojcik says, including affordability, accessibility, routes for riders of all ages and experience levels, and collaboration with community partners such as Seven Spokes, a woman-owned mobile bike shop that will provide SAG services on the two longer routes.
Another distinction — and an important one to Wojcik — is lesser use of police to direct traffic and ensure rider safety. Many of the 15 wayfinding positions on the TCBT will be staffed by volunteers, including the Como Park Senior High School junior ROTC, which works under the direction of the St. Paul police department. Maintenance teams from local bike shops will be at each of the five rest stops, and ride marshals will be a visible presence along the three routes.
Community Partnerships
Calling it “a new annual tradition,” the Bicycle Alliance hopes to make the Twin Cities Bike Tour a favorite event for cyclists in a four-season state where warm weather cycling opportunities abound. “With a calendar bursting with so many bicycling event offerings, I was surprised to find one glaring omission: None seemed to include routes within the City of Minneapolis,” Duepner wrote in a blog post on the Bicycle Alliance site.
Many of the Twin Cities’ active-transportation and bicycling organizations are providing visible support to the new ride. Among the 39 sponsors (so far) are Sustain Saint Paul, Minneapolis-based Our Streets, the Midtown Greenway Coalition, the Twin Cities Bicycling Club and the Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition (SPBC).
The Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition was never asked to support the Bike Classic “or even informed it was happening,” according to SPBC Chair Zack Mensinger, a Streets.mn contributor. “We at the SPBC believe in advocating for an inclusive and welcoming environment for anyone interested in riding a bike,” he says, calling the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota “our primary statewide ally in advocating for and creating the same inclusive and welcoming future for cycling.”
Still, as of this writing, the better known Bike Classic was outselling BikeMN’s new Twin Cities Bike Tour by several hundred riders. “It’s hard to say what success looks like this year,” says Wojcik, the BikeMN executive director. “It’s a rebuilding year, and it’s a five-year process to build a ride.”
Inclusivity is an overall Bicycle Alliance goal, and TCBT planners are defining the term broadly to include age, ethnicity, cyclist ability and income level. For example:
- E-bikers and other adaptive bikes will be “warmly welcomed,” Kolstad says.
- A partnership with Whittier Elementary, Sanford Middle School and other Minneapolis Public Schools will ensure a variety of younger, newer riders.
- Several rest stops will showcase community partnerships with groups like Biking with Baddies, created by a Black woman for people of color, and businesses like woman-owned Bread & Pickle at Lake Harriet.
Finally, more experienced cyclists can customize and lengthen the 20-mile route by riding full loops around Lake Nokomis and the Chain of Lakes: Harriet, Bde Maka Ska and Lake of the Isles, says BikeMN’s Duepner. “And 46-mile riders can also add Lake Phalen in St. Paul!”
Rest Stops and Registration
Five rest stops are planned for the 46-mile route (the 20-miler goes past only the last two, in Minneapolis). Those stops include:
- Twin Cities in Motion, with “pump-you-up” music and snacks at the nonprofit’s headquarters.
- Lake Phalen Pavilion, with scenic water views and a chance for cyclists to rest their feet (and seat).
- Dual Citizen Brewing, featuring a buck off any beer.
- Venture Bikes and Coffee, an activity center of demos and cycling groups on the Midtown Greenway.
- Bread & Pickle adjacent to the Lake Harriet band shell, with homemade cookies (including vegan options).
Advanced registration ends on September 12. Advanced pricing is $10 for the 6.6-miler (a “group start” ride that’s free for anyone under 18); $30 for the TCTwenty; and $46 for the 46-mile ride. Click here to register in advance. Day-of registrations will also be accepted.
“This will be a grand celebration of the best bicycling cities in North America,” says Wojcik, who praises his team’s creativity and organizational capabilities. Now, all they have to wait and wish for is a sunny day.