Reminder For Sunday June 12th, 2011

Open Streets Minneapolis, 10am-2pm! It should be a great time.

I will be riding to the event by bike, and leaving around 830 or 9ish. If you want to go, contact me and we can ride there together.

A Very Sad, Sad Day

In my last post I stated "life is short."

Sadly, today I learned that a Kilmer Pond Neighborhood resident, Sean McQuillen, passed away last night.  Farewell on your journey, Sean.

If you wish to read more about his fight with colon cancer, visit the Caring Bridge website: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/seanmcquillen

I should probably stop typing right now but I'm going to add one last bit.  I never personally knew you, Sean, or your wife and family, but I knew of you because since I moved into the neighborhood, I would regularly see you walking your full-sized poodle.  What a great, energetic dog.  Just like my dog Cleo.  In fact, more than a few times we would pass by each other while walking our dogs, always waving and saying "hi" to one another.  Occasionally I would see you dog-walking well after dark, and in all weather conditions (like I do with Cleo because of my working hours), always wearing a LED headlamp, the type that only outdoor enthusiasts and fitness nuts must have to keep your hands free... probably just like the one that I have.  After I read through your Caring Bridge journal, emotional and all too brief, I learned that you were into mountain biking, rock climbing, endurance sports, and even good beer... all things that I enjoy myself.  We even share the commonality of our first name, "Sean".

Even though we did not know each other, I wish we had.  The next time I climb a tough route, or bike some nice singletrack in the woods, or feel like just giving up on my next distance run, I'll think of your steadfast determination that was so eloquently described by your wife in the Caring Bridge journal.  I am without words.

My prayers are with you and your entire family, Sean.

Northern Spark Festival Ride

Last night after I came home from work, I rode downtown to see the Northern Spark Festival, "an [artistic] experiment in light and sound."  It was a peaceful, relaxing ride after dark.  With the right set of bike lights, it is actually fun to ride at night under the stars, in the coolness of the evening.

I took the Cedar Lake Trail into downtown Minneapolis.  I haven't ridden the trail since last fall and, to my surprise, at the normal end of the trail (basically Royalston & Glenwood Ave) was a continuation, going under Target Field and linking up with West River Parkway trail.  I followed this to the Stone Arch Bridge.  I have detailed my exact route here.

Here are some pictures (sorry for the poor quality... low light with an iphone):

My stops included the Stone Arch Bridge, Riverplace/St. Anthony Main, Loring Park, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and Intermedia Arts.  The Tibetan art exhibit was one of my favorites.  I left the Uptown area and about an hour or so later, got home exhausted (mostly from the late hour) around 3:30am!  Oh well, life is short. 

"Any Bike, Anywhere"

L-R: Harry Winand, Gene Oberpriller (One On One Bike Studio, owner), John Stamstad, Chris Kostman at the 24 Hours of Canaan

Ahhh, the late '80s and all through the '90s... some of my fondest memories of riding my bike come from this time. I had my brand new Raleigh mountain bike given to me as a birthday gift from mom, a bike that I had picked out in the Now Sports bike shop in Uptown. The shop was a dealer of many different brands of bikes, but the one brand I remember the most, the one I kept coming back to were the Cannondales. American made, large diameter aluminum tube race bikes with top-of-the-line componentry, bright, metallic paint and skinny, slick tires... "to go fast!" 


For all of my lusting after the mucho dinero C'dales, and begging mom to reconsider, the final decision to get me a 21 speed, steel Raleigh mountain bike was a very wise one. The basic mountain bikes of those times actually were to become--and very commonly used as--fairly decent, durable, all around urban bikes. 90% of my riding consisted of getting around the city, for transport and for recreation. I was even able to keep up with, and in some cases, ride faster than, spandex-clad road bikers on those high dollar race bikes I had been lusting after. The point is, I made due with what I had.


This brings me to one of the best bike articles I have come across on the internets, authored by a man named Chris Kostman:


"Any Bike, Anywhere" 


If you have the time (and I know you do for such a well written and convincing article!) please read it. The moral to all of this is to get out and ride, no matter what bike you have.

1st post on the blog

Hey everyone, let's get out and go biking. 

I moved to the Kilmer Pond Neighborhood in the fall of 2009, and after not getting much bicycle riding in during the nicer months of 2010 I decided to change that for this year. 


Last summer I decided to help my parents get out with me and exercise together as a family. What better way to spend a nice summer day than on a bike?! I can't think of one... anyhow, I found mom a "garage queen" Schwinn cruiser on CL, and dad had recently acquired a second hand road bike from his best friend. Mom's bike needed little more than new tires; I took dad's bike to a local bike shop and had it overhauled. 

With their new/second-hand bikes up and running I promptly got them out of the house, onto their bikes, and down to the North Cedar Lake Regional Trail. I led the ride, and that day we rode at a leisurely pace all the way to downtown Minneapolis, stopping for lunch at One On One Bike Studio. I think my parents were a little surprised by how relatively quickly and easily a cyclist could get from St. Louis Park to downtown Minneapolis.

Indeed... there are good reasons why Minneapolis was rated the #1 bike-friendly city in the country.

I started this blog because I believe that our neighborhood is a great gateway area to many fantastic trails, both to the East and extending far to the West. I intend this to be a place to: 

A) Organize and post about neighborhood group rides for all ages. Some rides can be tailored specifically for kids (short distances), and others can be rides for more experienced cyclists (longer distances).

B) Share bicycling related information.

C) Get more people, young and old, involved in bicycling. 

Last week I rode to Excelsior on the Lake Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail.