Ride 17: Minnesota
The North Star State/Gopher State/Land of 10,000 Lakes
State: Minnesota (#17)
Area: Twin Cities
Route: Figure-8 loop around Minneapolis and St. Paul
Final Mileage: 55.49
Date: September 3, 2023
After conquering Wisconsin, our team headed west to the great state of Minnesota (with Bing still in tow!) to do our second 50-miler of Labor Day weekend. There was an additional layer of excitement attached to this part of the trip: we would be spending it with several of Michael’s friends, a group whom he had met in DC and who had moved back to the Twin Cities at various times over the last few years.
Michael stayed with his friends, Nathan and Raffie, in a Minneapolis neighborhood called Uptown. Just two blocks away, Alex and Bing posted up with two of Michael’s (and Nathan and Raffie’s) other friends, Pete and Ali, who also hosted a lovely soirée at their place later in the evening where we (re-)connected with several DC people and gorged ourselves on an incredible assortment of sausages.1
After a good night’s sleep on bellies full of meat, we awoke early the next day to hit the road while it was still relatively cool outside. (Minnesota, like Wisconsin, was still coming off a heat wave and expected to see temps in the high 90s by early afternoon.) Joining us on this day was Nathan, who had previously accompanied Michael on several rides around the DC area and who had also prepared the route for this one. Our ride would take us around some of the state’s scenic lakes, part of its trail network, the downtowns of both Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the state capitol building, and some of Nathan’s favorite childhood spots.
We began the ride by circling four nearby lakes: Lake of the Isles, Bde Maka Ska, Lake Harriet, and Cedar Lake, the first three of which were heavily trafficked by runners, walkers, and cyclists at that early hour.
Next, we headed north on the Theodore Wirth Trail, which led us to the beautiful Victory Memorial Parkway. There, we passed roughly a dozen city blocks aligned with evenly spaced trees and cute homes and through which ran a huge, grassy median. At the north side of this area, we veered eastward toward the Mississippi River.
We then started doubling back toward downtown Minneapolis, riding along the Mississippi for several miles before coming to a pedestrian bridge that offered some of the best views of the day.
Once we crossed over the river into downtown Minneapolis, we met up with the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, where we began our journey eastward toward St. Paul. This part of the ride was one big loop comprising some trails on the south side of the Mississippi and bustling city streets and neighborhoods on the north side of it, including the home of Nathan’s brother, Nick, where we would be stopping for lunch around the 45-mile marker (just as the heat was getting more unbearable).
So we followed the trail network around the Mississippi, which took us very close to downtown St. Paul. It was here that we started to get a taste of our friends’ earlier years in the Twin Cities. Before crossing the river into downtown, we stopped briefly at Harriet Island Regional Park, where Nathan had one of his first high school jobs—and where Pete and Ali got married!
After our quick pit stop here, we were finally beginning to feel the effects of the rising temperature and oppressive sun, so we made haste for downtown St. Paul en route to Nick’s house. During this stretch, we trekked through the central business district and also made our way past the impressive state capitol building before digging in to get to the food and air conditioning.
Following lunch, we had eight miles to go, which was essentially a straight shot back to Uptown across the Midtown Greenway. We added to the nostalgia tour on the way as we passed by Nathan’s childhood home and the Macalester College campus, where Ali went to school.
By the time we had finished, the four of us were exhausted, hot, and sweaty, so we drove back down to Bde Maka Ska, which had a small beach section from which people could wade into the water. This was an A+ move to complete the day.
At 55.49 miles, Minnesota turned out to be one of our longest rides to date. Only Virginia, where we did a 66-mile ride that inadvertently kicked off this whole project, was longer. And this one was all the more fun since we had friends accompanying us.
While Alex and Bing took off for home the morning of Labor Day, Michael stuck around for a couple more days to see a little more of Minneapolis and spend some extra time with the crew there. The first adventure he joined for was a trip to the state’s nationally famous state fair.2 If you have never been, well…you’ve been missing out (though your stomach has likely thanked you).
On Michael’s final day in town, he joined Nathan for a short bike ride down to George Floyd Square, the area near which Minneapolis police offers took the life of George Floyd three years ago, sparking months of global protests over racial injustice. The visit to this space was incredibly moving and sobering.
All in all, our crew had a blast in the Twin Cities. There was so much to see, and we left so much still to explore. Luckily, we also have a great group of friends there with which to do it on future trips.
And with that, we are now officially one-third of the way to 50.
For anyone wondering, yes, this event was indeed billed as a sausage party. And sadly, we had such a nice time catching up with everyone that we forgot to take pictures!
While it is technically the second-largest state fair in the country by raw attendance figures (behind Texas), locals tell us—and the data would seem to bear this out—that it is the largest fair in per capita terms (i.e., attendance measured against state population).