Party on the greenway: New bike center opens
Posted on May 16th, 2008 – 2:39 PMBy Roadguy
The new Freewheel Midtown Bike Center had its grand opening this morning on the Midtown Greenway. It was the second time this week that Roadguy had to get up at an unnatural hour to attend a bike-related event, but once again, it was worth it. There was a good crowd outside…
… and plenty to see inside, from merchandise…
… to secure parking spots for 150 bikes…
… to the almost-famous bike shower:
(There are private showers for people as well.)
Commuters kept whizzing by during the speeches, but an hour later, all was peaceful:
Things should pick up again this afternoon — there’s an open house from 4-7ish p.m., complete with bands, popcorn and stuff on the grill. (My news story about the center is here.)
And if you haven’t had enough bike-related events this week, there’s another in just a few days:
All I’m sayin’ is Portland better be watching in its rearview mirror.
14 Responses to "Party on the greenway: New bike center opens"
Yeah, Portland probably wears one of those dorky rearview mirrors on its bike helmet. I counted 65 other bicyclists Wednesday morning (Bike Walk to Work Day) on my commute from downtown St. Paul to downtown Mpls.
SWEET !!
I wanna go to this, but I work late. I can’t fake sick, cuz my boss might see this!
It sounds convenient. I rode through the crowd on my way to work this morning but was already running late - so I didn’t stop. I’ll check it out on my way home from work. My only fear is that if the place gets too popular, there might be some crowds building up on the greenway right in front of the door.
…but I guess we have bigger fish to fry than congestion on the bikeways…
We (my partner and I) just got back from reserving our parking spaces. $0.30/day for structured parking isn’t a bad rate.
Nice concept…hope it works. Give it year and see if it turns into showers for the homeless. See how many people use it then.
I love the:
Drinking fountains
Rest rooms
Repair shop with while-you-wait tire changes
Coffee shop
and it’s fun to look at the yellow Electra “Amsterdam” bike with a skirt guard and floral design.
I never got a response before so I’ll ask again. Is the Greenway safe, or if drive down to the area to take a ride on it will I be hassled by bums and punks and get the CD player stolen from my car while I’m out riding?
Speaking of Bike shops, does anyone know when this years models go on sale? Mid summer? Fall? This winter? I went to several bike shops and came to the conclusion a Trek Triple 1.2 or a Fuji Newest 2.0 is what I want, but I can’t really stomach paying $800 right now.
I looked at three cheaper models but they weren’t really what I wanted. The Raleigh Sport, Jamison Venture Sport and the Fuji Newest 4.0 all had characteristics that eliminated them from consideration.
Yes. Safe. I won’t try after sundown, but this time of year, that’s plenty of time.
There’s so much traffic that any thug would be stupid to try anything there. See ya on the Greenway!
During the day, I think the Greenway’s very safe. If it’s a nice day, there’s generally a lot of bike traffic. I’ve heard of a few problems after dark.
The Greenway is quite safe during the day. At night, I’d be prepared with something (pepper spray or trusty bike lock) but I haven’t had any problems and I’ve ridden it a few dozen times after sunset.
I stopped at the Bike Center today. I do think they are going to have to ‘reroute’ the traffic. There is only 3′-4′ of space between the westbound bike lane and the front door. With the tables out front, it would be really easy to get tangled in the bike traffic. A kid got up from one table and walked right in front of a cyclist, thankfully with enough time to get out of the way. If they just move the lanes over where they put the temporary bike racks, it should take care of any issues.
It’d be nice to have a place like this along the Cedar Lake Trail as well. Like at the intersection of the Kenilworth trail. Perhaps if the Southwest Corridor LRT is ever built along that path it can be part of the proposed Penn Ave stop.
FYI- The state reached a budget deal, including the $70 million for Central Corridor and $ for a new Lake Vermillion state park!!!!
Monte asks
“I never got a response before so I’ll ask again. Is the Greenway safe, or if drive down to the area to take a ride on it will I be hassled by bums and punks and get the CD player stolen from my car while I’m out riding?”
I don’t know why you would. The Greenway is great as an alternative to city streets when you have to get from A to B. But I don’t really see the draw as a biking destination. Having said that, we’ve used it to complete a loop that includes the trail along Minnehaha Creek, to the trail along West River Road, to the Greenway, to the trail around Calhoun/Harriet & back to the creek trail. That’s a great ride on a nice day. Park where you’re comfortable - or - ride your bike to get there…
I was thinking about parking next to the greenway to check it out, but parking on one of the parkways instead and riding to the Greenway seems like a good idea. I park there all the time on the theory that there’s enough activity that someone breaking into cars is going to get noticed. I also have the same “mini rounds” route in mind- Lakes, Greenway, West river, and Minnehaha. Another idea I had was Greenway, Cedar Lake, and West River once they finish up the Cedar Lake trail.
Unfortunately I live in Bloomington, so it’s too far to ride to the Minneapolis trails without being exhausted before I even get there, and I don’t like riding on streets or sidewalks.
You could take the LRT to lake street or cedar-riverside and be less than a mile away from the Greenway.
