Streets of the Twin Cities

[clichty]

Are there any good routes in the Twin Cities that will be cleared enough for riding in the Winter? I am in St. Paul, and I am not familiar with the good routes in the cities. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[daredevil]

Are there any good routes in the Twin Cities that will be cleared enough for riding in the Winter? I am in St. Paul, and I am not familiar with the good routes in the cities. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Get some studs and it won't matter if the roads are clear or not. I grew up there and the snow in those parts ain't what it used to be from my understanding. I bet you can find plenty of places to ride. Sorry I can't be more specific. I miss the cities. :(

[reverborama]

That's a darn good question and I am ashamed to not have an answer. Hmm.... I will scope out a couple of nearby trails on the way home. If you are in St. Paul, you should take a quick look at the Midtown Greenway from the river to Uptown. That gets a lot of traffic and may be cleared off enough to ride.

Edit: Well, the paths I rode by on the way home haven't been cleared off. These are mostly west of Minneapolis -- St. Louis Park and Hopkins. You could ride them with a mountain bike but you wouldn't enjoy it with slick road tires...

[reverborama]

Sorry this is late but the forum was down yesterday. I was over in uptown and east of there and got a good look at the midtown greenway. It's not being maintained by a plow or anything. There was spotty snow on it yesterday (and 2 inches of the new stuff today, at least). So I'd say it would be possible to go riding with mtn bike tires but I wouldn't be too interested in taking it on with road tires. Too many slick spots.

[SteakKnifeSally]

The twin cities are great to ride in the winter. This has been an off year for me until now, but look out now. I believe I have seen more bike commuters this winter than in any of the last 5 years.

You can ride road tires in the winter, I did for the first year. You can ride cyclocross tires; I did that the second year. You can ride touring tires, I've done that for the last 3 years. If you can afford it, you can ride studded tires. A protege says it is like having the cheat codes for winter biking.

Where to ride? Depends where you are going. This year has been pretty light, and you can ride most anywhere. Summit is pretty good; people expect bikers there. Additionally, the last time I was through the inside of the bike lane was clear. Marshall is good as well; long sections of it have bike lane and/or are four lane. Worst case you take a tire track and let traffic go around you. Best part of Marshall is the hills, or what passes for hill, here in flat city. If you're going north-south, you have the river road, Raymond, and Lexington (in parts.)

More specific question? Just ask!