St. Paul, MN - How's the riding? Might move there for a job.

[Robobo1]

I'm thinking of moving to St. Paul, MN for a job... how's the riding out there? Obviously the winters are much worse in MN than in DC where I am currently. But I don't mind putting on the layers or staying in on the trainer.

I race, so I'd want to find a team immediately. I'm really into longer road races, am hoping those are big in MN.

Also, I currently don't have a car and commute by bike... how is bike commuting in Minn/St. Paul?

Cycling in MN is a big factor in my decision to move from DC... so everything you can tell me is appreciated!

[Robobo1]

Also don't mind taking up a winter cross-training sport if necessary.... I've been told I'd enjoy cross-country skiiing.

[VMax]

I think that you'd enjoy living in MN as there are plenty of well-groomed trails both within the metro area and throughout the state. I've included a link for your review which includes plenty of information about race teams, trails, maps, gear, etc.

http://harpoval.com/Tcbc/bike.link.htm

Twin City Bike Club is a large riding club and I'm sure that some of them race as well.
I don't race but I do ride a lot of the metro area trails and have seen quite a few riders who appear to be in training. The trails are always in very good shape, I can easily ride into downtown Mpls if I want to. All city lakes have separate paths for biking although they are a bit busy in the summer months. A number of the old railroad lines have been converted into riding trails.

If you will be commuting to work and haven't made a final decision yet, you may want to look at some of the bike maps for routing information.

I wish you luck with your decision,

- Vmax

[CastIron]

Welcome. Pretty vibrant scene here. TCBC (http://www.pdwebworks.com/tcbc/) is huge and has riders of all flavors. The 'A' groups are usually about half licensed, half not.

MCF (http://www.mcf.net/) is your source for racing. We have a pretty good scene for that as well and fields are rarely filled IMO.

I'm a year round commuter as well and so are many others here, so ask away.

[Robobo1]

Welcome. Pretty vibrant scene here. TCBC (http://www.pdwebworks.com/tcbc/) is huge and has riders of all flavors. The 'A' groups are usually about half licensed, half not.

MCF (http://www.mcf.net/) is your source for racing. We have a pretty good scene for that as well and fields are rarely filled IMO.

I'm a year round commuter as well and so are many others here, so ask away.

THANKS! This is exactly what I was looking for.

Any particular teams stand out? Who are serious? Who are nice? Who are the troublemakers?

[Nickel]

I think it is perfect for commuting. You can get between Minneapolis and St. Paul pretty easily by bike, or by bus. Maybe some day by light rail. :rolleyes:

I don't know much about the teams because I just started getting involved but others that come to mind are the Hub bike co-op, Grumpy's/LGR, Birchwood, Flanders, Nature Valley, Gopher Wheelmen, Grandstay, Loon State, Ridley Factory....there are tons. Some of the teams might have more of a focus on CX, track or mountain than road, but I think most are a mixed bag.

The season is a nice mix of long rides and crits with a few TTs.

[Robobo1]

Nickel, do you think a car is necessary if I were to live in the city? I make do just fine without one in DC... but we don't have bad winters.

[CastIron]

I can't comment too much on teams as I ride UA. I've no problems with any of them. Some are tiny and some huge. You can ride with pretty much any of 'em to get a taste.

Going car free if you live in the center of the city is quite reasonable (I'm sans car, my wife isn't) depending on your lifestyle. I'd suggest having a serious slop/winter bike and a winter ridable second bike.

[Nickel]

I live car-lite. I do own a car, but it was purchased before I lived here. I keep it around for getting to mountain bike trails and for the occasional trip. The TC offers two options for renting cars short-term: hourcar and zipcar. I think it is pretty easy to bike anywhere, including the suburbs for the most part. I get my groceries in my trailer and I go to my indoor spin class pulling my trailer with my trainer in it. The lightrail makes it really easy to get to the airport. The only thing I wish could be changed were the bus schedules to the suburbs as it would make it easier to get to mountain biking (the buses tend to follow a commuter schedule so I could get out there with the rush hour home but couldn't make it back).

The only thing I might think about is getting to races but I've always been able to car-pool so I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem, even if you were unattached.

[Scot_Gore]

See this old post
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=319936
Lots of good info.

If you enjoy racing and the race crowd and are going to be in St. Paul (and not Mpls) take a long hard look at the St. Paul Bicycle Race Team aka the Grand Performance Team.

Don't let the harsh climate fool you. It really is a bike town. It's no accident that QBP, Park Tool, Hed Wheels, World Cycling Productions, and Cycle America are all Minnesota companies (and where's Jim Oberstar from????)

Scot

[reverborama]

We just put on this event last Friday at a bar in downtown Minneapolis:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=coldsprints&w=all

There are plenty of teams out here. You should have no problem finding any one of several teams here.

[Robobo1]

Thanks so much everyone! I'll be up there for my first visit next weekend. Looking forward to it!

[Robobo1]

Well.... I'm making the move in TWO weeks. Really looking forward to this.

Also looking forward to the challenge of riding at low temps... but I'm still not really sure I want to be commuting between Minneapolis and St. Paul during the winter. Darkness and below freezing temps sounds very dangerous to me in the event of a flat tire.

[CastIron]

Preparation and adaptation. Lots of folks do it. We'll work with ya.

[Nickel]

Most of the major commuter trails are on a bus line so it wouldn't be a problem to hitch a ride in the event of a flat. I would even imagine some businesses would permit you to come inside and change the flat.