Originally Posted by
illusiumd
Great thanks. We're going to rent in Bloomington for a while because that's where the wife will be working and our daycare is at her work - and I'll be working downtown. But I'm thinking that we'll likely settle somewhere closer to the Cedar Trail - probably Eden Prairie. If you load bike lanes in Minne on Google maps - there's a big dead zone south - but a ton diagonally SW. Plus it looks like there's a light rail extension headed to EP.
For now tho I don't see any good routes out of West Bloomington - so maybe I'll just have my wife drop me and the bike at the trail before she then goes to work. I'm too old and withered from years of commuting in Chicago to battle with cars on roads with no bike lane.
I grew up in the east Metro and don't know Bloomington too well. I have taken Cedar lake trail and LRT, Luce Line, etc. They are all great. I live near the U of M and can head out anywhere on trails and streets with bike lanes. Minneapolis has a ton of bike lanes and some "Bike Boulevards" which work out well. The Midtown Green way is excellent but that is just east-west. The light rail will take 3-4 more years to be finished. They haven't turned a shovel yet.
I would just suggest exploring which streets have bike lanes and wide shoulders out your way. I am sure you could stitch together a decent route with some experimentation! Welcome to the Twin Cities. We are pretty bike mad despite the winter weather!