trystero

No. St. Paul is a dry town. Try the coffee shops instead.

medicinhed

A dry town? Like no alcohol in the sity of St. Paul at all? No bars near the schools?
WTF? You serious?

HereNT

Nah, they got bars. But it's not super bike friendly or drinking friendly, I think. So no bars that have tons of bikes outside. At least, not that I've seen. But I don't get over there much...

medicinhed

I'd say that you are lucky one. Hawaii? Let's our living environments in say mid-January. LOL

Is MPLS really that nice a place to live? Many people really seem to love it.

bkrownd

I love the changing seasons, since I grew up with them. In January I dream of going snowshoeing through the snowy woods, lakes and fields, watching the auroras, shoveling the driveway, and spending the evening reading in a nice coffee shop. Can't do any of that here. No seasons here, no city here, no decent coffee shops, no football, lacrosse and few volleyball games to go watch, no apple orchards, no nice old homes on tree-lined streets, no lakes or marshes full of wildlife, and it costs a fortune to fly home and see/do those things. As they say, "there's no place like home."

I only lived in Mpls briefly, near the University which was OK. I was mostly in the woodsy suburbs north and northwest of Saint Paul, so I'm a St. Paul person. The area around the colleges in eastern Saint Paul is really nice.

andrew young

I live in Dinkytown, which is pretty much on the campus. Lots of ruckus and drunken fights that sometimes can be really fun to watch. Only until there's five on one right in the middle of my street and they're kicking the s**t out of him just because he broke a glass.....

That happened last weekend.

bkrownd

I was very pleased when I was in Dinkytown a couple weeks ago and the hot-and-spicy chicken at Camdi is just like it was when I was an undergrad about 1990. And they still have the funky plastic 1960's walls. The place is a treasure.

medicinhed

Are there any big group rides like crit-mass?
I've read about Saturday Night Rides in MPLS what is that about?
I leave the West Coast for the MidWest in like 3 weeks so any more tips about maintaining my bicycle lifestyle over there would be sweet.

Can I ride my fixie in the winter? Or should I make my old beater mtb into a low geared SS? Or am I destined to the magneto trainer for months on end?

Bicycle-centric cafe's Near Macallister or Hamline?
Hot bicycle girl hangouts? ;D
(Why is a girl on a bicycle so much more attractive? And why is a girl on a fixie irresistable?)

johnnytoobad

anyone who thinks minneapolis is getting gentrified now needs to take it back to the 90s. haven't been there to see what's happened since 99, but my heart broke when I heard they paved over the train tressle.

rip gold medal flour.

HereNT

Well, there's critical mass...

We get drunk and ride around. It's fun. Distance and speed vary from week to week, and the destinations often change mid ride (depends on who's in front, and if we remember where we're going and how to get there)

I wouldn't ride anything but a fixie in the winter, but that's just me. You just have to dress right. Do some searching in the winter biking forum for more tips. It does get COLD sometimes...

Not a clue.

You'd have to ask some of the hot bicycle girls...

medicinhed

Yo HereNT,

Is it difficult to bike from St Paul side to MPLS side? Can I get around without using my car much (if at all)?

How much do you enjoy riding in MPLS? I could probably bear the cold, but I probably wouldn't want to do without being able to ride my bike.

HereNT

I like it OK, but I don't really have any other cities as frames of reference. If you layer and keep moving in the winter, you're usually good. Summer's a bit too humid for me, but what can you do? It's not a bad trek from st paul to mpls. There's a couple hills coming out of downtown that can be hard to climb, but then there are some nice straight shots over. Or long roundabout shots if you want them. Get a bike map when you get here and you'll be fine.

Or you could rush order one and have it sent to you from www.littletransport.com and check out the routes before you get here to get some idea of what it's like...

OK, back to work...

mplsminx

yeah, ask us hot fixie girls!

in mpls we are few and far between. we don't hang out in packs, and the fg girls are scarce.

and in my case, (happily happily) taken (by a boy who builds me bikes).

but i'd say a good place to meet ladies on bikes are the places that've already been mentioned, critical mass (kind of), saturday night bar run (which i haven't been on since last summer so i don't know if it sucks or not--most of the original riders aren't riding anymore), mpls bike gang (if you're lucky enough to meet a bike gangsta *wink*).

and re: places to live: we live in the seward neighborhood, which is sort of between mpls and st. paul. awesome neighborhood, really bike-friendly. great if you don't mind the harmless hippies. technically in mpls, but we're about three or four blocks from the river.

HereNT

Oh yeah, the bike gang - when do they ride again? Someone told me to check them out, but I was wasted at Palmers and didn't remember all of the conversation... Sounded like a fun weekly ride...

medicinhed

Thanks for the tips hereNT and mplsminx.
Can't wait to get my fix on in MPLS and StP.

andrew young

I ran into the bike gang last night, I think. They were headed to Grumpy's so I rode a little bit through Nicollet Mall with them and met a few of the riders. It was a pretty mixed group of people (girls, guys). Haven't really seen diversity like that except for on the Critical Mass ride. Anyway, get in contact with some of the Sat. night riders when you get here, you'll have a blast.

medicinhed

Thanks bro. I'll start riding around the day I get there, and start chatting up the bike tribe.

Since I'll be in school I probably won't be looking for any mess gigs, but you never know.
Even though it sucks a lot of the time, I still get to ride my bike all day.

HereNT

Probably wouldn't get one anyways, especially in the summer...

Already Red

Girls on bikes...
In MPLS....
Hmmmm....
Girls don't ride bikes, 'specially single speeds or fixed, in MPLS, or elsewhere, and denfinately NOT while drinking beer. SO un-lady-like.
Just think of the so very few shoe options we have.
; )

medicinhed

I'll just hold out hope till I get there.
Nothing turns my head faster then a girl on a bike.
A cute ped is like settling for hotdog when you really want taco.

HereNT

You don't get sarcasm, do you?

medicinhed

looks like my first brush with "Minnesota Nice"

No, I didn't get the sarcasm. Since I don't know what to expect, I just take it for granted.
Not many people in society, including most women, ride bikes, let alone SS or fixed.

So if you live in MPLS, and you know for fact that every other person is on a bike and they all ride fixed, and most of them are women then yeah...I guess I'd get the sarcasm.

Silly me.

10-44...
Hey guess which finger I'm holding up?

HereNT

The one that has that great booger you just pulled from your nose?

medicinhed

Are you watching me?
GOD I just had an itch!
And I wasn't pickin it. I was just scratching it from the inside.

HereNT

Yeah, yeah, sure - let's ride when you get here.

And I saw the booger after the finger got done scratching... Must have been an accidend that the booger came along...