It's early in the season but we are deep into our summer biking mode. Today we got through heat, humidity and hills to find the Minnesota River Overlook, hidden under Flying Cloud Drive. Somebody below us in the valley was having a bad day... I hope the ambulance made it through the woods to the problem.
After our break we enjoyed the smooth cruise downhill into the river valley, with a welcome photo stop when we climbed back out to the Co. 101 bridge. Enjoy the photos! See you next week on our much flatter but scenic bike ride to Lake Como!

Hi Hopkins Bikers,
We will not have a bike ride on Memorial Day. Enjoy your holiday!
Our next ride, on June 5th, takes us to the hidden Minnesota River Overlook below Flying Cloud Drive. This year we will bike it in the reverse direction, working through the rolling hills in the first half and enjoying downhills and flats for the second half. (I confess there is one steep hill required to get up the bluff at Co. 101.) On my preview ride today, I saw lots of wildlife: deer along the trail in four locations, an eagle soring over the river, and a turkey, a woodchuck and a rabbit crossing in front of me. Map
So far the following are registered for June 5th: Peggy, Martha, Nina, Wendy, MaryAnn, Susan, Teri, Chris, Carol, Patty, Scott, Steve, Steven, Doug, Gary, Bruce. Sign-in HERE. (There is one weekend cancellation, so we'll be able to take one from the Waitlist, if registration fills up.)

We had a big group of 17 for our bike ride along Minnehaha Creek to the falls, and back along Nine Mile Creek. Enroute we enjoyed the soft reopening of a stretch of the South Cedar Lake Trail. I sure do miss that trail! Next we meandered through picturesque Edina with a photo stop at the old mill pond on Minnehaha Creek. Eventually we found our way to the Minnehaha Creek Trail and cruised along to the falls. Our return trip took us from end to end of the Nine Mile Creek Trail. The west part is more scenic, but the east section does provide a clear route back. I previewed several alternate routes and was foiled by road construction. Maybe next year we'll see some different scenery.

We have another great bike ride and beautiful spring day planned for Monday. This week we are going to Minnehaha Falls. The flowering trees along Minnehaha Creek are already fading, but the Falls will be flowing nicely. This is a flat terrain ~32 mile route. I'm going to try to lead you on a not officially reopened section of the South Cedar Trail. Then we'll cruise through lovely tree-canopied Edina to Minneapolis, where we will join the Minnehaha Creek Trail. See the RWGPS map. Last year this ride was informally dubbed "Creek to Creek" because our return trip follows Nine Mile Creek back to Hopkins. The route is so scenic that we will take photos at 3 locations, with our main break being at the Minnehaha Falls stop.
This ride is full! We have 18 signed up, which is the limit: Peggy, Martha, Wendy, MaryAnn, Susan, Joanne, Teri, Joan, Steven G., Chris, Carolyn, Mike, Therese, Scott, Gary, Mark, Steve D, Patty. Thank you to everyone who registered. If you aren't on the list, you are on your own tomorrow. 

We hit the weather jackpot today, and had a super bike ride to Hyland Park. The trees have leafed out and there was absolutely no snow to be seen! We biked scenic trails around Bush Lake, in Hyland Park, around Lake Normandale, and through Bryant Lake Park. We also had some lovely downhill cruises along Gleason Road and Normandale Blvd. The uphills were hardly noticeable! We welcomed a break on the plaza at the Hyland Visitor Center. 
​Enjoy the pictures below. 
Once again we had 14 people (but two were not on the registration list). Please, please sign in for each ride! When we hit our max of 18, I will drop those who didn't register. The limit of 18 bikers is firm. Once all the snowbirds and world travelers return, we are going to be bumping up to it regularly, I predict.

I'm expecting another lovely spring morning on May 15th for our bike ride to Hyland Park in Bloomington. Our loop route is about 26 miles on trails and roads. Be ready for hills, as this is not a rail trail type of ride. There are no "killer hills" but the ride is hilly throughout. You can see the details on the map:  ridewithgps.com/routes/41609085
Please remember to sign up for each ride through the Hopkins Activity Center registration website. The list serves multiple purposes: enforces our group size limit, creates a contact list for weather notifications, and lets me know who to expect on Monday morning. If you signed up earlier but find you have a conflict, please inform the Hopkins Activity Center or me so that your spot can be opened up to someone else. Our list so far is: Peggy, Martha, Nina, Teri, Joanne, Joan, Doug, Chris, Mike, Scott, Deborah, Art, Patty and Steve D.
See you Monday! Peggy

Hopkins is now busy with road construction projects in the Maetzold Field neighborhood. See the map for information on which roads will be closed. You can still get to Maetzold Field by bike or car for our Monday rides, but may have to find a new route.

The weather was fabulous, and 14 bikers joined my ride to beaches at Wirth Park and Medicine Lake. The biggest surprise of the day was snow beside the Luce Line Trail in Wirth Park! Some of us took a side trip for a short tour led by Gary of the Carlson Island trails. (Now we know where Gayle and Bob will live.) Thank you to Martha for leading the rest of the group back to Hopkins, along a route new to her, no less. I hope you all enjoyed the route, and the pictures below. Watch this website on the weekend for a teaser about next Monday's ride!
​Peggy

In the spirit of summertime, our first Monday bike ride is to the beach! We will take breaks at two beaches to enjoy the views, take pictures, eat our snacks and socialize. The first long break is at Wirth Park Beach, and the second at Medicine Lake East Beach. Our journey takes us along some nice trails as well - North Cedar Lake Trail, Luce Line Trail, Minnetonka's "Camelback" trail, and a tiny bit of the Lake Minnetonka Trail. We will depart at 9AM sharp from Maetzold Field. Have your bikes ready to go about 5 minutes before that, for a pre-ride gathering for introductions and a brief review of the route.
There is a slight chance of thunderstorms, and all who are registered for the ride should have received an email that so far it looks like we will bike on schedule.  If this changes, another email will be sent.  We won't bike in a thunderstorm or heavy rain. I will delay the ride, cut it short or detour to a shelter in case of an incoming storm cell.

It was a beautiful evening for a bike ride! Thank you to everyone who joined in! There was a big crowd at the Kickoff meeting, and then we split into two groups. The Monday gang biked with me, nine in total.  Grays Bay was lovely and unlike a couple weeks ago when I previewed our ride, it was ice free!
Monday has thunderstorms in the forecast, unfortunately. Watch for news about any changes to our ride on this website. Those who registered for the ride will also receive email on Sunday evening, and probably another email on Monday morning.