2024 MONDAY BIKE RIDES
Led by Peggy Kvam for the Hopkins Activity Center
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!
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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 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. 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 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. What a beautiful day for our kickoff ride with the Hopkins Bike Club! We will have a short program beginning at 5:30 PM, and try to get rolling at 6:00 PM. Please get your bikes ready before the program begins, so we can get underway without delay.
If you haven't signed up for the May 3rd ride, come anyway, but remember to sign up in the future. The signup list is used to contact you in case of weather changes, and also to limit our group size to 18. Next week has a lot of rain in the forecast, so those registered to bike on May 8th should expect an email from me on Sunday evening, and possibly another on Monday morning. My fingers are crossed for a dry-ish window in the morning. Welcome to those who are new to the club! I look forward to meeting you tonight and on upcoming Monday bike rides! Peggy We are in luck - the weather forecast for the Hopkins Bike Club kickoff looks pretty good. We will meet at 5:30 PM at the Maetzold Field picnic shelter. We will meet the club leaders, learn about the rides, hear about bike maintenance from Tonka Cycle, and safety from Hopkins Police. There will be door prizes! After the meeting, the two bike groups will split up for their own bike rides. Last year on May 3rd to celebrate my birthday I led a bike ride of my years in miles. Due to the late hour, I will cut it short this year ;). Our group will bike a 16 mile scenic loop around Grays Bay. Afterwards, we will socialize at the Bear Cave Brewery, which has a tasty food menu as well as their own brews.
We have skipped right past spring to a week of warm, sunny days in the 80s! I hope you are all getting a chance to tune up your bikes and stretch your legs. Sign up now for the Hopkins Bike Club at the Hopkins Activity Center registration page! Our group has the activity code #5998. I have a fabulous summer of biking planned (now that the snow has melted off the trails), and look forward to seeing everyone at the Kickoff on May 3rd, or my first Monday ride on May 8th. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the date for the Stillwater overnight bike trip is being pushed out a week. We will depart at noon on Sunday, August 13, returning on Monday, August 14. See the Calendar page for information on how to book your room with our group discount.
(For our ride on August 7th, we'll bike down to the Minnesota River Valley and out to Chaska along the scenic Minnesota Valley State Trail, returning on the Minnesota River Bluffs Regional Trail.) For those who biked with me in 2022, click the video at the right to relive our fun times on the trails. 2023's rides will be similar, and I can't wait for spring to get rolling!
Peggy |
Monday BikingWelcome! I hope you enjoy my website! Watch for upcoming ride information, and maps and pictures of our adventures. I'm looking forward to another fun season of biking! Archives
April 2024
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