Cyclists to explore the city
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board puts on ninth annual bike tour
September 18, 2015
For those seeking to explore the beauty of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Bike Tour offers a traffic-free opportunity to explore the park system, according to Tom Godfrey, community outreach and event supervisor.
“The bike tour is a great opportunity for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to display all of our different bike trails and parkways throughout the Minneapolis park system,” Godfrey said.
Beginning at 8 a.m. Sept. 20 at Boom Island, bikers will embark on a route of either 16-, 25- or 32-miles. Godfrey said bikers can tour the trails and parkways of Minneapolis at their own pace.
“It’s not a race, it’s a tour,” Godfrey said. “You have your casual bikers that just like to enjoy the trails, parkways and the city of Minneapolis, and then you also have your bikers who like to go out and see how fast they can go on their own.”
The bike tour not only features variety in bike speeds, but also a variety of ages that go out and enjoy the event, according to Godfrey.
“I think if you enjoy biking, whether you are a casual biker, enjoy being outdoors or being on the trails in the city, I think it doesn’t matter what age you are,” Godfrey said. “That’s one big thing with the bike tour, it’s a wide, wide variety in ages. You have younger kids to teenagers, to middle-aged adults to seniors.”
Senior Dima Armbrecht said he enjoys biking because it offers him an alternate vehicle to a car while simultaneously working out.
“Biking is a great way to exercise and it offers a medium of transportation without gas,” Armbrecht said.
He said he thinks people should attend the Minneapolis Bike Tour because it features a pleasant bike ride through the different Minneapolis sceneries.
“This would be a great way to explore and enjoy a lot of the urban and natural beauty that Minneapolis has to offer,” Armbrecht said. “I also would think that teens would want to do this to stay in shape.”
Godfrey said he enjoys being a part of this event because he thinks the tour promotes healthy living and activity in Minneapolis.
“We just want everybody to come out and have fun biking throughout the cities, the trails, the parkways and the lakes area,” Godfrey said. “It’s a good way to explore all the different areas of the city because we aren’t just over in the lakes area or the uptown area. It gives everyone a chance to see every part of the city.”
The event takes place 8 a.m. Sept. 20 at Boom Island. For more information, visit www.minneapolisparks.org.
