Rides of Twin Cities Bicycling Club

Lyle is doing a C ride from the Pine Tree Apple Orchard. Sounded good! Who doesn’t like apple pie and other delicious apple treats and apples from the orchard. Since I can copy with the best of them  I am doing a B/C ride using a little different route.

Start at Pine Tree Apple Orchard with portable toilets available at the start. Park in the big, grassy lot on your left as you come in Apple Orchard Road. 

Our rest stop is at Lions Park Community Center in Hugo or Hugo City Hall with bathrooms and water at about 11 miles. Bring a snack since we don’t stop anywhere to buy food until you get back to the orchard. 

Route is loaded for you to print, download or pin to your phone. I plan to ride a little faster B/C pace and average somewhere in the 13+ mph range. You can certainly ride off ahead at your preferred pace. 

Weather looks ideal, but any change, please check the usual places or don’t hesitate to call or text me at 214-762-4859.

Directions to the start: Follow US Highway 61 north through White Bear Lake, go right on MN Highway 96 for 1.9 miles and then left on Apple Orchard Road for 3/4 of a mile. Turn right again on Apple Orchard Road just before the railroad tracks and follow it all the way to the orchard. Their official address is 450 Apple Orchard Road, White Bear Lake 55110. 

Join us for a fun ride on mostly trails and low traffic roads, in Dakota County. We will be getting close to sunset so bring lights in case of mechanicals. 

After we meander through Mendota Heights, we'll go through West St Paul, down Simon's Ravine & then along the river, back to the trailhead

it's fun & flowy & we will regroup at major road crossings, and whenever need. We won't lose anyone!

Leader will ride in the front during the 1st half where it can be confusing & anywhere throughout the ride.

All club members & 1st time guests are welcome. Everyone is required to wear a helmet

More about the funny name later ...

This is a B/C follow-the-leader ride that will aim for 12-12.5 mph average.

This ride will differ in length and route each time, so carefully refer to the route link. No two rides will ever be exactly the same! In fact different starting locations will be used, so make sure you check that carefully. This ride will often start from different starting points.

This specific ride on this date starts at Lions Coon Creek park in Coon Rapids and meanders through some neighborhoods in Coon Rapids & Blaine. 

General nature of the ride: this ride is mainly exploratory with the aim of going to different places each time. It will usually include lots of turns. Average speeds may be on the slow side due to the number of turns involved.

Squadrats? This is the name of an application and website developed by cyclists who want to encourage outdoor enthusiasts to get out there and explore. It is a "game" of sorts, encouraging participants to go to as many different places as possible. Among other things, it has a plug-in for RWGPS (route planner) that allows people to design routes incorporating places the planner has not been to. You can find out more about it at: https://squadrats.com/ 

Don't be put off by the strange terminology. It took me a while to understand it. I will bring some maps to show you where I have biked & walked, and places I have not been to. It is easier to see what Squadrats is about by looking at some maps.

To participate in this ride you don't have to know anything about Squadrats or even use it, but if you are interested I can give you more information about how I am using it and why I like it. If you might be interested in expanding where you have ridden, make sure you record this ride using RWGPS, Garmin, Strava, etc. 

A nice holiday weekend to sneak in one more fun ride with a stop at the White Bear Lake Dairy Queen on the way home. 

Ride starts at the Rotary Gateway Trailhead by the wind turbine in North St. Paul with a bathroom available at the start. We’ll make a brief bathroom break at Polar Park at 14 miles before our DQ stop at 20 miles, since no bathroom there. Only 6 miles home from the DQ so you can certainly continue on if you don’t feel like stopping.

We’ll ride some nice neighborhood roads and a couple short trails on the edge of Mahtomedi before heading over to White Bear Lake. 

Route is loaded for you to print, download or pin to your phone. Deb and I plan to ride at a nice B/C pace and will average around 12.5 mph at the end. Faster or slower self-sufficient riders are welcome to ride at their preferred pace. 

Sounds like another beautiful day, but anything different, please check the usual places or don’t hesitate to call or text me at 612 381 6711 if any questions about the ride

This is a copy cat ride B/C version of Lyle's C ride.

We'll start from Sucker Lake Park in Shoreview and head toward Hugo on a variety of streets and trails. The rest stop is about halfway through the ride and there's a choice of a Holiday Station or Dairy Queen. This time we'll opt for Dairy Queen, and will use a route variation that avoids a couple of bumpy trails. It will be a mapless, stay-together ride averaging about 13ish mph. Use the Route Link to preview the route or to download it to your phone or other navigation device.

Restrooms and water should still be available at the start although it's getting late in the season. There's a porta potty 1 mile into the ride just in case. When you come into Sucker Lake Park from the Rice Street entrance, turn right at the little traffic circle. Check for cancellations before leaving home, and call or text  Lori @ 214-762-4859.