Thinking about Biking

[dreamshark]

Inspired by davidschroth I started dreaming of bike commuting again. The problem: my company has moved to Shakopee since last year, which is way too far for me to bike (my limit is about 12 miles each way). I would be willing to load my bike onto a bus or train for part of the trip, but there is very little bus service from Minneapolis to regions south of the Minnesota river, and not much in the way of bike paths down here. I don't ride in heavy traffic.

I haven't entirely given up, however. If I could find a way to get me and my bike to somewhere within 5 miles of Bloomington Ferry, there is a barely acceptable bike path from there to QLogic. It does involve about a mile of riding on the shoulder of Hwy 101 (ick) but that is offset by the perfectly lovely little 2-mile Bloomington Ferry Bridge trail.

Another possibility is to take the express bus from Lake St. and I-35W to the Burnsville Transit Station (less than 20 minutes on the bus) and ride west from there. I'm certainly not going to ride 11 miles on Hwy 13, but there might be a pleasanter router in there. minnehahak, want to go exploring with me when the weather warms up a little more? Anybody else? kaustin? davidschroth?

Alternatively, if there is anybody that commutes from South Minneapolis to Bloomington that would be willing to give me a lift a couple of times a week - I'd pay for your gas.

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Am definitely up for the explore. I was planning to ride a lot of miles on Hwy 13 last summer, heading for Rice Co. I think the places you're thinking of have really nice shoulders to ride on; have I got that wrong?

K. [I want a road bike]

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by "nice." Hwy 101 has wide shoulders, but with traffic thundering past at 65 mph it is hardly pleasant. At least the road is flat and there aren't a lot of exits, so it's probably fairly safe. Hwy 13 also has wide shoulders if I recall correctly, but there are many interruptions of the shoulder by right turn lanes, cross streets and the occasional freeway ramp. However, looking at Google maps, I think I see a service road running along the south side for a good part of the way.