2013 Night Owl Classic

22 Mile Night Flight: 23.72 miles
TANDEM Pedal Time: 2 hours 6 minutes, average speed 11.2

What a beautiful night for a bike ride. The Night Owl Classic is a bike ride along the Mississippi River, through the beautiful Summit & Cathedral Hill neighborhoods and areas of downtown St. Paul. The ride tours some of St. Paul's most well-known landmarks; all with the backdrop of the twinkling skyline. We gathered at the Union Depot on 4^th and Sibley, downtown St. Paul, for our first evening ride down the streets of this metropolis and to the foot of Minnesota’s Capitol Building. We weren’t the only tandem recumbents this time—we were joined by Joan and John Laabs and Michelle and Alan Andersen.

This night biking event began at 7:00pm and routed us along the Mississippi River, onto Summit Avenue and then back to the Depot. It was a short route but more of a challenge than I expected. The streets were well-tended by the city police but the bumps in the route could not be detected in the dark and riding tandem made this ride slightly nerve-wrecking for my captain. We made it back to the Depot by 9:00pm and packed the bike to head back to our hotel for the night.

Biking in the Twin Cities is such a treat. Each time we set out we encounter more scenic paths to follow. We are already looking forward to our next adventure in this bicycle haven.

Lakes and Bike Trails of the Twin Cities

Minneapolis Lakes: 25.62 miles
TANDEM Pedal Time: 2 hours 12 minutes, average speed 11.5

Our bike ride today was the ultimate! Since our hotel for the night was in St. Louis Park, we took advantage of the bike trails in the area. We arrived early at the Doubletree Inn and began pedaling our route at 10:00am. Just down the road from the hotel, we picked up the bike paths that eventually put us on the smooth pavement of the Cedar Lake Trail. I got the opportunity to visit with other cyclists while waiting for a train to clear our path. The locals gave us great suggestions for lunch and we were excited to try the Tin Fish Eatery on Lake Calhoun.

We exited the Cedar Trail at the north end of the West River Parkway, another beautifully paved bike trail, and soon came across the Stone Arch Bridge at St. Anthony Falls, the only natural major waterfall on the upper Mississippi River.

The Parkway led us to the Midtown Greenway, A biker’s highway that cuts across the Cities. We were now in search of the Tin Fish Eatery and a rest along Lake Calhoun. The food at the Tin Fish was very good and the dining experience was unique.

We were just arriving back at our hotel when we received a call letting us know that our room was ready so we checked in and had a little down time before getting ready to meet up with the Night Owl Riders downtown St. Paul.

Trail Opening Ceremony—St. Paul, MN

Dinkytown Greenway Trail Opening: 39.35 miles
TANDEM Pedal Time: 3 hours 19 minutes, average speed 11.8

We didn’t have to search very hard to find a ride for today. An email was sent advertising the grand opening of the Dinkytown Greenway Trail near the University campus of St. Paul, MN giving us a chance to bike the Twin Cities again. We are getting to know quite a bit about the vast biking opportunities of this metropolis. Our ride began from South St. Paul where Amy & Luke live, about 10 miles from the grand opening meeting place on the campus lawn of the University of Minnesota.

The grand opening celebrated a key link by providing safe bike travel across the Twin Cities. We were joined by Mayor Rybak at the site of the proposed Surley Brewery in Minneapolis. You need not be a beer drinker to enjoy what is being planned here. We are excited to check it out next fall when it is complete.

The Brewery owner was at the site to welcome us and explain what they have planned and why this site was chosen. Brewery tours and a restaurant are part of the plan.

Back on our bikes, we pedaled with the group to the site of the grand opening celebration. We were greeted by many officials responsible for getting this $2.3 million dollar connection complete and they promised more surprises to come.

We parted from the group following our ride on the newly paved Dinkytown section of the Greenway and continued routing ourselves back to South St. Paul. Lunch was way overdue and we were getting hungry. As we entered onto the Big Rivers Regional Trail in Mendota Heights, we saw the Lucky 13 Pub and enjoyed a hearty meal on the patio beside the trail.

We wanted to see if we could get back using only the trail systems and with the exception of a few miles, this was accomplished. We truly enjoyed this day of biking in the “Big Cities” and look forward to our next adventure here.

Biking with Kennedy

Burley Biking South St. Paul: 10.26 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 1 hour 14 minutes, average speed 10.26

We had plans to do some major biking with Kennedy today but had to scale them down as Kennedy was a bit under the weather—those darn teeth. The instant the Burley wheels began to turn, our granddaughter was fast asleep. We decided to trek towards the South St. Paul Regional Trail along the Mississippi River heading north towards Kaposia Park. We climbed out of Kaposia for about 2 miles pulling the additional weight of the Burley which contributed to our low mph for this adventure.

The fall colors were in bloom on this beautiful Friday afternoon. Biking the trails of this city is always so enjoyable. Once Kennedy awoke from her nap, we retraced our path back to see the ant at the Wildflower Levee Park. Dairy Queen was on our way home so we all stopped for Kennedy’s favorite treat: “up cream”.

Our Second Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour

41-Mile Big River-Grand Round Tour: 42.39 miles
Tandem Pedal Time: 3 hours 19 minutes, average speed 12.7

The St. Paul Classic followed the Jesse James Tour and we had just returned from a week of biking Middleton and the Dells of Wisconsin with little rest between. We chose to bike this event on the tandem this year as opposed to our singles of last year. The new River Loop was nice, taking us just blocks from Amy & Luke’s home in South St. Paul.

The amount of riders on this 18th annual Classic Tour made for a pretty stressful ride on the tandem. The volunteer staff was awesome and the music is always an added treat but 6000 bikes all on one route can get very congested.

There were a few obstacles along our route other than the volume of riders—a train stalled on the track caused many to take an unscheduled rest but it was fun to walk up and down the line visiting with some of the riders. We also encountered a large tree down across a trail we needed to use to route us across town—how low can you go?

My favorite rest stop along the route was at Como Park where the Roe Family Singers were again entertaining us while we munched on various goodies provided by the ride vendors. A close second is the Indian Mounds Park stop which also had live music and beautiful views of the Saint Paul city scape.

With riders everywhere, it’s amazing we didn’t witness any crashes. All seemed to be very cautious.  The officials posted at numerous intersections along with over 500 route volunteers helped to insure our safety.

It was on this beautiful day of biking that we rolled over 18,000 miles on the tandem since its purchase in 2005 and we took a moment to reflect on the many miles of enjoyment we have had on these two wheels.

The Classic delivers again this year providing miles of traffic-free cycling showcasing the beautiful parks and parkways of Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Burley Biking with Kennedy

South St. Paul: 13.65 miles
TANDEM Pedal Time: 1 hour 36 minutes, average speed 8.4

Boy, that Burley moves slow! Today we biked the trails near Kennedy’s house in South St. Paul, Minnesota. We were hoping to find the Battle Creek trail but could not figure out how that trail system connected to the South St. Paul Regional Trail along the Mississippi River.

Our granddaughter, Kennedy, seems to enjoy bike riding as much as her grandpa and grandma—we heard no complaints as we pedaled along the Mighty Mississippi River. Our hour-and-a-half tour was broken up by one stop to allow Kennedy a chance to get out and explore some unusual bugs.

St. Paul Classic Bike Tour

Lilydale Loop plus the St. Paul Grand Round
Comments: Ride Time was 3 hours 1 minute, average speed: 12.8

17^th Annual Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour

The Saint Paul Classic Bike Tour is an annual cycling event and will be held in Saint Paul on September 11, 2011. Enjoy 15 to 39 miles of traffic-free routes, featuring great rest stops, ride support, delicious food and beverages, live music and much more!

The Classic has the best rest stops in the business! Beautiful views, great live music and refreshments to match. Savor delicious baked goods -- cookies, bagels, muffins, lemon bars and rolls -- from local bakeries. Enjoy fresh organic fruits including bananas, peaches, plums, grapes and, as always, watermelon at the finish. And don't forget to grab the traditional cup of hot java at the first rest stop. And of course, we can't forget to mention the fabulous live music that will "move you" at every rest stop.

Our drive to the Classic began at 4:30 a.m. on a beautiful Sunday morning. As we pulled out of our driveway, we noticed a body lying along our road. We backtracked to check it out and were relieved to realized it was a cyclist curled up along the gravel shoulder resting—pretty freaky. He waved us on and we continued our journey north. This was our first year biking the St. Paul Classic and we weren’t sure what to expect for parking when we got to the ride start. We were relieved to see an empty parking ramp waiting for us when we arrived at the ride start on the St. Thomas campus and all ramp gates were wide open indicating no charge for parking. We drove in and watched others arrive giving me time to calm my nerves. This would be my first mass start steering on my own and I was shaking. We lined up to register after walking around the campus lot tasting the delicious fruit and baked goods being served before the ride start.


At 7:15 a.m. the crowd began to ready their bikes and move towards the barricades and shortly after 7:30 the group was let loose to enjoy this day of riding. Many cyclists rode with flags on their helmets and on their bikes in remembrances of the tragic event that took place 10 years ago on this date. All riders were very respectful of each other and made room for those of us dealing for the first time with such a swarm of bicycles. Once I began moving, I felt more relaxed and began to enjoy the sights and sounds around me.
The beauty of the skyline was breathtaking and I just had to stop to take some photos. I was missing the tandem in this aspect as it was difficult to pull over in such a crowd to get that perfect photo and there were many images that would go un-captured.


We stopped at each rest stop along our route to enjoy the music and snacks. There were 4 of these stops along our 39-mile route. We biked down Mississippi River Blvd and onto Shepard road before crossing the Mississippi River and onto the Lilydale Loop. This was the hilliest portion of the ride. Going up and over the bridges was a challenge but I made it up each one on my two wheels. Dennis would always be waiting for me at the top. We joined the Grand Round Loop which took us to a beautiful rest stop at Como Park. Music by the Roe Family Singers was playing in the shelter and again we were served baked goods and fruit. Many cyclists were enjoying the park grounds when we arrived. We were now over the half-way mark for this journey and the temperature was rising into the 80’s making us glad that we started early.


We made it back to the finish around 11:00 a.m. and packed the bikes in the van before returning back to the staging area to check out the vendors set up in the campus lots and sink our teeth into the juicy watermelon that was promised at the end of our ride. This was a fabulous event and a definite repeater. The organization of this group was unbelievable. 500 volunteers were used to make this event a tremendous success. On-route announcers were stationed at every turn and in between our turns stood Explorer Scouts and Academy students to make sure we stayed on route and had no problems. The police force was out at every intersection where traffic crossed but we mostly rode on traffic free roads blocked to motorized vehicles.


We truly had a wonderful day biking through and enjoying the urban setting of St. Paul, MN. This event will also hold memories of reaching my first 1,000 miles on my Bacchetta and taking part in my first mass start piloting my own human-powered vehicle.

Total registered riders: 7,000
Police officers employed: 70
Explorer Scouts employed: 60
St. Paul Academy students employed: 70
St. Paul Classic Volunteers: 500


Dennis and I completed the red and green routes