By Keith Heiberg
“It’s been a long cold lonely winter,” as the Beatles sang in “Here Comes the Sun.” If you’re ready to celebrate spring, 30 Days of Biking is a pledge to ride your bike everyday (or as much as you can) in April and share your adventures online with the hashtag #30DaysofBiking. If you don’t ride every day, that’s fine; the point is to get out and enjoy the exercise and fresh air. Bring your friends, family, coworkers—anyone who might like some encouragement to start pedaling.
“Group rides are essential to the 30 Days of Biking experience—meeting new friends, sharing fun times,” the organizers explain. “While social media and our bike love connect us all, every year we depend on people like you—around the world—to make the most direct impact, where your community of joyful cyclists lives. In person is where the magic happens.”
The 2023 official Minneapolis kickoff ride on Saturday, April 1 (no joke) starts at noon from Graze Provisions + Libations, 520 N 4th St.
If you find that carbohydrates encourage happiness, Perennial Cycle (3342 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis) is hosting a Pastry Ride that starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, to join up with the main ride at noon. Free registration will net you a pastry to fuel the rest of the short (max 4 miles round trip), easy, family-friendly ride along the Mississippi River. Perennial is hosting more pastry rides every Saturday morning in April, starting at 9 a.m.
If you’re in the east metro, you can meet at the Capitol steps at 10:30am on Saturday for a group picture, followed by a ride to meet up with the group at Graze Provisions in Minneapolis. And YES, this group is “biking down Summit Ave! Politely! Respectfully! Cheerfully!”
But whether you join a group or go on your own, every day in April or only once, the point is to get inspired and get on your bike. Why? Because bicycling is clean transportation that makes you happy 🙂
Community Power Minnesota: Transportation and Happiness from The Redford Center on Vimeo.
Happy riding, and happy #30DaysofBiking!
Keith Heiberg volunteers for the Sierra Club’s Land Use and Transportation Team.