Category Archives: News

Bike Pic Oct 25, A colorful Sunday ride

One of many out for a Sunday ride, here in the photo a young lady rides her bike on the Minneapolis Midtown Greenway Trail System, with fall foliage colors peaking.

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking (HFB), hope you enjoyed the photo.

Now, rolling into our 10th year as a bicycle media, our goal is to continue to encourage more people to bike, while showcasing unforgettable places to ride. As we search and present more fun photos worth a grin, scroll through the information and stories we have posted to help you find your next adventure. Then, while out there you see us along a paved or mountain bike trail, next to the route you regularly commute on, or at an event you plan to attend with your bike, be prepared to smile. You never know where our camera’s will be and what we will post next!

Do you have a fun photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us publish? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know?) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be at least 620 pixels wide for us to use them. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

As HaveFunBiking continues to encourage more people to ride, please reference our blog and the annual print and quarterly digital Bike/Hike Guide to find your next adventure. We are proud of the updated – At-a-Glance information and maps we are known for in the HFB Destination section on our website and in the guide. Now, as the Bike/Hike Guide goes into its seventh year of production, we are adding a whole new dimension of bicycle tourism information available for mobile devices where you may see some additional bike pics – maybe of yourself.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in a pic we post!

Bike Bluff Country roads that cross the Root River Trail

In Southeast Minnesota, want to explore the bike friendly roads that meander around the Root River trail system while enjoying the local foods, history and ‘Driftless’ scenery along the way?

The towns of the Root River Trail will host a three day bike ride that does just that, the Bluff & Valley Bicycle Tour. With a route that runs on quite county roads and byways that intertwine the popular trail system, the tour starts and ends in Whalan, MN., July 7 through the 10^th. Beginning with a Thursday evening packet pickup party, full of music and fun, ride participants are guaranteed a bicycling adventure to remember. Limited to the first 150 cyclist who registered, here is an overview of this three day bike route and adventure you can register for, to ride with old and new friends.

One of the many spectacular scenes while touring though the Bluff Country.

Starting out Friday morning in Whalan, with a hearty Bluff Country breakfast the tour leaves on the root River Trail visits Lanesboro, then up to Fountain for some refreshments. Now up, out of the valley the tour circles through some of this areas contoured farmlands making a stop at an historic village, then on to Preston for lunch. After visiting the National Trout Center the tour heads south to Harmony, your overnight hosts. Here before the evening fun begins take an afternoon tour of the cool Niagara Caves and the Amish culture in and around town.

Here cyclists are enjoying the many delicious delicacies available near many of the Root River trail towns.

Here cyclists are enjoying the many delicious area delicacies available near the Root River trail towns.

Saturday morning, after breakfast the ride heads east, passing through Canton, on the Amish Buggy Byway. On this stretch of the tour riders will pass though farmlands still cultivated by horses and roadside signs, near farmsteads, offering honey and other Amish produce and merchandise. At the halfway point, for lunch the tour will enter Minnesota’s first Norwegian settlement where many Selfie opportunities await you. Then it’s back on the route riding through another scenic valley before arriving in Houston your host town for evening. After checking out the National Owl Center and bike art there, tour riders will take part in a dinner party and fun evening.

Here signs explain why Fountain is the Sinkhole Capitol and the benefits these holes have on rest of Bluff Country.

Here signs explain why Fountain is the Sinkhole Capitol of the World and the benefits these holes have.

Sunday, after enjoying Houston’s hospitality the meandering Bluff & Valley Bicycle Tour route visits a town, of the past, named because a settler lost is money in a creek while bathing. Now the route turns west, up Vinegar Hill making its way back west, skirting the bluffs along the Root River and then coasting into Rushford for lunch and photo opportunities while there. Then, it’s one more climb (gradual) and your coasting back down to the Root River Trail, in Peterson. Here, explore the Norwegian Museum and enjoy some desert before returning back to Whalan on the trail.

Here at the National Owl Center, in Houston, MN see all the bicycle art exhibits.

This Bluff & Valley Bicycle Tour, in Southeast Minnesota, is best suited for cyclists of intermediate ability and above. Mileage will range from 50 – 68 miles/day (century options are available upon request) on paved roads, with some riding on paved trails. The terrain in this area is rolling with some long, 8+ grade climbs. For more information and registration forms click here.

A bike fence along the Root River, at the edge of Lanesboro, MN

Digital Bike/Hike Guide now quarterly

With expanded readership, more bike events and destinations to explore throughout the year the Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide, in the digital version, is now updated and available quarterly, with this issue here.

The digital version of the fall 2015 Bike/Hike Guide.

Now, each season of the year HaveFunBiking (HFB) will update the guide with current content you are looking for. What you will find, in each digital issue of the Bike/Hike Guide are more up-to-date calendar listings: including recreational rides; races; and other types of fun bike related events; along with product reviews and articles spotlighting destinations you will want to take your bike and explore.

After looking at this fall edition, please bookmark the site and watch for our winter edition, coming out late in November. In this next issue of the guide, along with an updated calendar event listings, checkout all the new gadgets and gear reviews in time for Christmas.

Now, rolling into our 10th year as a bicycle media, HaveFunBiking’s goal with both the print and digital versions of the Bike/Hike Guide is to continue to encourage more people to bike, while showcasing unforgettable places to ride. And with our blog, updated daily, we will continue to search and post more fun photos (worth a grin) and bike related info you are looking for. So scroll through the information and stories we post and find your next adventure.

Then, if you see us along a paved or mountain bike trail, next to a route you regularly commute by bike on or at a bicycle event be prepared to smile and wave. You never know where our camera’s will be and what we will post next, it could be a picture of you.

Have Fun!

Bike Pic Oct 20, A smile with a sign

This cyclist shows her approval for the record breaking weather, as she rides her bike in front of the HaveFunBiking camera on one of Minnesota’s trails, the Minneapolis Greenway. High temperatures were cranked into the mid-80s in the Twin Cities, on Sunday, October 11, 2015.

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking, hope you enjoyed the photo?

Now, rolling into our 10th year as a bicycle media, our goal is to continue to encourage more people to bike, while showcasing unforgettable places to ride. As we search and post more fun photos worth a grin, scroll through the information and stories we have posted to help you find your next adventure. Then, if you see us along a paved or mountain bike trail, next to the route you regularly commute, or at an event you plan to attend with your bike, be prepared to smile. You never know where camera will be and what we will posted next!

Do you have a fun photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us publish? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be at least 620 pixels wide for us to post. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

As HaveFunBiking continues to encourage more people to ride, please reference our blog and the annual bike guide to find your next adventure. We are proud of the updated, at-a-glance information, and maps we are known for in the Destination section of our website. Now, as the Bike/Hike Guide goes into its seventh year of production, we are adding a whole new dimension of bicycle tourism information available for mobile device. Plus, beginning September 2015, this year’s e-version of the Guide will move to quarterly editions where you may see some additional bike pics posted.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in a pic to post!

Winner announced for the Stillwater Bike Get-Away Package

Recently the HaveFunBiking, Bike Getaway Contest randomly pulled a name from its e-Mag reader database for the Stillwater prize package – Congratulations goes to Nancy Shultz, from Faribault, MN!

This Bike Getaway highlights a prize package that Nancy and her guest can build on for a trip to Stillwater this Fall or next year. The package begins with a complimentary one-night stay for two, at Water Street Inn, located in the historic downtown Stillwater area, on the river near the remarkable Lift Bridge and bike trail.

Riders enjoying the Browns Creek Trail as they roll into Stillwater, MN,

Also included in this package for two:

St. Croix River Cruise on the St. Croix Boat & Packet, lunch included
Dining at The Dock Cafe, recently voted the Twin Cities Best Restaurant on the Water
Stillwater was the site of Minnesota’s first prison. Enjoy a free tour, for two, of the original 1800s home of the Prison Warden, by the Washington County Historical Society, and Warden’s House Museum, right at the start of the bike trail
Then quench your thirst at the newest craft beer brewery in town, also near the bike trail, on Main Street. Here enjoy a Rock Star Flight (every beer on tap) and two Maple Island Brewing pint glasses to take home.

Map of the Browns Creek and Gateway Way Trails.

Other fun opportunities to check out while staying in Stillwater:

Take a walking tour along the communities hillside streets and view the many historic homes, churches and the Stillwater Library
Shop the many unique boutiques and antique shops in the downtown district
Checkout the wineries and other breweries in the area
And, stop at the Chilkoot Cafe & Cyclery, on the hill at the corner of Fourth Street S. and Churchill Street W.

Winners of our HaveFunBiking Destination Bike Getaway Packages are selected randomly from our e-Database throughout the summer. If you haven’t subscribed already, please register now for our weekly drawings throughout the year b clicking here.

About Stillwater and the St Croix River Valley

The City of Stillwater is a popular spot for active individual’s using the new Brown’s Creek paved trail system when visiting in all four seasons. A charming historic town built from its early lumber and river e-commerce days, this bike friendly community is a half hour drive from the St. Paul, located on the St Croix River, bordering Wisconsin.

The bike trail here gradually follows the Brown’s Creek Valley out of town and intersect with the Gateway Trail that you can ride all the way into St Paul. Staying in Stillwater, enjoy the historic downtown area where it’s easy to find a delicious place to eat or stop after a ride to enjoy an ice cream treat. If water sports (fishing or paddling) are also your thing, extend your stay for more fun on the water. With more than 15 lodging properties (B & B’s, Historic Inn’s, Hotels and House/Lodge rentals it’s easy to make Stillwater your vacation headquarters and waking up to the relaxing sounds of an occasional riverboat whistle. For more information about Stillwater and its many options, see: DiscoverStillwater.com.

California E-bike law signed

Recently, California Governor Jerry Brown signed A.B. 1096, legislation that clarifies the regulation of electric bicycles (e-bikes) in California. This new law is the result of a coordinated campaign between the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA), PeopleForBikes, and the California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) to refine how and where cyclists can ride electric bicycles.

Assembly member David Chiu (D-San Francisco) introduced the legislation, and played an instrumental role in the bill’s success. A.B. 1096 passed the Legislature with unanimous support in both chambers and takes effect on January 1, 2016.

The legislation updates California law to reflect the progression in technology around electric bicycles. The bill designates three classes of e-bikes and distinguishes lower speed electric bicycles that reach motor-assisted speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, from higher “speed pedelecs” which have motors that provide assistance up to 28 miles per hour. This class system allows the use of lower-speed e-bikes on bicycle paths, and also provides local authorities with the flexibility to regulate different types of e-bikes based on their needs.

In addition to modernizing e-bike law, with A.B. 1096, e-bikes are no longer regulated like mopeds, and the same rules of the road will apply to both e-bikes and human-powered bicycles. E-bikes are also no longer subject to the registration, licensing, or insurance requirements that apply to motor vehicles.

“The U.S. bicycle industry is very pleased that Governor Brown signed AB 1096 into law,” said Larry Pizzi, Chair of the BPSA’s Electric Bicycle Committee. “We believe that these new regulations will serve as a model for many other states to follow and provide safe and appropriate access to bicycling infrastructure for the wide variety of low-speed electric bicycles that are being marketed today. From the onset of our involvement in drafting the concept for the bill, safety has been our primary concern. With a multi-class structure established, states, municipalities and land management agencies can regulate effectively and clear a path for the proliferation of electric bicycles, which we believe will provide access to bicycling for many more Americans.”

The BPSA and PeopleForBikes are grateful to Assembly member David Chiu for sponsoring this legislation and his staff for successfully shepherding it through the legislature, as well as all of the stakeholders who came together in support of this bill. They would also like to thank the Executive Director of CalBike, Dave Snyder, and the entire CalBike staff for their significant contributions to this effort to get more people riding bicycles.

About PeopleForBikes

PeopleForBikes is making riding better for everyone by uniting millions of individuals, thousands of businesses and hundreds of communities. Join us at PeopleForBikes.org.

About the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association

The Bicycle Product Suppliers Association is an association of suppliers of bicycles, parts, accessories and services that leads industry initiatives in legal and governmental affairs and safety issues, is the leading resource for bicycle statistical data, and provides regular networking and educational forums for members.

Collision-prediction system may be in a bicyclist future

From the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies newsletter, “Helping bicycle riders avoid crashes with collision-prediction warning systems.”

More than 48,000 bicycle–motorist crashes happen each year in the United States. Many of these crashes occur because either the driver does not see the bicyclist or the bicyclist behaves in an unpredictable manner.

In recent years, manufacturers have begun equipping many new motor vehicles with collision-prediction systems that warn motorists of possible collisions and help them take actions to avoid a crash. Now, researchers at the Roadway Safety Institute are investigating the use of similar technology on bicycles to predict impending crashes and warn both riders and drivers.

“In this project, we are working to develop a sensor system for a bicycle that can predict imminent bicycle–motorist crashes and provide an audio warning of the bicycle’s presence to nearby drivers by sounding a loud horn,” says Rajesh Rajamani, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota and the lead investigator on the project.

This instrumented bicycle design here includes a laser and sonar system, electronics, and a small computer for evaluation.

The warning system focuses on predicting two of the most common types of bicycle–motorist crashes: rear-end collisions on urban roads in which the vehicle is approaching the bicyclist from behind and collisions at traffic intersections.

Rajamani and doctoral student Woongsun Jeon are currently developing a sensor system and collision-prediction algorithm and testing the algorithm in simulation studies. The researchers have also built an instrumented bicycle with sensors, electronics, and a small computer for evaluation.

“This project is unique in many ways,” Rajamani says. “Previous projects on vehicle tracking have been developed only for cars and have mostly focused on highway scenarios. This is perhaps the first research project where tracking of vehicles at a traffic intersection has been developed and also the first project for a bicycle collision-warning system that goes beyond rear or straight-frontal collisions.”

Just nine months into the project, researchers have taken a Schwinn bicycle equipped with the new warning system out for tests on the U of M campus—and seen promising results. Preliminary experiments have shown that the sensor suite on the bicycle can accurately estimate vehicle position and orientation for scenarios involving vehicles approaching cyclists from behind and vehicles turning right at intersections.

“If our final results demonstrate that the system works reliably and performs effectively, it could be commercialized into an inexpensive product sold to bicycle riders,” Rajamani says. “In addition, the technology we’re developing has the potential to be extended to motorcycles and pedestrians in the future.”

Bike Pic Oct 18, Lap around lake before game

Here a Minnesota Vikings fan is spotted taking a bike ride around Lake Calhoun, in Minneapolis, before a game.

For more sporting event and fun activities see Sports Minneapolis.

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking, hope you enjoyed the photo?

Do you have a fun photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us publish? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be at least 620 pixels wide for us to post. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in a pic to post!

Bike Pic Oct 17, A Colorful Fall Workout

In this photo above, taken on the Mississippi River Trail, in Mendota, MN, the picture captures how enjoyable a workout can be with the Fall colors surrounding the climb.

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking, hope you enjoyed the photo?

Do you have a fun photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us publish? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be at least 620 pixels wide for us to post. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in a pic to post!

Bike Pic Oct 16, Ice Cream Smiles Friday!

Here, the photo above shows a couple cyclist stopping to enjoy a treat, along the Mississippi River Trail (MRT), as it passes through Grand Rapids. MN.

Thanks for viewing the Bike Pic of the Day here at HaveFunBiking, hope you enjoyed the photo?

Do you have a fun photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us publish? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be at least 620 pixels wide for us to post. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in a pic to post!