Welcome. We're your premier source for fun places to explore by bicycle or on foot. Offering guides, maps and articles on road and trail riding for the novice to seasoned cyclist - helping you find your #NextBikeAdventure
On a soggy note, this bike pic Thursday, using a bike to run errands could make your life more carbon-free. Maybe it’s time to start planning that #NextBikeAdventure.
So, get into the zone when continuing your time outdoors and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the great ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa or Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide. Then plan your next outing with family and friends, and check out more stories at Let’s Do MN.
Thanks for viewing our latest bike pic
Now rolling through our 19th year as a bike tourism media, enjoy! As we pedal forward, we aim to encourage more people to bike and have fun while highlighting all the unforgettable places you can ride. As we continue to showcase more places to have fun, we hope the photos we shoot are worth a grin. Enjoy the information and stories we have posted as you scroll through.
Do you have a fun bicycle-related photo of yourself or someone you may know we should post? If so, please send your picture(s) to [email protected]. Please Include a brief caption for the image, who shot it, and where. Photo(s) sent to us should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels wide to be considered. You will receive photo credit and acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram if we use your photo.
As we continue encouraging more people to bike, please view our Destination section at HaveFunBiking.com for your #NextBikeAdventure. Also, check out the MN Bike Guide, now mobile-friendly, as we enter our 14th year of producing this handy information booklet full of maps.
Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com on your cell phone and find your next adventure at your fingertips! Please share our pics with your friends, and don’t forget to smile. With one of our cameras ready to document your next cameo appearance while you are riding and having fun, we may be around the corner. You could be in one of our next Pic of the Day.
Have a great day with a safe and memorable year ahead!
With so many bike rides to choose from here are some of Minnesota’s best recreational and touring rides to check out for fun in April, May, June and July, of 2016.
Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride – Sunday, April 24th
Celebrating its 50th year as Minnesota biking tradition this organized recreational ride tours the scenic St. Croix River Valley, near Stillwater and is a great way to get out and experience riding with others – Plus, bragging rights are guaranteed for the rest of the summer.
Riders on the 49th Annual Minnesota Ironman Bike Ride.
Bike MS: Twin Cities Ride – Saturday, May 7th
Bike MS: Twin Cities Ride presented by The Toro Company is a must-do for any Twin Cities cyclist. A charity ride more than 1,000 riders choose their own challenge — biking 12, 22, 40 or 50 miles through St. Paul and Minneapolis for one cause: a world free of MS.
The ALS Bike Trek Minnesota is a charity ride created by ALS TDI to raise awareness of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig Disease) and funding toward an effective treatment. The seventh annual ALS Trek enjoys the scenery along the St Croix River Valley.
Each year the Twin Cities Tour de Cure celebrate everyone who lives with type 1 and type 2 diabetes as their heroes on the day of this annual event. If you, a family member or friend have diabetes, join the American Diabetes Association members as they tour the bicycle routes, starting at Minnehaha Falls, in Minneapolis.
These Twin City Tour d’ Cure bike participate pause at the end of last years ride for a photo opp. by Coppersmith Photographers
Tour of Minnesota – June 17-24th
The Tour of Minnesota, formerly known as the Jaunt with Jim Klobuchar ride, is a multi-day bike tour exploring communities throughout the state. In its 42nd year, this year’s tour trip will visit Brainerd, Walker, Park Rapids, Itasca State Park, Bemidji and Pine River in Northern Minnesota.
Celebrate the day riding the Tour D’Amico, a ride that tours the west suburbs of the Twin Cities. Choose from three routes, a 29, 45, or 62.2 miles option that includes hydration breaks along the way and a D’Amico & Sons Italian buffet lunch at the end, in Golden Valley.
Enjoying a D’ Amico and Son’s Italian picnic after the bike ride.
On the east side of the Twin Cities celebrate the day riding the Watermelon Ride, with a 15, 25, or 52 mile tour option. Starting in Battle Creek Park, snacks will be provided at rest stops along the way and a picnic lunch will be served at Snail Lake Park, in St. Paul.
Root River Bluff & Valley Bicycle Tour – July 8-10th
On this three-day tour see why many call this area “God’s Country” the hidden jewel of Minnesota’s Southeast region. Starting in Whalan explore the valleys and bluff of the area while visiting all the Root River Trail Towns: Lanesboro, Fountain, Preston, Harmony, Houston, Rushford and Peterson before returning back to Whalan.
Here a family of cyclists enjoy exploring the scenic roads, that circle and cross the Root River Trail, in Bluff Country.
Bike MS: TRAM – July 20-24th
Bike MS: TRAM Ride 2016 (The Ride Across Minnesota) is Minnesota’s greatest cycling vacation. Nearly 1,000 riders will travel through the picturesque scenery and rich history of central Minnesota, starting in St. Joseph with overnight stops in Sauk Centre, Fergus Falls, Wadena and Little Falls. There is a 3-day route option also.
Riders enjoy getting together each year on the M.S TRAM
Red Ribbon Ride – July 21-24th
Red Ribbon Ride is a fully supported 4 day ride, starting at the Mall of America, to raise vital funds for HIV/AIDS services, treatment, prevention and awareness, benefiting service for: African American AIDS Task Force, Clare Housing, Hope House of St. Croix Valley, MN AIDS Project, One Heartland, Park House, Rural AIDS Action Network and The Aliveness Project.
Rita Wilczek This year’s ALS Bike Trek MN was held on May 17, a beautiful day to bike in Marine on St. Croix along the Minnesota/Wisconsin border.
There were over 300 bicyclists and nearly $121,000 was raised for research to cure ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Riders, donors, sponsors, organizers all contributed to the success of this year’s Trek.
Why do so many support the mission to cure ALS when there are so many other good causes?
Likely they have a parent, brother, sister, friend or co-worker who has or had ALS. Life expectancy for someone diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the motor neurons, is only 2-5 years. So bicyclists ride the Trek in honor of, or in memory of their relative or friend.
And they ride because they can. It seems a cliche to say, “they ride because they can”, but for anyone who has had an injury that prevented them from biking temporarily, imagine giving up biking forever. People diagnosed with ALS will lose their ability to walk, use their hands, eat, swallow and eventually breathe.
The picture to the right is an ALS Walk we did with my brother, Mark in 2006. He was diagnosed in 2005 at the age of 52 and lost his battle 3/11/2007 at the age of 54. Many lives are cut short by ALS and we hope to change that by supporting the efforts of ALS TDI (Therapy Development Institute). Your help is appreciated.
Plan to participate in the ALS Bike Trek MN, next year on May 16, 2015 and ride because you can!
