Explore Minnesota has created a new website to promote bicycling and tourism called Pedal Minnesota.  The site has maps and apps to help you find new biking trails and a calendar of events so you can hook up with other cycling enthusiasts.  If you’re looking for a family staycation idea, check out this amazing site.

I grew up long before bicycle helmets were even an option, much less a legal requirement.  My bike was the key to fun and exploration.  Our family moved when I was ten, but we only moved about a half mile so I was able to keep my friends from the old neighborhood thanks to my bike.  My best friend Byrne and I were always biking the short distance to Lake Harriet for swimming and fishing when I was only 10 or 12.  Penn Avenue led directly to Queen Beach, which we had mostly to ourselves in the mornings.  It was a narrow beach with very little room for cars to park, so most adults seemed to prefer Thomas Beach which had its own parking lot.  One of my most vivid memories of those years was a mid-October day when we had a brief heat wave and the temperature hit 83 degrees.  So we thought we’d take one last swim.  We packed up Byrne’s two younger brothers with us and hit the street.  But that idea instantly lost all of its appeal once we dove in because the water was already icy cold.  Bam!  We were back on the beach toweling off and putting our clothes back on.

Later we expanded our travels to Lake Calhoun and the Putt-Putt miniature golf course behind the old Porky’s Drive-in nearby.  We also loved to bike out to the Target store at Southtown, which also had a Putt-Putt as a neighbor out there on 494.  The lakes are much more bicycle-friendly than they were in my day, but I’d never consider letting my child bike all the way out Penn Avenue to Southtown now with all the traffic in the area.  Back then, Penn was much more sedate in the afternoons.  These days, its tough enough to navigate the bridge over the freeway in a car.

Riding my bike to school in the mornings was a luxury I enjoyed once I reached the 5th or 6th grade.  It meant I could sleep in a few extra minutes in the morning – at least in theory.  I was a patrol boy those days, which meant I had to be at school by 8:15 and out on the street by 8:30, as I recall.  My patrol partner Jim and I had a friendly competition of identifying the cars that went past us.  Jim was better than I was, but I got to be pretty good.  Of course, the car styles in the 1950’s and 60’s were much more distinctive then.  The era of fins was dying out, but still making its presence known.  I wouldn’t stand a chance these days.  But I’d bike to school from the first signs of a thaw until the snow got too deep to pedal through.  Its a wonder my wheels didn’t rust away.  But I loved my bike.