Nice Ride, a nonprofit started by Mayor R.T. Rybak and the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation, launched June 10 with 1,000 bikes at 60 kiosks and continues to grow. The bikes were taken on 50,000 rides as of August 23, and the city is taking suggestions for where to add kiosks. (St. Paul, are you listening?)
Our review? Two thumbs way up.
The bikes, heavy-duty 3-speeds, don't win many style points, but they're great for the relatively flat terrain of Minneapolis. The kiosks are strategically placed to get you close to most of the museums, theaters and other attractions.
If you lock the bike into another kiosk within a half-hour, you don't get an additional charge. If you're not through riding, you can swipe your card again, get another code, and take another bike. So you could conceivably ride for 24 hours straight for five bucks, or less with a monthly or yearly subscription.
In four days we saw many miles of the city's amazing bike paths, from the lakes in the Uptown area to the dedicated riverfront trails, to the wide bike lanes downtown and heading south.
If you're visiting Minneapolis between the months of April and November, I recommend you do what we did: Leave the car at home and take advantage of Nice Ride. You'll see the city in a whole new way, and possibly get a glimpse of the future of urban commuting.
You can finish your downtown ride at the Walker Art Center's sculpture garden after crossing Interstate 94 on a bike and pedestrian bridge that leads directly to the Walker. A stop at the Basilica of St. Mary is well worth it.
Brett Larson is a weekly newspaper editor who enjoys a variety of silentsports. He lives with his family in rural central Minnesota.
1.) Check the map and bring a watch: You pay $5 for 24 hours of unlimited half-hour rides. Each time you have a bike for more than a half-hour, you get charged extra. It pays to know where you're going to return the bike and to check your watch to get it there on time.
2.) Plan ahead: You can also save a few dollars by planning your Nice Ride trips in advance. Rather than going to the movie one evening and the grocery store the next, hit the grocery store the morning after the movie, and your bike is already paid for.
3.) Adjust your seat: The seats are easily adjusted, but it's best to do it before you start your ride. More than once I hopped on the bike and realized the seat was either too high or too low. By then, the wife and kids were a block ahead, and I was pedalling like a grown man on a tricycle or a kid straining to reach the pedals.
- Brett Larson
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