I Love Riding in the City

NAME: Most of you know me as Minx, but I’ll answer to Kelly as well

LOCATION: Minneapolis, MN

OCCUPATION: Art Director/Photographer

Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?

I live in the land of ice and snow: glorious Minneapolis. I’ve been riding a bicycle here since 2002 and have watched the scene (for lack of a better word) grow slowly and then just totally explode in the past couple of years. After spending years and years riding with groups of people, I largely ride alone now.

The increase in cyclists has been a very interesting thing to watch. There’s definitely been an upswing in people giving your bicycle the eye as you ride by, and so of course there are now a lot of neat bikes you can ogle, too. The availability of bike lanes seems to be going up. And we are also lucky enough to have a great system of paths and trails all over the city.

This summer marked a significant drop in my riding due to some health issues that set in during the spring. Fall brought with it a nice reprieve from the heat and I was healthy, so there was more riding. And now that winter has arrived, bringing ice and snow, I’m back indoors on rollers. So right now, riding in the city consists of riding inside my apartment. Ugh!

What was your favorite city to ride in, and why?

I traveled to London in 2005 and got in touch with the cycling community there before I went. They hosted a little alleycat for me and that was definitely the highlight of my visit. There were pints and pool-playing at the Duke afterward. The photos are still hanging on my wall. Coming from Minneapolis, a city with a strict grid system and pretty calm traffic then just being thrown into London, a city with no rhyme or reason to its streets and totally insane traffic PLUS riding on the wrong side of the street was an interesting adventure. You have to be totally fearless to ride there on a day-to-day basis.

Why do you love riding in the city?

When you’re a passenger in a car or on a bus, it’s all about rushing to wherever you’re going and keeping your head down. Riding a bicycle forces you to take time to notice and appreciate things that you wouldn’t otherwise. You get to smell the city (for better or for worse, usually worse) and notice things like new buildings going up, hear the crazy people shouting on the sidewalk, things like that. You can stop and say hello to a friend you see walking on the street. Those are all things you can’t do when you’re not on a bike.

Or just say whatever you want about riding in the city…

Can I put in a plug for the Ladies of Team Pegasus and Friends 2009 Calendar? The proceeds will split 50/50 between Team Pegasus and World Bicycle Relief, so you can get your sexy on all year long for a great cause. Check out the Team Pegasus website (www.teampegasuscycling.com) and you can look forward to some outtakes and other shenanigans on my Flickr.

Check out flickr.com/photos/mplsminx

NAME:
LOCATION:
OCCUPATION:

Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?

What was your favorite city to ride in, and why?

Why do you love riding in the city?

Or just say whatever you want about riding in the city… Poetry anyone?

Email your responses (along with a high-resolution photo) to jeff@urbanvelo.org