Editor's Statement
Returning to whence we came, just weeks ago I visited for another dose of a Minneapolis winter and another run at the Stupor Bowl, the longest continuously running alleycat in the country. The coasts typically get the glory, but that hardly means the middle of the country is devoid of bike culture. Quite the opposite, the Midwest may not be as visible as the likes of New York City and San Francisco but it isn’t for lack of happenings, just for lack of screaming so loud that everyone knows about it.
Twenty some degrees, snow covered roads and 300-some attendees. Beyond the event itself, racks and bikes are everywhere with a shop on seemingly every other block. It’s no wonder that that Alliance for Biking and Walking found that Minneapolis has the most bike racks per capita of any large U.S. city, the bike culture is remarkably pervasive especially considering the rough winters. Looking back it’s not surprising that in more ways than one Minneapolis was a pivotal city in the development of Urban Velo. From Cars-R-Coffins to the Stupor Bowl road trip that secured it all, even my first exposure to singlespeed mountain bikes came through Minneapolis. I’ve been home for all of a week and I’m already scheming about my next run.
Three years, eighteen issues. Much has changed and matured within the scene as the bandwagon packed up and left town. Cities have had noticeable increases in not only ridership, with some updating facilities and infrastructure to deal with the new bike boom. Fully new niches of city riding have appeared and matured in this relatively short time; city cycling has come into its own with new brands and faces taking over the industry. Here’s to the next three, and many miles in between.
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Stupor Bowl 13, Minneapolis, MN. Photo by Brad Quartuccio