Bike stamps debut in Minneapolis

Updated: June 7, 2012 - 8:16 PM

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Laura Grangaard, left, and Alyssa Herreid, both from Minneapolis, biked to work and shared a breakfast in St. Paul’s Rice Park Thursday during Twin Cities Bike Week.

Photo: Richard Sennott, Star Tribune

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Giant postage stamps towed by bicyclists cruised around downtown Minneapolis Thursday morning.

They were publicizing the national rollout of four new stamps from the U.S. Postal Service in a ceremony on the steps of the Central Library.

"It's fitting that the Postal Service has chosen Minneapolis for the national release of new bicycling stamps during Twin Cities Bike Week," said Mayor R.T. Rybak, whose city has a reputation as one of the nation's most bike-friendly.

Rybak rode from City Hall to the library on one of the green Nice Ride rental bikes available in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

At the library, four people arrived on bikes of the kinds depicted on the stamps: Postmaster Gina Hellerman, on a BMX-style bike; Erick Keskey, a business solutions specialist for the Postal Service, on a commuter bike; Louis Moore, president of the Major Taylor Bicycling Club, riding a road racer; and Oliva Bordon, a third-grader at Lyndale Elementary School, on a kid's bike.

Rybak told the crowd of about 150 that his ride to the event on the Nice Ride bike was no gimmick; he said he believes biking is the most efficient way to get around downtown.

Hellerman said the event "was amazing and very well received. We had a great time doing it and I am glad so many people showed up."

The new forever stamps, aimed at promoting bicycling and healthy lifestyles, are available nationwide and can be purchased at post offices or online.

KRISTIAN HERNANDEZ