![A new type of cycling lane may be coming to Minneapolis if the local bike lobby gets its way on Minnehaha and Washington avenues. They're lobbying for a cycle track, or physically separated two-way pairs of lanes, similar to what is found along Hennepin Ave. across from the Walker Art Center. Cyclists used the two-way bike lanes alongside Hennepin Ave. Tuesday afternoon, July 16, 2011. ] JEFF WHEELER • jeff.wheeler@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/ENHSH7M5XNBRZRVJ6IKPXZ2UN4.jpg?&w=1080)
Minneapolis has long been lauded as being one of the best places in America to ride a bicycle. Numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that 4.5 percent of commuters get to work by bicycle. A city-conducted survey found that 22 percent of Minneapolitans bike (or walk) always or frequently.
In comparison to other U.S. cities, those numbers are high. But the folks putting on Minneapolis Bike Week, which started Sunday and continues through Mother's Day, want to push those numbers higher.
Traditionally, efforts such as the former Twin Cities Bike Walk Week have focused exclusively on commuters. But not everybody can plausibly ride to their jobs because of time or distance. Those behind the newly branded Minneapolis Bike Week (there is a similar one in St. Paul) recognize that, so they are expanding the event's focus to reach kids, recreational riders and even adults who don't know how to ride.
"Bicycling can be more than riding to or from work, or putting on your Spandex and riding as fast as you can around the lake," said Nick Ray Olson of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, the organization putting the week's events. "The large goal is to get new people out riding and show them how easy it is to bicycle in Minneapolis."
The annual campaign to get people to try bicycling comes a month earlier this year. By moving it up from June to May, Minneapolis Bike Week will coincide with National Bike Month as proclaimed by the League of American Bicyclists. More importantly, it will allow the next generation of bike riders to get in on the action and reap the benefits, too.
Jenny Bordon, Safe Routes to School coordinator for the Minneapolis public schools, said biking helps boost academic achievement, improves student health, raises environmental awareness and strengthens connections among families, schools and the larger community.
'It makes you feel good all day'
"We have seen a concentration boost that lasts for more than half a day," she said of those who ride their bikes to class. On Wednesday, more than 6,000 of the district's students and staff will pedal to class on Bike to School Day, one of the eight themed days. "It makes you feel good all day. Just do it. The ride itself is the joy of it."
Other themed days include Tuesday's Nice Ride Day where people can get a demonstration of how the bike-sharing program works, Saturday's Bike to Local Business Day and Family Bike Day next Sunday. "Each day has a different theme to highlight a different way people can ride their bikes than just commuting," Ray Olson said.
