[JaeBeam]

Sorry, gotta vent, or I'll start driving to work again. Skip this post if you don't like reading melodramatic drivel.

/rant on

Commuting is straight up hard and risky.

Even if you are on the ball... I had a full can of coke tossed at me by a school bus that was probably going about 35mpr. I changed my route (yet again) to avoid the bus. Yesterday a jeep with 4 teenagers buzzed me from behind and were yelling at me out the windows after they passed.

Not a week goes by where at least one vehicle passes w/i 6 inches of me when there isn't any traffic to be seen elsewhere. I leave home at 6am, and I had a panel van come closer with their mirror to my head than 6 inches.

What can you do? The bridges in Minneapolis are collapsing or being shut down. Driving just makes the roads more congested. I'm trying to be a good citizen by being a second responder and keeping off the roads, at my mayor's request.

Each year folks talk about how bike friendly Minneaopolis is, and how "Minnesota Nice" its citizens are. I'm calling BS. I biked for years in Chicago, including winters, and I rarely was griefed, and when I was, 90% of the time it was the bus drivers.

/rant off

 

[Scot_Gore]

Jae,
I don't know what to say Sorry you are having such trouble. Be assured that it's not everywhere and everyone, maybe it's just a spell of bad luck.

Bear in mind that it is often said, "Minnesotan's are nice.....then they get behind the wheel". It's also said that "Minnesota Nice" is just the nice way of saying "Passive Aggressive".

If you are new to town I can probably help you find "another" way but it sounds like your alreay on that issue. Coming from North or Northeast by chance....it's got a rep amongst those of us on 2 wheels.

Scot

 

[JCavilia]

"Minnesota nice."

A comment from a non-Minnesotan. I live in New England, but I've visited Minnesota many times, and frequently in the last two years, while my daughter has been attending St. Olaf College in Northfield. I would say that "Minnesota nice" is a real phenomenon, but reaches its weakest point when driving in the Twin Cities. Down on the prairie, the courtesy and consideration are expected and common, even among drivers, but I've seen again and again the manners on the road change the closer you get to the Cities.

I'll further qualify this by saying I've never cycled in the area -- these observations are based on driving only. Anyway, I like the place a lot, which is a good thing, since my daughter loves it and may end up staying there.

 

[axebiker]

Twin Cities drivers are the worst. But the cyclists (johnny-come-lately commuters) are a step beyond that. Good cyclists get the wrath of motorists because of the acts of far too many.

Something to keep in mind - don't refrain from giving the dumbass cyclists an earful when you have the chance. I rarely pass it up.

 

[goalie]

Fortunately, I have the Southwest LRT trail in my back-yard, and I commute on it in to Abbott Northwestern hospital, which is less than a block off the Greenway, so I don't deal with any of the asshat cagers with attitude.

That said, I'm sorry to hear about your less than peaceful commute. I hope it improves rapidly.

 

[JaeBeam]

Hey folks. Thanks for coming to my pity party. I just needed to vent. Until I actually get hurt, I'll keep on trucking. Actually been free of drama since I posted this, funny how kharma works.

JCavilia: MN is a great place. I grew up in Syracuse, NY. Went to college in Troy, NY. My wife graduated from Conneticut College. I know NE, and I know the midwest. I enjoy both flavors, and I wish your daughter good fortune with her studies and career.

goalie... are you a hockey goalie? PM me if you are and play in the AHA, odds are we know eachother. (JC, part of the MN culture, HOCKEY!)

 

[goalie]

goalie... are you a hockey goalie? PM me if you are and play in the AHA, odds are we know eachother. (JC, part of the MN culture, HOCKEY!)

Yeah, I am a goalie. I don't play in the AHA, but if you play in Bloomington on Sunday nights in the Fall/Winter/Spring, I am one of the goalies with the NHL alumni team.

 

[JaeBeam]

That the Tommy Younghans group? A few steps above the guppies I'm used to competing against.

 

[JCavilia]

Howdy, JaeBeam

Hey folks. Thanks for coming to my pity party. I just needed to vent. Until I actually get hurt, I'll keep on trucking. Actually been free of drama since I posted this, funny how kharma works.

JCavilia: MN is a great place. I grew up in Syracuse, NY. Went to college in Troy, NY. My wife graduated from Conneticut College. I know NE, and I know the midwest. I enjoy both flavors, and I wish your daughter good fortune with her studies and career.

goalie... are you a hockey goalie? PM me if you are and play in the AHA, odds are we know eachother. (JC, part of the MN culture, HOCKEY!)

I've had kids in school in upstate NY, too, (Syracuse and RIT). Another area I like a lot. Sort of somewhere between east coast and midwest, in both attitudes and geography.

Oh, yeah, hockey. You betcha. Fer sure.

 

[goalie]

That the Tommy Younghans group? A few steps above the guppies I'm used to competing against.

I play with Youngy in a few groups, but he doesn't usually play Sunday nights with the Alumni. He plays in my Monday night summer group though.

I'm 6-1, and wear all-black pads and gloves with no logos on them in case you ever run into me.

 

[truman]

Riding in Northfield

JCavilia -- my son is also a student at St. Olaf. I have ridden a few times while up there visiting. The riding around Northfield is pretty good, provided the weather is not too cold. Check out the website for the Jesse James century and you can find a map that shows the roads they ride on around there.

 

[JCavilia]

JCavilia -- my son is also a student at St. Olaf. I have ridden a few times while up there visiting. The riding around Northfield is pretty good, provided the weather is not too cold. Check out the website for the Jesse James century and you can find a map that shows the roads they ride on around there.

Thanks for that tip, Truman. I've never managed to bring a bike when I've visited, but maybe I'll try to rent one next time I'm out there for a few days. There's a pretty good bike shop in Northfield, and there seem to be a lot of folks using bikes for transportation. I guess that's not too surprising for a college town, but it's good to see in any event.

I've never been there for the "Defeat of Jesse James" celebration. It looks like good fun, in a corny midwestern way - NTTAWWT.

 

[blackhat]

Thanks for that tip, Truman. I've never managed to bring a bike when I've visited, but maybe I'll try to rent one next time I'm out there for a few days. There's a pretty good bike shop in Northfield, and there seem to be a lot of folks using bikes for transportation. I guess that's not too surprising for a college town, but it's good to see in any event.

I've never been there for the "Defeat of Jesse James" celebration. It looks like good fun, in a corny midwestern way - NTTAWWT.

I've ridden through Northfield a couple times on my way up to the twin cities. Nice place. There's a good hole in the wall Mexican restaurant on highway 3 somewhere I stopped at to get out of a thunderstorm last summer. If you get the opportunity to ride that area, highway 3 between Northfield and the south suburbs of st paul is a nice ride. Wide, paved, smooth shoulders with some nice rolling hills.

 

[Cross Chained]

I grew up in Minnesota... Rochester, to be exact. I think it's pretty much the consensus of most Minnesotans that the Twin Cities don't really count as part of Minnesota, except geographically. Culturally, that area just doesn't fit in with the rest of the state.
I really miss Minnesota and I'm looking forward to going back for a visit this summer and taking my bike along, maybe riding through the bluffs down in the southeastern part of the state. I also miss being able to say things like "uff-da!" without getting weird looks.

About the driving... I have never had a problem with Minnesota drivers, but my boyfriend has lived in Indiana all his life and when he first came to visit me, he hated the way Minnesotans drove when it came to interstates and highways. I tried to explain to him that in Minnesota, we are sooooo nice that when we see someone merging onto the highway, we all just move over and give them plenty of room so that they can't easily get in. But he said that, no, the right way to merge is for the merger to adjust his or her speed and pay attention to the traffic on the road and not expect everyone else to make room. Well, that is technically correct, I said, but only for mean people. Personally, I am way too scared to drive on the interstates here in Indiana because no one will move over for you to let you merge on. Drivers here are also very rude. I have heard some Hoosiers talk about this thing called "Hoosier Hospitality", but I am convinced that this is something that only exists in the minds of lifelong Hoosiers, because no non-Hoosier I've ever met believes in that nonsense. I think maybe they are just confused and what they really mean is "Hoosier Hostility".

 

[JCavilia]

More Northfield

I've ridden through Northfield a couple times on my way up to the twin cities. Nice place. .

My daughter just called me. She had ridden her bike from campus to the coffee house (No More Blue Mondays -- good place) and was pleasantly surprised to find a bike race going on. Apparently there has been a 4th of July crit run through downtown Northfield for some years. Sounds like everyone is having a good time.