Excellent! Pictures?

Maybe July 7-8th for this train ride?

Actually it's a '69 hub, '70 frame, and '73 wheelset and decals. WTF Raleigh. It's very pretty, though. (I can't take credit for the restoration -- the previous owner did it.)




July 8th is better for me, but either would work. That would be cool.

Nice bike. Is that a Linus pannier? How do you like it?

It is the Linus office pannier! It came with the bicycle.

I'm kind of torn. I think it looks really, really sharp. It seems to be sturdy and well-made, and it is buckled on so it's not going to be escaping the rack any time soon. But it's a little small (I've been spoiled by my Banjo Bros grocery bags of holding), and it's a pain to get off the rack. Of course the smallness means it's unlikely to clip anyone's heels even if you have short chainstays. It has both snaps and magnet on the closure, which is why the flap is a bit crooked; I haven't had any problems with it opening at bad times or anything. The pannier is definitely big enough to carry a reasonable amount of stuff: I've got a water bottle, multitool, spare tube, u-lock, and cargo net now, and there's still room for books, snacks, etc. It will hold a 13" laptop (though you'd want more padding). The detachable shoulder strap is pretty sturdy. No handles, though. It's slim enough that it doesn't need to collapse.

For my planned use for the bike, I will probably need a bigger pannier. But this one is so pretty! I haven't yet made up my mind. But if I knew this would go to a good home, i'd be happy to sell. I think it'd be great for someone who doesn't intend to carry grocery bags.

ETA: Snipped better. Also, the lack of handles means I can't padlock it to my rack. I don't think that's a big issue -- the buckles are more awkward than cutting the handles would be, ha -- but that might bother someone.

Ooh, very nice. Bronze Green, Creme Delta Cruisers, nice red Brooks, too.

One vote for the 8th, then.

Thanks! The gearing has been lowered, too, so I'm okay-ish on hills.

My enthusiasm depends on the weather. I'm trying to commute anyway (biking is no more miserable than the long walk to and from the bus), but a long ride in the hottest part of the day does not sound fun.

Let's keep an eye on the weather. It should cool down by Sunday (maybe).

I am in town from LA with two friends. I found two (partially assembled) 3-speeds in the garage where i am staying and i have a Fuji cabridge IV of my own. I think we're game, but we'd need to back in time for one of us to catch a 7pm flight.
How long is this expected to take? How many miles on bike and how many on train? Cost?

If it happens Sunday, the train leaves Target Field Station at 10:40 & arrives in Elk River at 11:15. The ride is around 30-35 miles each way (I have no idea what route back is intended, so I just checked Google Maps for a ballpark figure). I'm not sure what pace is expected, but it can't be too fast. Train fare is $4; I'm hoping we'll stop for lunch at some point.

Getting back in time for the flight doesn't seem like a problem except in the event of mechanical failure.

Ok, this Sunday is Northstar train ride. I plan to be at the NorthStar Ticket booth by Target field at 10:15. The train arrives at 10:22, but the Twins are on the road so it should be easy to get aboard. The train leaves at 10:40 a.m. and we will ride the train to either Anoka or Elk River; upon arrival, we will start the ride home. We can stop along the way for rest and food/water as we ride through several communities.

The train ticket is $4 and there should be plenty of room on the trains for the bikes. See
http://metrotransit.org/bike-n-ride-on-northstar.aspx for more info.

We plan on riding together as a group, the route is not hard to follow once you know it, but it really has a lot of turns and some of the trails can be easy to miss. A lot of the route is on paved trails, most of the remainder is on very lightly traveled roads.
Mileage for the ride is 22-30 not including the distance to the train station from where you live or park your car.

I'm slow so I don't expect a blazing pace but I imagine we'll be back around 3:30-4:00 depending on stops, mechanicals, etc.


Here's the route, more or less:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5524567

Edit: Return time after consulting w/Mark W.

How did it go?

I thought it went well. We had 6 people total on the ride. I'm glad Mark W. was there, as he put the route together and has ridden it several times. There's no way I could have done it without getting lost. He set a nice pace, too.

There were many people with bikes on the NorthStar. TCBC had a ride, too, so all of the bike spots in the cars were full. NorthStar should consider adding more bike hooks.

The area through Elk River, Otsego, Dayton and Champlin is very pleasant. We ended up on N. 2nd St. in Minneapolis, which is not very scenic and not much of a bikelane.

We did have a mechanical, a broken spoke and flat tire. We tried to patch it up but it went out again after a few miles so we lost a rider who called to be picked up.

While it was a pleasant day, with lower humidity, it was 88 and the sun was blaizng down. I drank lots of water and held up ok, but I was spent when I got home. My left knee was giving me some ITB pain, too, so I had to ice it.

I rode to the ride and rode home, so I guess I'd have to add about 15 miles to whatever the official ride total is.

I forgot my camera, so I have no pics. Thanks to Mark W., giddything, S., L., and J.J. for coming along. Hope everyone else had a good time.

It was great! Most of the ride was very pretty and fun to bike.

The heat was getting to me, so I took the light rail back home from downtown.

Thanks to fearless leader Mark W. for not getting us lost, and everyone else who showed up to make it so fun!

Here's the route, more or less:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5550318

Sounds like fun. I hope to join you on one of these rides.
Any chance that you'd ride on Saturday or perhaps a Sunday afternoon?

That'd be cool!

I don't think Sunday is a set day. I just volunteered that this Sunday happened to work for me. If the ride uses the Northstar train, it has to fit with the train schedule, but other than that I think any time is ok.

I'm thinking of posting something, but first I want to see how my sunburn heals.