The Miami Herald recently published a
piece by local writer Jay Walljasper, titled, "The surprising rise of Minneapolis as a top bike town." (The article was excerpted in last week's
The Line.)
When the city was named by Bicycle magazine as the best place for biking nationwide, "Shock that a place in the heartland could outperform cities on the coasts was matched by widespread disbelief that biking was even possible in a state famous for its ferocious winters."
Wallsjasper provides plenty of reasons why Minneapolis has earned this distinction, including the sheer number of bicyclists, many whom brave the winter temperatures.
Walljasper writes: "'Places famous for biking like Copenhagen and even Portland feel very far away,' remarked Jeff Stephens, Executive Director of the Columbus advocacy organization Consider Biking, who came to Minneapolis looking for ideas he could apply back home. 'It was exciting to see what they've accomplished in Minneapolis, which is a city that seems a lot like Columbus.'"