Nice Ride!

Remember when I first told you about the Minnesota Nice Ride program last summer? Well, I hit the 1 year mark for my subscription late in the month of July.  I thought it would be fun to look back on my statistics!

As you can see, I used the bikes 321 times, biked ~171 miles, and saved 5 gallons of gas (I think that might be understated as city driving is so not fuel efficient)!  I am pretty happy with those stats.  I have used those bikes SO many times and can't imagine living downtown and not having access to them.  I've used the bikes to get to work, the grocery store, target, church, and happy hour among other destinations.

I've perfected the art of shopping on my bike after learning some lessons along the way - like the day I carried all of this home while biking...

A back pack, purse, envirosack of farmer's market goods, and a bouquet of flowers is TOO much to carry on a bike!!

Suffice it to say it was a wobbly, sweaty ride home and I was tempted to ditch the flowers.

Up until last summer, I hadn't biked for years upon years, so it has been fun to rediscover my love of biking.  I'm still thinking of buying a road bike so I can go on longer rides on the weekends and bike to/from run club (driving to run club is the only time I drive most weeks!) but haven't taken the plunge yet as I have been too busy with marathon training to really think about researching/buying a bike!  I do think I will buy one eventually!

Does your city have a bike sharing program?  If so, have you used it?  It's been so popular in Minneapolis and there has been such a low level of vandalism, they no longer authorize a day user's card for a damage deposit and instead they just get charged for their usage.  I have an annual membership so just pay once a year and plan to continue to renew my membership each year as long as I live downtown!

Nice Ride!

That post title is not in reference to the car I drive.  It's the name of the Minneapolis Commuter Biking Program - which I have fallen in LOVE with!

Bike station located behind my condo!

 For those not familiar with this program, here is how it works.  It's meant for commuters (specifically trips that take less than 30 minutes).  You buy a membership (daily, monthly, or annually) and you then have unlimited access to stations all across Minneapolis!  When you have a month or annual membership, you insert a little key and release a bike and you then can use that bike for 30 minutes, free of charge, as long as you return it to a different station within 30 minutes. 

If you don't return it within 30 minutes, you start to get charged.  It's pretty minimal for the first 1.5 hours, but after that it adds up pretty quick.  But there is no reason to accrue charges as there are bike stations all over the place so it's very simple to find another one!  Also, there is an iPhone ap that shows me the closest stations, tells me how many bikes are available, and tells me how many docking stations are available!

It's genius, really.  I have used this SO much. 

I've biked to get groceries.
I have biked home from work.
I have biked to meet my brother for lunch.
I have biked home from happy hour (sober, of course!).

I hadn't rode a bike in AGES, so it has been fun to rediscover my love of biking.  I told Amber that I feel like a little kid again! 

I purchased an annual membership and my plan is to see how much I use it and then possibly buy a bike next summer.  Maybe.  We will see.  The thing I like about this program is that you don't have to worry about locking your bike or getting it stolen or maintenance.

As soon as I started utilitizing this program, Amber gently prodded me made me get a helmet.  I feel less cute in one, but oh well!  I am riding in traffic, so safely comes first! 

Also, now that I have my membership activated, it will track information such as how far I have gone and how much gas I am saving by biking.  I just got my membership recently, so my stats are low, but I imagine they will be high by the time fall rolls around!  I will probably share my total when the program wraps up in October.   Here are my stats thus far!

Pretty cool, huh? 

This commuting bike moment is sweeping the nation!  I believe it originated in France as I remember Paris has a velib system when I was there in 2008.  I am thrilled that Minneapolis has this program available.  It most definitely cuts down on the amount of driving I do!

Do you like to bike?  Does your city have a program like this?