Winter on Minnehaha Creek

It's been two years since I was able to ride Minnehaha Creek. The first story/trip report I wrote on this blog was of the ride on the creek. For those who don't know Minnehaha creek, it's an urban creek originating  from Lake Minnetonka at Gray's Bay, west of the twin cities. It's approximately 22 miles in length traversing the twin cities metro area suburbs and ritzy neighborhoods. Near the end it topples over a large water fall before emptying into the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Last year the creek was either not good, or safe enough to ride, or I just missed it. Fast forward another year and it was prime for riding. The water levels were really low with very little flow and not much open water. Very different from this past spring when it was above flood stage for several weeks and I could not stay away from it with my kayak.  here

Steve smashing ice off rims with a rock

This is one of the deeper sections of slush/water , also the spot I lost my hat

That's my new hat

good shot of my new super cool FAT-BIKE .COM sticker

     Steve would accompany me for the ride that proved to be one of the better rides I've had for the season. We started in a neighborhood near the falls and headed upstream. The temps were around 5 deg f and light snow was falling. Perfect!  Initially I thought we would only be out a couple hours. A couple hours turned into 5, as we attempted to ride all the way to Gray's Bay. We would not be able to make it in the time allotted, I had to be home by 5 to pick up the kiddos from day care. Six miles short, we ended up with a excellent ride of 31 miles nearly all on the creek. Most of it was frozen solid but several sections had water flowing over the top of the ice, one of which I dropped my hat into and had to purchase a new, dry one, at a nearby gear shop.  The water froze instantly to the bikes which made for more of an adventurous ride and an extra ten pounds to deal with. I'll be heading back soon to take advantage of the conditions be fore it gets too warm.