Bicycling Posts

Mark’s Great Duluth Alley Rally Urban Mountain Biking Route

Jun 10, 2024 1 Comment

Duluth has become known for it’s mountain biking trails in recent years, and for decades the paved Munger Trail has been a favorite of those with road bikes. But what about the unofficial street routes created just for the sake of being weird? Well, Perfect Duluth Day’s own Mark Nicklawske has established a route through the Endion, Chester Park and Congdon Park area that “climbs and plummets more than 1,300 feet in about 10 miles” according to a review on Medium by Nicklawske’s friend Keith Uhlig of Wausaw.

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Outdoors

Duluth Mail Bag: Tourism Taxes, Bike Lanes and Bonding

Sep 27, 2023 1 Comment

Hobbs Mail BagAs a two-time Duluth city councilor, now in my final year of service, one of my goals is to make city government more accessible, or at least help citizens become more informed. I figure there are many Duluthians who would like some simple answers to some simple questions. I learned in school that if there is something you don’t understand it’s likely there are many others who feel the same way. Hence the idea of the Duluth Mailbag column.

I won’t divulge who is asking the questions, but I’ll answer them in this format about once a month. Feel free to put a question in the comments for next month’s “Duluth Mailbag” or tweet me via @Hobbs_Duluth or email me at hobbsforduluth @ gmail.com.

Also, if you want to have a longer conversation, you can sign up for a 45-minute cup of coffee through my 100 Cups of Coffee project.

Apologies for the delay in this column, I’ve been chasing Springsteen across the country and watching the Twins clinch the AL Central. OK, here we go!

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Politics , ,

Duluth mentioned in Washington Post article on biking

Sep 13, 2022 No Comments

A data analysis article on the Washington Post website touts Key West, Fla., as a city with a high percentage of bike commuters, and a resident draws a comparison to Duluth.

“It’s not Duluth,” said Dane Iseman, longtime Key West resident and co-owner of Island Bicycles. “Unless there’s a hurricane whipping through here, unless there’s coconuts flying sideways around the island, you can ride pretty much anytime.”

Just three months ago, however, a Washington Post article referred to Duluth as a “mountain biking paradise.”


Random

Bike-a-Band Inaugural Ride

Jul 16, 2022 No Comments

Tom Maloney built a rolling stage for a moving concert. Here’s a very brief montage of videos and photos from the inaugural ride of the Bike-a-Band.


Music ,

Washington Post: Duluth a “mountain biking paradise”

Jun 17, 2022 2 Comments


Outdoors

The Slice: Winter Biking

Feb 14, 2022 1 Comment

Jeremiah Peck and Shawna Mullen talk about the simple things needed to get into winter biking.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.


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Minnesota’s Mountain-biking Trail Boom

Sep 25, 2021 1 Comment

Minnesota Public Radio reports that professional builders have constructed more than 100 miles of mountain-biking trails in northeastern Minnesota in the past five years.


News and Current Affairs ,

Spirit Mountain, Mission Creek trail link ready

Jul 26, 2021 1 Comment

A biker crosses the new Sargent Creek bridge on the DWP Trail Connector west of Ely Peak. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)

A critical bridge is open, a tunnel has been repaired and work is nearly complete on a six-mile scenic trail that uses a former rail line to connect two large recreation sites on the west side of Duluth.

The city’s Parks and Recreation Division is in the final stages of improvements to the Duluth Winnipeg & Pacific Trail Connector which provides a direct link between the Mission Creek trail system in the Frederick Rodney Paine Forest Preserve and Spirit Mountain. A ribbon cutting on the $600,000 trail project is expected later this summer.

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News and Current Affairs , , ,

Duluthians consulted as national resources for bicyclists

Oct 30, 2020 No Comments

Avesa Rockwell and Jeremy Kershaw have been consulted as experts on bicycling in Shape Magazine. Kershaw and Rockwell lead Heck of the North, a company that plans events for adventuresome bicyclists, such as Le Grand du Nord, Heck Bikepacking Race and Heck of the North.

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Outdoors ,

Redhead Mountain Bike Park Overview

Aug 25, 2020 No Comments

Red Head Mountain Bike Park opened this summer on former Iron Range mineland near the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm.

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The Slice: Red Head Mountain Bike Park

Jul 27, 2020 No Comments

The Slice follows the recreation group Mesabi Outdoor Adventures as members try out the new Red Head Mountain Bike Park, built on former Iron Range mineland near the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, about 60 miles northwest of Duluth.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.


Outdoors, Videos , , ,

Duluth Cross City Trail 2020 Update: Segment 2 nearly complete

Jul 22, 2020 4 Comments

The River Route segment of Duluth’s Cross City Trail has been under construction this summer in West Duluth. It should be paved and ready for bicyclists in a matter of weeks.

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News and Current Affairs, Outdoors , ,

Duluth You & Me: Willard Munger State Trail

Jul 13, 2020 No Comments

This edition of Duluth You & Me needs an historical footnote. The Willard Munger State Trail is referred to in this 1993 illustration as a 14-mile trail. It now spans 70 miles to Hinckley.

Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Willard Munger State Trail

Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.


Art , ,

Duluth Adventures: An Encyclopedia of Human-powered Multisport Adventures

Jan 15, 2020 No Comments

I’ve been a bit obsessed with planning human-powered multisport adventures in Northeastern Minnesota. Even within Duluth city limits, the options for loops are nearly endless. I was curious if anyone else out there had done similar trips in the past. Then I thought about how cool it would be to have a documentation of many routes for others to explore, want to replicate, or spur their creativity for a new route/loop. And Duluth Adventures was born!

Check out duluthadventures.com. This website pretty much hinges on other people’s submissions so I strongly encourage anyone to navigate to the “submit” button and send in their own routes.


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Alexandera Houchin: Where the Water Ends

Nov 19, 2019 No Comments

Cloquet native Alexandera Houchin is best known as the 2018 and 2019 women’s Tour Divide winner. The annual self-supported bicycle race follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which crisscrosses the Continental Divide from Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, N.M.

In this video, produced by the University of Minnesota Duluth, Houchin tells her story of growing up never seeing a Native American dentist or doctor, and deciding to counter that with plans to practice dentistry on her reservation.


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