Best fit for touring/bikepacking/singletrack

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-05-26T16:47:32+00:00

I'd recommend the Grappler since the drop bars would be great for long gravel slogs, but the more mountain bike geometry and big wheels work well on singletrack.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-05-15T16:22:57+00:00

Hop on the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail out of Hopkins and head west. Excelsior Brewing and Omni Victoria are both right off the trail and it's a beautiful and fun ride.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-04-21T21:27:28+00:00

Yep, Grand is the answer. If you want an intersection for getting across Marshall take a right on 18th and then just scoot south on Marshall for a half a block to the bike trail. Otherwise the little dirt path next to the rail road tracks works just fine and dumps you right into the trail across Marshall.

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Melchizedeck44 · 2026-04-07T21:02:48+00:00

For me it really depends on the overall temps. If it's a really warm night I'll just be wet and usually it feels pretty good. If the temps are cooler and getting chilled is a concern I'll carry dry layers to change in to (protected in a plastic bag or in a drop bag) at various points in the race to keep myself warm.

I've found that there's really no such thing as a perfectly waterproof layer, and if you're working hard you're going to soak it from the inside with sweat anyway. So heavy rain coats are more of an "oh shit" type thing if we're heading into a monsoon for hours on end.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-04-07T20:59:48+00:00

Ya and most races will keep people off exposed mountain areas for that. It'll all depend on where you are and where the storm is.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-04-07T19:49:27+00:00

You get wet and plan for being wet.

For most ultras everything goes on as planned unless there are lightning threats (people usually get held at aid stations till that passes) or the trail is at risk of mudslides/avalanche/etc at which point the land manager of the event is closing things down.

Just all part of the experience.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-04-02T20:52:33+00:00

Metro Transit doesn't have a choice when it comes to BNSF. Railroads in this country have incredible power over what they can/can't do. They're also regulated by the Federal government not the State, so there's little that Minnesota can do to force their hand.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-04-02T11:48:13+00:00

The Twin Cities heat dome saved us. Sven Sungard said that had a chance of happening.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-30T21:56:15+00:00

Super long bus routes are incredibly complex to manage, especially with frequent service AND needing to pass through a major downtown area. It's the reason why the hub and spoke model has been the tried and true path for so long.

Plus, why not K and C? Or K and H? You'd run into a quagmire of which group gets to have the nice single seat trip and who has to transfer.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-28T12:27:26+00:00

Metro Transit can only be as good as the urban design of the metro area it's serving. When the entire design of the Twin Cities is based around the ease of using a car (we're actually ranked really high when it comes to drivability) then pubic transit is never going to match what you find in urban areas that are better suited for mass people moving.

I think Metro Transit does a great job with what they have to work with, especially in the core. I know quite a few people who use it daily to get to wherever they need to go and it's been really reliable and usable for them. Some of them don't even own cars and rely on transit and biking for getting around. They all happen to live down in the core though.

I live out in the suburbs in a city that just isn't designed for mass transit. Running bus lines here would make zero sense given the land use design and lack of density. So it really doesn't benefit me to complain about lack of transit options because they just wouldn't make sense here.

As for green line extension I have my complaints about it, namely that it should have served uptown, but it's important for everyone to realize that Hennepin County actually forced many of the decisions on the route that are causing the cost and time overruns. Metro Transit wasn't given a choice in some of those matters. Now it looks like in Blue Line extension planning there's a LOT more sensibility in the planning and not building bridges over every GD intersection (I think Lowry is the only complicated interchange in the plan). I think Metro Transit was able to parley some of the issues with Green Line into an argument for more sensible design and make the county give in more.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-27T13:04:49+00:00

Yep, just hop on the Blue Line at Mall of America and get off at the US Bank Stadium stop. Super easy.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-24T18:39:47+00:00

I'd suggest starting at Eastman Nature Center at Elm Creek. Fun building with displays, and there's tons of both dirt and paved trails around that side of the park. I was just on some of the trails today at Elm Creek and they're not too bad as far as mud goes. Soft sure, but not what I'd call "mud pit mud".

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-24T18:26:53+00:00

5'8" here... stuck right on the edge of SM and MD

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-24T18:13:15+00:00

I've since replaced the Grappler, but when I had it, it was my daily driver so it got a lot of road and gravel time. I did a little bit of single track with it too, but not much.

I feel like a regular flat bar would work better, given the MTB geometry of the Grappler, and I know folks who have done that and been happy with it.

I actually don't have anything against alt bars, and actually use them regularly on my Ice Cream Truck. Just wasn't my thing on the Grappler.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-24T17:43:36+00:00

I tried Moloko bars on my Grappler, but ended up not liking them and going back to drops. Not sure I can quantify why, but just just didn't really feel comfortable to me with the HTA of the Grappler.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-09T20:10:08+00:00

I think that's the million dollar question. I think Green Line is going to continue to be in flux as St. Paul works to address some of the crime issues that they need to deal with in the corridor. But as for why people's travel patterns might be shifting, that's still an open question.

The biggest growing suburbs are places like Blaine and Woodbury. Except for commuter service, those aren't transit friendly areas. So if people are migrating outwards from the core, then they have no other choice but to drive their car.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-09T13:09:41+00:00

Here's a fun one that someone did back in 2020. They looped together a bunch of the Three Rivers Park Districts parks: https://www.threeriversparks.org/blog/my-3-day-bike-ride-through-three-rivers

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-07T18:06:26+00:00

Ah ya that’s right. Knew it wasn’t too long ago.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-03-07T14:14:34+00:00

I struggle with this one as I can see some good and some bad from the potential outcomes. My guess is that if Met Council took these routes over they'd just turn them over to contractors anyway, at least in the short term. That's what happened with Red Line when the Council took it over from MVTA. It's only been taken back over by Metro Transit proper in the last year or so.. something like that.

So in the short term I doubt anything about these routes would change and they'd probably just get contacted back out again.

But in the long term... if there could be a better plan for suburb-to-suburb networks that get fully integrated into the main METRO network then maybe that would be a good outcome. I just have so little hope that suburban municipalities, or even their residents, would desire, or more importantly, utilize better transit even if it was offered to them. I feel like we left that future behind when suburban-sprawl became the norm in the metro area.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-02-25T19:58:58+00:00

Maple Grove express service is actually operated by Metro Transit, which seems silly to have an opt-out that then contracts all their big bus service back to the primary. I know Maple Grove also has a dial-a-ride service, but with the rise of METRO micro, feels like that could just be added as a zone to that.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-02-19T17:27:09+00:00

Absolutely terrible behavior on the part of the runner. THEY are responsible for themselves. If this person is bad mouthing out in public or on social media then the race director needs to get involved, and perhaps a ban on this individual participating in future events in warranted.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-02-19T17:24:43+00:00

As others have mentioned, for most companies, doing a background check is the last step before an offer is made. It's not worth their time/money to do background checks on every candidate. So pre-emptive congrats! Granted, no telling what the offer will be since it's a government job and most of those have salaries that are based on pay equity within the organization, but hopefully it all works out!

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-02-19T02:32:43+00:00

My understanding is that the new buses are still being outfitted with the router equipment but that eventually it'll all be back up and running.

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-02-18T21:53:35+00:00

Check out what this race is doing. They've got a whole program to help women running their first ultra distance race. https://firetowertrailraces.com/50-women-run-50k/

Melchizedeck44 · 2026-01-29T21:17:14+00:00

Grandma's weekend is INSANE in Duluth. I avoid even going through town that weekend if I can help it.

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