The Royce Files

Raleigh M-200 I've a little bike commuting in the Twin Cities. The vast metro area has plenty of bike lanes and routes connecting the inner core. Not so much the on the outer ring suburbs. Sure you can get around them but trying to go from one municipality to another is a trying activity because the way the highways cut everything up. However from the West and SouthWest burbs one might connect with the Cedar Lake Trail into downtown Minneapolis. Nothing that vast exists on the Eastside of the Twin Cities except perhaps the Gateway Trail and a route along Pt Douglas to Battle Creek that then follows the river. But this post is not about routes. It is about danger and specifically this article from the Star Tribune: Bicyclist survives Molotov cocktail on Minneapolis’ Midtown Greenway . The guy was biking through the Greenway in Minneapolis during the day and faced certain explosiveness from a bomb! Crazy! He goes on to say he has encountered othe...

How easily we forget the tentacles of winter in this region. Last year's early spring put a spell on us. Made us think that we're not that cold.We're pleasant once February rolls past. Not this year. The snow is still on the ground as April arrived. Its disappearing act has been hampered by the cooler temps that haunt our nights. It is that transitional season without a name. Sun, ice, and breeze. For us ice bikers it is also the season of re-freeze. In the morn, vast sheets of ice on our paths. In the evening, a malignant transitory lake to throttle through. I have 2 of them on my route. ice culprit The one above knock me off my ride. It was a slippery one with no way to practically avoid it. I tried the side and it got me good. I had changed my ride for the week. The old winter bike is not in good shape. It's pedal crank arm is falling off again. The rear gears are not working because the derailleur wire is broken. I gerryrigged it into a single speed and tha...

I was scouring through my photos and found an image of a refurbished green Schwinn Suburban . It is a 10 speed. Looks like a Brooks saddle and original bag. I believe it is a pre-1974 model. Back at my parent's home we have a 5 speed yellow Schwinn Collegiate Tourist which I got back into working order many years ago. The most recent bike craze has brought back a lot these to the streets again.   Schwinn Suburban  Below are 2 golden bikes that are part of the University of Minnesota Morris' bike share program. One is a non-descript store brand mountain bike and the other could perhaps be a late model Raleigh Sport. I notice what looks like a Sturmy Archer on the rear. But look at that Brooks saddle! I cannot believe it. Back in the day there was a guy- we'll call him Mark- who one day pulled up with a trailer of multiple types of yellow painted bicycles to the University of Minnesota at Morr...