The part that highlights it most for me is Minneapolis’ infrastructure. The fact that even in downtown, you have separated and protected bike lanes is huge — especially if you're someone newish to biking.

Plus, when you visit some other places, there's not even a sidewalk to walk on, let alone biking infrastructure, to feel like you’re allowed to bike. Even if there's not a separate bike lane in Minnesota, you still feel welcome on the road.

Anytime you see construction, it's cool because, after the construction is done, there's usually some sort of bicycle infrastructure added. It’s usually a protected bike lane, which, my God, that's so cool to see.  

It's helpful because not everyone can afford a car or not everyone wants to. You can actually get around anywhere on a bike between bike lanes, safe streets, and protected lanes. You can do anything you want within a good radius around Minneapolis and St. Paul, which you can't do in many other places.

The Grand Rounds in Minneapolis. You see a bit of everything. You explore some of downtown, some of the lakes, some of north, some near St. Paul, a bit on the west side. If someone has only one day to bike anywhere in the state, I tell them Grand Rounds.

The West River Parkway is part of the Grand Rounds and I use that often for training rides. The trail is off the road, but if you're going fast, you can be on the road with low traffic. You can ride to Minnehaha Falls and to Stone Arch Bridge, both are beautiful destinations in the Twin Cities. 

The Luce Line State Trail because it’s one you can get to really easily from downtown Minneapolis. It’s also a mix of paved, crushed limestone, and, then if you get really far out, it's this grassy madness out there, which is fun. The trail itself is easy, sheltered off the road, and even the gravel is not super chunky, so you can take a road bike on it.

The paved part of the trail is also good for families, seeing as it’s just woods on both sides. There's this little farm you can see with goats and other animals. My wife and I like to stop there, eat a little picnic, and then ride back. 

Please, I’m not trying to piss anyone off, but, accessibility-wise, REI has a bike shop. Although it's tied to a major company, it’s a local bike shop. I’ve been there often with bikes that I have broke down.

Behind Bars Bicycle Shop is one that's small, local and they put on rides, which is cool. Angry Catfish also does a great job of making community for people. They have multiple regular weekly rides almost all year round, so when new people come to the city, I point them to Angry Catfish for group rides.

Between those three and Erik’s, you won't need to buy anything online.

I enjoy end of summer to early fall. I recently realized I like to ride in the mornings — wake up and be out the door by 6:00-ish and go ride. In the summer, you can ride later as well, just because the sun is out longer. It’s not too hot and the intense bugs are usually done and dusted by then.

Fall is a fun time when mountain biking picks up. It's a lot less wet and the dirt is more firm, so you can mountain bike more places. Gravel riding is less muddy, so fall is perfect for that, too. It's a good mix of temperatures, sunlight and not too much water. 

If you're biking in summer and going up north, horse flies and mosquitoes are horrible. Wear long sleeves and keep moving (if you can) to evade them.

If you're commuting to work, I would invest in a nice packable rain jacket. If you're just out on a ride, my philosophy is you're going to sweat and get wet, anyway, so just embrace it.

In fall and winter, layers are your best friend. Skip the giant parka, so you can shed layers as you start to build up heat. If that heat is trapped in a giant parka, you only have two modes — super hot or super cold. In the winter, I’ve found that ski goggles help a lot. I see many people wearing balaclavas, but there’s something about covering your eyes fully that helps add so much warmth when you're biking and moving faster.

I get asked if people should buy a special bike, and although bikes do make a little bit of a difference, the biggest difference is the person themselves. It's helpful to have shocks for mountain biking, but whatever bike you have (or can get) will work on the gravel around the Twin Cities.

Go with someone who's more experienced than you are. They’ll know where to get food, water, and sleep if you're doing a longer trip. But I always suggest people new to biking work up to a multi-day trip. If you can get a ride in daily, you’ll build up your confidence and feel more comfortable on your bike.

Minnesota DNR has a ton of great info on what trails are available, where they start and stop, and what's available on the trails or nearby in towns.

People on social can take the worry out of biking. I didn't think I was really a source of information and inspiration for people to ride, but people have sent me messages that my videos have helped them feel less intimidated because they just see me doing it. I didn't think that would happen, but I’m happy people can watch my videos and decide where to go. Every once in a while, I’ll throw out a group ride invite on Instagram, and that’s this easy way for people to experience biking in a group of people who know what they're doing.