Humanists Unforgettable Bike Ride Into Stillwater (HUBRIS V)

It’s a “threefer:” You get outdoors, you get exercise, and you get social, all in one enjoyable package. Continuing this popular event which ran for four years before last year’s Covid-inspired hiatus, HUBRIS V will again have humanists and their friends travel the Gateway and Brown’s Creek bike trails from the St. Paul suburbs to the Stillwater riverside. These are dedicated bike trails, well maintained, with no hazards or serious climbs, perfect for modestly skilled and even somewhat out-of-shape bikers. So spend some time biking with friends during what we hope will be a beautiful summer Saturday in Minnesota. A map of the Gateway State Trail can be found here: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_trails/gateway.pdf
The Brown’s Creek Trail breaks off at the Duluth Junction and goes 5.8 miles down to the St. Croix waterfront in Stillwater.

Since the parking lot for the Arlington Avenue entrance to the Gateway Trail has been closed–I’d guess because of repeated vandalism of parked cars–we can’t use the optional St. Paul starting point that gave some of us an extra half-hour of biking, each way, in the past. So we will all start from the 55th Street Lot. This is located just off Highway 36 a mile or so before it passes under I-694. (I haven’t used this lot since the Hadley Street overpass was constructed, but it looks like you have to exit south on Hadley and then fairly quickly go left on 55th Street. I’ll check it out and update these directions, if necessary, before our event). The 55th Street access point for the Gateway Trail provides a substantial parking lot and on-street parking for the many bikers who access the trail at this junction. We’ll congregate at the eastern end of the access area at about 11 AM, biking 11 miles into Stillwater. Participants can vary their paces and companions as we follow the trail. There’s an opportunity to recongregate at the Duluth Junction rest stop before we start the final, mostly downhill, 5.8 miles of the Brown’s Creek Trail that takes us into Stillwater.

Once there things get pretty flexible. We’ll eat lunch at Pappy’s, a moderately priced, American-bar-food-type restaurant that is on the waterfront just past the trailhead. Seating is outdoors so masking will not be a problem. Or you can venture into downtown Stillwater and check out other eateries, on the waterfront or off. Those of us who are up for more biking can do “The Loop” (approximately five miles), using the Stillwater lift bridge and the new high bridge a couple miles downstream to get over the river into Wisconsin and back. Those who wish to pass on this foray into the land of Cheeseheads can start back on the return trip, when they want and with whom they want, the first several miles of which are a moderate uphill grade. It will probably take an hour or slightly more to get back to the 55th Street lot.

If the weather looks really nasty on the 5th, we’ll reschedule the event for a Saturday in July. Otherwise, come join us for several hours of “easy riding” on these scenic, tree-shaded bike trails!

This event is sponsored by HumanistsMN. If you are not already a member, please consider joining to help us cover our costs and build the humanist movement. Sign up at humanistsmn.org.

https://www.meetup.com/humanism-166/events/278246255/