Mpls cyclists pedal 2200 miles to Oregon

Four Minneapolis cyclists pedaled all the way to Portland, OR this summer and returned with a bevy of ideas to make Minneapolis a more bike-friendly city.

Nate White, Jake Quarstad, Michael Wethington, and Tommy Schlaefer rode 2200 miles in more than 30 days.

"We went through hail, rain, sleet and snow. Every five minutes it changed," said Schlaefer about passing through Yellowstone.

The four have a website that documents their journey. You can find it here.

The four are current and former students at Augsburg College. They used a $12,000 grant from Augsburg to fund their trip.

They biked to Portland, because they wanted to bike in Portland, considered to be the best biking city in the country.

Minneapolis has been ranked as high as number two. But these young men say it can do better.

"We have all these beautiful trails. But how many road paths do we have that are truly safe?" asked Quarstad.

The four are working to get more and safer bike lanes on main Minneapolis roads. They also want to bridge the gap between motorists and cyclists.

"You either bike or you don't and the two groups don't mix," said White.

And, they would like to see more people park their cars.

"The majority of pollution in your vehicle happens in the first two miles of driving. And those are the simplest bike rides to take," said Quarstad.

While Portland may be a bike rider's paradise, the four say there's a lot to be proud of in Minneapolis.

"Portland has more street lanes, Minneapolis has more trail lanes," Quarstad said.

And there's one way in which Portland will never surpass Minneapolis.

"They are completely in awe of our winter cyclists," said Quarstad.

The city of Minneapolis plans to double its 40 miles of on-street bike lanes by the end of next year.

In May, the city will also debut a new bike sharing program, which allows people to pay to rent bikes from 75 locations around the city.

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