This guest blog post is brought to you by Erik Carlson.

Ride the City Twin Cities has launched! Yes my two-wheeled friends you have a new way of navigating the best bike city in the good ol' U.S. of A. What's more, Ride the City launched on the summer solstice. Warm weather, more than 15.5 hours of sunlight, and great bike routes... cue hallelujah chorus!

On a recent trip to the Midwest, we had the opportunity to try out Minneapolis’s new bike share program, Nice Ride, and the awesome Midtown Greenway. As out-of-towners, all we needed for a one day subscription was a valid credit card. The bikes were comfortable and easy to ride, with adjustable seats, three gears, fenders, and a front basket complete with a built-in bungee cord. We rode around the city for about two hours and saw at least twelve Nice Ride stations, some just a few blocks away from each other. Had we wanted to use them, all had available docks for our bikes. And after our ride, we had a delicious brunch at the bike-friendly Birchwood Cafe. Yum!

Some other highlights: