Showing posts with label Carlton Bike Rental. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carlton Bike Rental. Show all posts

Saturday, June 5, 2021

The Munger Mission: Another Excuse for Bikers to Get Out and Explore the Munger Trail

“Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to work out in a gym.”—Bill Nye

One of the items in Duluth's 2035 planning for the future of the city is making more bike lanes so that it's easier and safer for bikers to get around town. Tuesday, while I was in town doing errand, I saw that there has been a lot of reconfiguration taking place on Superior Street. Bike lanes are being added and newly painted lines for parking cars more efficiently have been added. 

All about the city there are hiking and biking trails. On any given day you can see biking and hiking along the Lakewalk, with extensive trails all the the up the waterfront. On the Western end of town these bike trails stretch South to the cities of Carlton, Moose Lake and even Hinckley. That portion is called The Munger Trail. 

THE MUNGER MISSION
This year, Joelene Steffens of Carlton Bike Rental & Repair has created special event to encourage people to experience the rewards of biking Minnesota's Willard Munger Bike Trail. It's been dubbed The Munger Mission.

The concept is fairly straightforward. Purchase a starter kit, which has maps, mission instructions and goals. Your primary objective will be to take photos of yourself with your bike in front of the three bike shop locations in Moose Lake, Carlton and Hinckley and share them on one of your social media platforms or website. Upon completion you'll receive a Munger Mission Accomplished T-shirt and become eligible for bigger prizes.

EdNote: Although the business is a bike rental shop, you do not have to rent a bike from CBR&R to participate in the mission.

Photo by Chris Henry on Unsplash
On May 18 the Duluth News Tribune featured a story titled "Munger Mission" aims to get riders out on the trail. The story by Jamey Malcomb begins, "Bicycle shop owner hopes to encourage people from around the state to use the Munger Trail and patronize the businesses along its route."

If you live anywhere between Hinckley and Duluth it is easy-peasy to get to one of the three CBR&R locations as a starting point. The Carlton location was initiated in 2011 with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included the late Congressman Oberstar. Congressman Oberstar was a noteworthy supporter and advocate for trails and biking.

I've not personally biked the trail from Carlton south, but I can tell you from experience that the trail running along Jay Cooke State Park is beautiful any time of year, spring, summer, fall and winter. Biking in winter is somewhat hazardous however. The Munger Mission began June 1. You can start any time and have until the end of September to completer your tasks.

* * * 

You can sign up online or, if you prefer, at one of their stores. Addresses for the store locations can be found on the CBR&R home page at carltonbikerental.com.

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Throwback Thursday: The Slow City Movement

"Slow down, you're moving too fast..."
~Simon & Garfunkel, Feelin' Groovy 

In February our friend Mario from Italy sent me a link to a blog entry about the Slow City movement. I finally slowed down enough to look into it. And it's pretty interesting.

Actually, the Slow City movement is an attempt to get whole cities to participate in the Slow Movement. You may be familiar with some of the siblings in this family of attitudes: Slow Travel, Slow Food, Slow Books, Slow Living. 
 
Personally there is a lot of attraction to these attitudes. I know that when Susie and I travel, we like Slow Travel. Art galleries, museums, nice restaurants all take time, and that's what a vacation is in our book. My brother and his wife take the reverse course, Power Vacation where they seem dedicated to taking in as many experiences as possible. "While we're here we might as well cram in the Bahrumba Cliff Hike and do the Bungees over on the next peak." More power to 'em.

I like reading, but slow reading is certainly the best way to savor a page of quality prose. It's like fine wine versus Ripple. People drinking Ripple aren't doing it for the flavor, it's about how fast you can get slammed. The same with reading. It should not be about how many books you can read in a year so you can win a contest. Reading for pleasure includes pauses to roll images and ideas around in the mind, to chew and digest... and like a cow chewing its cud, resume chewing.

According to the Slow City Manifesto, no city larger than 50,000 can be part of this movement. Minneapolis is out. Philadelphia is out. Even our little corner of the world, Duluth, is out. This doesn't mean we can't individually pursue Slow Living.
 
The trademark or emblem of the movement is an orange snail with a crown made of modern buildings. That could be interesting. (I once wrote an article that began with the opening line, "Which is slower, a snail, a glacier, or a piece of legislation through congress?")
 
Life at a snail's pace might be a good thing, though right now I'm kinda busy and don't have a lot of time to think about it. 

For sure when we slow down we experience our surroundings more. The marshlands, the trees, the fields and outcroppings of rock in our rural areas make a far greater impact when you walk through them than when you fly past them on the highway. Last Sunday for Mother's Day we went to Carlton Bike Rental and took a lazy ride up the trail to Jay Cooke State Park. There are 63 miles of bike trail starting from this location, and I've been told they will be connecting yet more trail to it from the headwaters of the Mississippi, so it's easy to see why they're staking a claim that Minnesota Starts Here.

In the meantime, enjoy your day. Don't forget to take a moment now and then to stop and smell the roses.

* * * 
THIS BLOG ENTRY was posted on this date 11 years ago. Today, Carlton Bike Rental, cited above, now has three locations: Carlton, Moose Lake & Hinckley. This year they are hosting an event to help get bikers out on longer stretches of the Munger Bike Trail. The event is called the Munger Mission. Visit CarltonBikeRental.com for more information about the Mission and the incentives to hit the trail. 
Special Note: May is National Bike Month. 

Friday, July 24, 2020

Flashback Friday: Carlton Bike Rental Prepares for Ribbon Cutting with Congressman Oberstar

10 Years Ago Today

One of my early peach freelance writing assignments was in 1988, two years after moving to Duluth here in the Northland. I received a call from the Twin Cities asking if I'd be interested in interviewing the two candidates vying for Congress from the 8th District. The 5,000 word piece would appear in a magazine called People & Politics that aimed at serving as a voter's guide.

That was my first meeting with Congressman Jim Oberstar, son of an iron ore miner raised in Chisholm, a few miles from the largest strip mine in the world. At the time, "Jim" had been representing the district for seven terms. I concluded my article by stating that he would remain in Congress for as long as he wanted to, and now that he is in his eighteenth term it would appear that my prescience was well founded.

This weekend is Carlton Daze and Congressman Oberstar has scheduled a visit to this year's festival. One stop this morning will be Carlton Bike Rental & Repair, a new business in town situated at the hub of three major biking trails. In addition to the bike rental business, founder Joelene Steffens has a bit of a passion for the arts, operating a framing business called Art Dimensions. Many of my own paintings have been framed by Joelene, with wonderful results. Some of them can be seen on the walls of Carlton Bike Rental, along with photography and works by other local artists.

Joelene is also a nostalgia buff, and seeing as Carlton is located along the railroad tracks and has a history for being home to hobo camps during the Great Depression, she has called her composite businesses Hobo Junction, now replete with gazebo and an invitation to the public to make themselves at home here.

In 1988 Congressman Oberstar said to me, "My father told me when I graduated from high school, 'You have two choices. You can work in the mines, or go to college to create for yourself a better life... And it better be one that helps other people.'" With this advice tucked away in his heart young Jim did indeed choose college, attending St. Thomas in the Twin Cities. But his life aim at the time was not a career in politics. He said he first wanted to be a missionary, and if remember correctly he went to Haiti for a short time after graduation. But his ultimate life direction was altered, he said, quoting Robert Louis Stevenson who said, "The greatest adventures in life are those we do not go forth to seek."

Being a pro-life Democrat has made him something of an anomaly within his political party, but as a child of the Iron Range his pro-labor values make him a candidate hard to unseat up here with its working class roots. His years of service in Congress have resulted in the quiet accumulation of influence, especially as chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, a role that enables him to keep a close watch on legislation that affects Great Lakes shipping and the steel industry.

But he also serves on a number of other committees, and one of them is the Bike Caucus, which is undoubtedly the reason he is heading to Carlton today.  

He also likes reading and in 1988 when I asked who his favorite authors were, he said C.S. Lewis and Henri Nouwen. If I get a chance I'll try to ask him again today who his favorite authors are.

* * * *
July 24, 2020
EdNote: The late Congressman Oberstar passed away in May 2014.

Life is Like Riding a Bicycle was the theme of our Toastmasters meeting last  night. Do you remember your first bike? Did your bike have training wheels? What color was it? Feel free to tell me about it in the comments.
Learn more about Carlton Bike Rental & Repair at CarltonBikeRental.com

Friday, July 17, 2020

Need to Get Away? Rent a Bike at Carlton Bike Rental & Repair

There are a number of fine Fine Artists in the
Cloquet/Carlton region. This is a painting
by Adam Swanson.
When Minnesota shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a limited number of businesses that Governor Walz permitted to remain open and considered essential. One of these was bike shops.

Minnesota has a beautiful network of biking trails, more than 4000 miles worth. If you’re tired of being cooped up, biking is a great way to get out and get re-invigorated. If you need to hit the trail this weekend, or any other time, I recommend Carlton Bike Rental on the main drag in Carlton.

A 2010 feature story in Business North shared how the intersection of Munger and St. Louis River recreational trails helped bring business to Carlton. "You can't believe the bike traffic we have. The trails have been very good to us," said Denny Randelin, president of the Carlton Area Development Corp.

The article by editor/publisher Ron Brochu gave a nice glimpse into the local community there. Joelene Steffens, who established Carlton Bike Rental and Repair here at this hub, noted that biking is not only a very healthy activity, it is also green. Tourists passing through are possibly the community's biggest untapped asset.

The town is ideally situated in a beautifully remote setting that is moments away from Jay Cooke State Park, accessible by bike or by hike. And it’s not uncommon for families camping in the park to noodle their way into Carlton to see what's where, only to discover there's more here than first meets the eye, including the Magnolia Salon, Oldenburg House, Hobo Junction, Disc Golf and more.

* * * *
Some photos and a couple quotes to send you on your way.
Not taken this year (no one is wearing masks and they are not
social distancing. But they ARE heading out to the trail to have fun.
If you play disc golf, they can get you equipped.
*
*
Let's close with a couple quotes.

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and can coast down them.... Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motorcar only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle."
--Ernest Hemingway

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."
--Albert Einstein

I like their slogan: Minnesota Starts Here

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Trunk & Tent Show Coming to Carlton April 21 (and Other Reminders)

Biking is a subject that has really grown in recent years. You can tell what's hot by how many new posts there are on a theme in Google Alerts. This mornings "alerts" for biking include a mountain biker who will be talking about safety after having broken all four limbs in a biking accident, street bike rentals in Miami, bike tours in Philadelphia, a road accident that killed India's leading woman biker, and the Second Annual Light the Fire Biking Fest in Cape Town, South Africa.

If biking is in your blood, or even it is just beginning to become something more inviting to you, then you might be interested in the The Carlton Trunk & Tent Show coming next week on April 21, sponsored by Carlton Bike Rental & Repair.

I remember the late Jim Oberstar's ribbon-cutting when Carlton Bike Rental (CBR) first opened. Hard to believe that was already six years ago.

Carlton is an ideal kickoff point for Minnesota's famous bike trail network. For this reason there will also be reps from Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores (COGGS), a chapter of the International Mountain Bicycling Association. Yes, this region not only has paved trails for family outings but an astonishing network of mountain biking trails for serious adventurers.

The Trunk & Tent Show is more than a biking occasion though. There will be representatives from Swiftwater Adventures, local pros with 50 years of experience guiding whitewater rafting and kayaking here on the St. Louis River as well as reps from the 50-mile Minnesota Voyageur Ultra Marathon and the Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon Race giving away free passes. Jay Cooke Park manager Lisa Angelos will be on hand to answer questions about the park and The Streetcar will contribute by grilling eats and offering libations via a cash bar.

* * * *
Other Upcoming Local Happenings

Tonight is the opening reception for Team Spirit and Hat Trick at the Depot (Duluth Art Institute galleries upstairs.) This is another excellent show. (I got a sneak preview Sunday.)

The Minnesota Arts Board is conducting two meetings tomorrow from noon till mid-afternoon. The first is about funding for arts programs in Minnesota with an overview of all grant programs. This will be highly informative with a Q&A period after the presentation. The second will address funding for art in public spaces. Both meetings will be at the DAI at their Depot location. Details here on Facebook.

The current exhibit at Karpeles Manuscript Museum has been Full Steam Ahead, a clever title for the rare manuscripts and documents pertaining to Robert Fulton's development of the steamboat. This Sunday Karpeles is having a special kickoff to the upcoming Huskeys baseball season titled Spring Fever Reliever. It's a family event for local baseball fans... or rather, fans of our local baseball heroes.

And since we're talking about Karpeles here, May is going to be one of the most exciting months on record for local Dylan fans as the Duluth Dylan Fest team has pulled out all the stops. One of the new events will be taking place at Karpeles, title Einstein Disguised As Robin Hood, it will feature rare documents from the William Pagel Collection. For details on all the upcoming Duluth Dylan Fest events, follow on Facebook here.

Meantime, I gotta get ready for the new day. Have a great weekend.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Miscellaneous Saturday Morning Catch-All

Today is the 3rd day of August and the 215th day of the year. It was a moonless sky and black as pitch last night when I turned in after spending a couple hours in my studio. Did some work on three or four different pieces, but was primarily trying to make decisions about what to submit for consideration in September's PRØVE Gallery show titled Transplants.

The show caught my attention because I myself am a transplant. Born in Cleveland, grew up in New Jersey, college in Athens, Ohio. Lived in Puerto Rico and Mexico, and the Twin Cities for getting dropped onto Lake Superior's doorstep. The idea of submitting a set of images reflecting these various life stages appealed to me.

But then I thought of other kinds of transplants and it will be an interesting show. Plants and tress get transplanted. And body parts, too. Heart, lung and liver transplants are miracles of modern medicine.

I can imagine someone submitting a group of flower paintings themed "Bloom where you're planted."  If you're an artist, the call for art has gone out with a deadline for submissions being August 28. For submission guidelines, email Nick at provegallery dot com and include the word Transplants in your subject line.

NOTE: If you read the guidelines you will see that the actual show is geared toward artists who have "moved to Duluth for any reason. We are in a time of change in many ways, and would like to showcase this with an exhibition highlighting the rich variety that all of this intermixing can achieve." In other words, it's not about heart transplants, though if you have geographically been transplanted here let's hope your heart came with you.

Next weekend there are a number of art openings to get scribbled onto your calendars. Friday night is the usual Second Friday Art Crawl with openings at Washington Gallery (Hootenanny, featuring Chris Dunn and Emma Rustan), PROVE (Papyri group show), and Ochre Ghost (Colin Marx). Minnesota Wine Beginnings and Double Dutch down below may also have something special planned. Then on Saturday evening there will be an opening for the Northern Printmakers Alliance Group Show titled PANORAMA. It's an afternoon opening, from 2 - 6 pm at the Northern Prints Gallery, 318 North 14th Avenue East here in Duluth.

For what it's worth today's a sunny, gorgeous day here in the Northland and if you don't have plans, it might be a nice day to go biking. If you like mountain biking, we've got all kinds of trails here. In fact, I think Duluth has more parks and trails per capita than any city in the world. (I just made that statistic up but it rolled of the fingertips pretty easily and might even be half true.) For leisurely biking there has been a continued investment in bike trails here in Minnesota. If you don't own bikes personally, you can drop down to Carlton Bike Rental and rent one of theirs. They recently had a hundred young people fly in from Chile to go biking here and it was quite the adventure. (Disclaimer: I have some of my art there including the piece here on the left, Riding Like the Wind, which I completed two weekends ago.)

One more item, in the event your day isn't already jammed, Anne Labovitz will be giving an art talk this afternoon from 1-2 p.m. at the Tweed Museum. Her exhibition there this summer has been fabulous. If you're near the U and want a mid-day Art-boost, go for it. I love the Tweed's slogan: Driven to Discover. Anne's work is worth discovering if you have not already done so.

And finally, last but not least, N&L Publishing will likely be releasing the eBook Intergalactica this coming week if we can pull it off. The sci-fi fantasy art project which we've been shaping for more than half a year will at last be ready. It will be FREE for All, so download a copy and share it when it becomes available, hopefully by next Friday. (The Link will be posted.)

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Make the most of it.

 

Saturday, July 2, 2011

The Carlton Disc Golf Sanctuary


Today's my brother Ron's birthday. We just spoke a few moments ago, I to send a greeting and he to share what he's up to today. At least one segment of his day will involve golfing.

I myself enjoy a good round of golf. But something I have never done, and look forward to, is playing a round of disco golf.

I've heard of disc golf, aka frisbee golf, but until last year never really knew where I could play. Last weekend I finally checked out the Carlton Disc Golf Sanctuary, and guess what? This is one very sophisticated disc golf course.

The underutilized facility was quite impressive. John Oberg and his son Jade, pictured here, were doing the course and both were surprised at the high standards. Well laid out, very well marked, and simply satisfying.

At the top of the page is a map of the course. Much of it runs through a forest, with narrow chutes through which one aims their discs. A portion of the course is on a broad expanse of open field, and the overall effect is gratifying.

For what it's worth, there are two upcoming events that local disc golfer should mark on their calendars. The first is during Carlton Daze. On Sunday morning July 31 at 10:00 a.m. there will be a competition event, with entrants divided by age group. The younger, from 0-15 (we doubt there will be many zero-year-olds) and the older group 16 and up. There's a $6.oo entry fee with many fine prizes, plus an optional one dollar Ace Pot.

On August 20th there is another competition for serious disc golfers. The grand prize is a tournament bag with 8 discs and other prizes. The $25 entry fee will get you two discs and a key chain. There's a limited registration, so you may wish to inquire early at Carlton Bike Rental, across the parking lot from the VFW.

For casual disc golfers, Carlton Bike Rental has all the discs you need, either to rent or purchase. They also have ice cream and other cold treats to help you chill when you have finished a hot run in the sun.

You owe it to yourself to check it out. I'm certainly looking forward to giving it a shot. It's summertime.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Ribbon Cutting

Yesterday's ribbon cutting ceremony in Carlton went off without a hitch. For pictures, and excerpts from Congressman Oberstar's remarks about biking, visit the Carlton Bike Rental blog.


In the meantime... have a great day.

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