John's Week in the Twin Cities

The Week's Weather & Air

Thu 16

🥵

96°

feels ~100°

Patchy smoke; rain possible 5–7 PM

AIR: RED O'NIGHT ~162

Fri 17

🥵

95°

feels ~99°

Smoke till ~10 AM, then clearing

AIR: SMOKY AM → CLEARING

Sat 18

☀️

~90°

lo 70°

Sunny

AIR: CLEAN EXPECTED

Sun 19

🌤️

91°

lo 74°

Mostly sunny; storms late night

AIR: CLEAN EXPECTED

Mon 20

🌦️

~90°

Early storms possible

AIR: CHECK AIRNOW

Tue 21

✈️

Travel day

Friday morning status (pulled 8 AM): the smoke alert is in its final hours — it ends 11 AM today unless extended, with patchy smoke this morning and cleaner air arriving on southwest wind behind the front. Today's bigger story is heat: Extreme Heat Warning through 9 PM, 95° with a heat index near 99. The ~1 PM ride is a two-check call — AirNow for the air (check at Watt Cycleworks) and honesty about the heat: bottles full, easy pace, shade. The weekend is the payoff: Saturday ~90° and sunny with clean air expected behind the front (one AirNow glance before breakfast confirms), Sunday 91° and mostly sunny with storms possible late Sunday night into early Monday — worth watching for Monday's Stillwater ride. Live maps: AirNow · MPCA AQI.

Today's the last of the rough air and the peak of the heat; the weekend turns sunny, cooler, and clean. Forecast + air quality pulled Friday 7/17, 8 AM, from the National Weather Service and MPCA; latest forecast here.

Today & Ahead

FridayJuly 17Minnehaha evening

⚡

11:00 AM · E-bike test rides at Watt Cycleworks — 4313 E 54th St · SiteMaybe

South Minneapolis e-bike specialist about a mile from home base — sales, service, test rides (Velotric line and more). Opens at 11:00, so first through the door; scouts Monday's Stillwater e-bike rental too

🚴

~1:00 PM · The ride, take two — from Turtle Bread — 4205 E 34th St · Route on KomootMaybe

Thursday's skipped route gets its shot: NWS has the smoke as patchy before ~10 AM then clearing, so a 1:00 start should be on the clean side — confirm on AirNow before rolling. Heat warning runs to 9 PM: ~95° at ride time, bottles full, easy pace

🥘

Dinner idea: Lulu Ethiovegan — South Minneapolis · MenuOption

John's pick to try — fully vegan Ethiopian: veggie combos, lentils, injera

🎨

Minnehaha Falls Art Fair, 3–8 PMNot likely

Probably a pass — but it's there 3–8 if the day leaves room

🎺

Free concert at the Minnehaha Bandstand, 7 PMOption

Pairs with the art fair — one easy outing, all within two miles of home base

SaturdayJuly 18Breakfast club

🍳

Saturday breakfast club, 9:45 AM — Egg and I, 2550 University Ave W, St. Paul · MenuLocked

You're the guest of honor

🏮

Aquatennial Floating Lanterns & Night Market, Bde Maka Ska, 3–10 PMOption

Lanterns on the water at dusk, street food, local makers

🎪

Rondo Days, St. Paul, noon–7 PMOption

One of Minnesota's largest celebrations of the historic Black Rondo neighborhood

🫐

Hopkins Raspberry Festival — Marketplace Fair, 9 AM–4 PMOption

300+ vendors on Mainstreet, Lions Club raspberry sundaes; ~25 min west

🎻

Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, Lake Harriet Bandshell, 7:30 PMOption

Free, on the water — pick one or two of these, not all

SundayJuly 19Quirky & light

🛶

Milk Carton Boat Races, Thomas Beach at Bde Maka Ska, morningOption

Real rideable boats built from milk cartons — peak Minnesota folklore

🗼

Highland Water Tower open house, 9 AM–5 PMOption

151 steps, panoramic views of St. Paul; open to the public only a few days a year

🎉

Hopkins Raspberry Festival — Grande Day Parade, 1 PMOption

92 years of small-town parade on Mainstreet, ~25 min west; pairs fine with the morning boat races

🚴

Or a lazy lake loop and a patioOption

MondayJuly 20The big ride

🚴

Brown's Creek + Gateway Trail from Stillwater (~20 miles)Option

Coolest day of the week; shaded rail-trail along a trout stream and the St. Croix, with downtown Stillwater to poke around after. Want to try an e-bike? Herman's (at Greenbridge Coffee on Main St) rents them right by the trailhead

🎷

Evening: Nova Jazz Orchestra, Lake Harriet Bandshell, 7:30 PM, freeOption

Last night in town — easy close-out

TuesdayJuly 21Departure

🚗

Car back to Cottage Grove — 7400 Iden Ave S, morningTiming TBC

Return's booked for 10:00 AM but the flight's at 10:14 — checking with the host about an early drop (~7:40) + rideshare to MSP

🛫

Fly home: UA 1637 departs MSP 10:14 AMSet

The Trail So Far

ThursdayJuly 16Ross day + St. Paul

Smoke day, played smart. The morning went gilded-age — touring the James J. Hill House on Summit Avenue, from the gold-leaf dining room ceiling to the 1891 plumbing. Lunch with Ross at Turtle Bread at 1:00. With the ride smoked out, the day's miles happened indoors instead: a walk through the Mall of America with Nickelodeon Universe roaring below. Outdoor evening skipped — Friday's front clears the air.

James J. Hill House dining room with gilded ceiling

Hill House period bathroom with clawfoot tub

The Hill House dining room and its 1891 bathroom; then the indoor-walk backup plan, Mall of America edition.

🏛️

James J. Hill House tour — 240 Summit Ave, St. Paul

The railroad baron's gilded-age mansion, AC all the way

🥐

1:00 lunch with Ross Savage — Turtle Bread, Longfellow

🛍️

Walk at the Mall of America — the indoor miles

🚫

Ride + outdoor evening skipped — record smoke (metro ~162 overnight); the route moved to Friday ~1 PM

WednesdayJuly 15Neighborhood day

The ride beat the smoke. Rolled at 9:36 and got the creek-and-gorge loop in before the air went bad: 7.78 miles, 39 minutes riding, 11.9 mph average, 200 feet of climb. By evening the wildfire haze had settled in thick — the river gorge and Lock & Dam No. 1 half-vanished from the Ford Parkway bridge. After the Sencha drop it was an iced tea, a Whole Foods stop for John's dinner, and a night in: catching up on the state of the family, plus a good chat with an old friend, Steve Church. The bandshell went unvisited — the smoke can have that one.

Apple Watch ride stats: 7.78 miles, 39:03 riding

Ford Parkway bridge fading into smoke haze

Bridge lampposts against a smoke-white sky over the gorge

Lock and Dam No. 1 under heavy smoke haze

The morning's numbers, then the evening's air: the Mississippi gorge from the Ford Parkway bridge under the smoke.

🚴

Morning ride, done — Minnehaha Creek → river gorge loop · Route on Komoot

9:36–10:22 AM, ahead of the worst of the haze

💻

Noon client visit — 2422 Clinton Ave

🍵

Andraya to Sencha by 3:00 — car stayed with her; John scooped Joe up out front, iced tea while there

🛒

Whole Foods dinner stop for John

🏠

Night in — family catch-up and a chat with old friend Steve Church; passed on the bandshell

TuesdayJuly 14Arrival day

Day one, done. John's in town, and the night closed out with dinner at Heather's — a good meal in the neighborhood. No pictures tonight; the camera comes out tomorrow.

🛬

Landed at MSP 12:17 PM (UA 5684 via Chicago)

🚗

Picked up the Ford Escape — 7400 Iden Ave S, Cottage Grove

🏠

Settled into the Airbnb — 3323 E 45th St, Minneapolis

Maryam's place, right by Lake Nokomis

🍔

Dinner at Heather's — 5201 Chicago Ave, Minneapolis · Menu

The pick over Sonora Grill — good meal, easy first night

Where We Eat

Vegan-first picksJohn's lane

🌱

J. Selby's — 100% plant-based comfort food, Cathedral Hill, St. Paul · MenuThu plan

Burgers, wraps, tacos; the Twin Cities' essential vegan stop

🥘

Lulu Ethiovegan — fully vegan Ethiopian, South Minneapolis · MenuOption

Veggie combos, lentils, injera — vegan and Ethiopian with no compromise on either

🥪

Herbivorous Butcher — America's first vegan butcher, NE Minneapolis · MenuOption

Deli counter: vegan brats, ribs, cheeses — good grab-and-go before a ride

🥞

Reverie Cafe + Bar — all-vegan brunch, bowls & burgers, 1517 E 35th St · MenuNear home base

Powderhorn, a few minutes away; tofu scramble, cinnamon rolls, full bar

🍔

Francis Burger Joint — 100% plant-based burgers, 3900 E Lake St · MenuNear home base

Longfellow, right on Lake St; vegan Juicy Lucy, taco-seasoned Impossible, black bean

🍲

Trio Plant-Based — vegan soul food, 920 E Lake St · MenuNear home base

Longfellow; cauliflower wings, soul bowls, vegan mac — recently relocated to this spot, worth a quick call ahead

🌮

Mexican fallback, minutes from home base: El Norteño (menu) or Sonora Grill (menu), both in LongfellowAnytime

Orale Mexican Eats is the vegan-Mexican standout if that itch needs both boxes checked

🛒

Groceries: Whole Foods for John's staples; Joe's regulars are Kowalski's and the Mississippi Market co-op (strong vegan deli)

The Map

Tap any pin for the name; addresses in the schedule above open Google Maps navigation.