October Updates

We’re closing out our pilot year with some great updates! Keep reading for more:

1. Our 2025 Impact
2. In the news: NPR Weekend Edition
3. New Bike Alerts!
4. 2026 Planning – Grant from the Minneapolis Foundation
5. Events and Ways to Support the MCBL

1. Our 2025 Impact

We’ve updated our 2025 report with our final numbers of the year, which include:

• Members: 80
• Orientations offered: 6
• # of bikes: started with 3… now we have TWELVE!
• Miles ridden: 4,100
• Total trips: 675
• Average trip length: 6 miles

We’re super proud of the impact we’ve been able to make in just 6 months, on a VERY limited budget, with a few incredible volunteers!

2. In the news: NPR Weekend Edition

Did you catch a quick clip about us (& our friends at Bunch Bikes) in NPR’s Weekend Edition? Check it out here.

3. New Bike Alerts!

We are SO pleased to share that our bike library received some very generous donations from Wirecutter and Radioflyer, including:

• Radioflyer Via Pro (two bikes: size M & size L)
• Radpower Radwagon 4
• Lectric Xpedition 2.0
• Aventon Abound LR

We’re grateful to all of the bike companies, bike shops, individuals, and reviewers (like Wirecutter) who have chosen to support our library with donations this year. Check out our full list of partners/donors on our main page. If you’re interested in working with us or have ideas for our 2026 program, please reach out!

4. 2026 Planning – Grant from the Minneapolis Foundation

We are SO excited to share that we have been awarded a $50,000 grant from The Minneapolis Foundation to DOUBLE our locations (from 2 to 4) in 2026! We’re still in the planning phases, but if you have ideas for potential partners/locations to host bike hangars with 2-3 bikes each and help with bike check in/out in the North Side Greenzone (Near North, McKinley and Hawthorn neighborhoods) please reach out!

6. Support the MCBL

Thank you to everyone who has supported our program through one-time or recurring donations, purchasing merch, spreading the word to your friends/family/neighbors/elected officials, and by participating as a member and sharing your experiences/ideas/feedback with us.

If you have ideas/suggestions for us or want to join our small volunteer team, please reach out via the contact page on our website! Our newsletters will be less frequent over the winter months, but we’ll still aim to keep you all updated as we make progress in our planning for 2026. Be sure to follow us on Bluesky and/or Instagram, too!