Hello MN Cargo Bike Library friends,
We’ve got some great updates for you below.
- Program Updates: September Bookings + Winter
- Program Reminders
- Upcoming Events
Program Updates: September Bookings + Winter
Our September bookings are now open to everyone who has completed an orientation (in 2025 or 2026)!
Please note: We now have almost 200 people in our program! To ensure we have enough bikes (and weeks in the year) available for everyone who still hasn’t borrowed a bike and wants to before we close for winter, we will not be hosting any additional orientations in Minneapolis this year. Rochester, however, will have another orientation (for Rochester residents) on Tuesday, August 18th. If you live in Rochester, register here!
The bikes listed below are available this month and are listed within the branches pages, allowing you to more clearly see which bikes live at which branch locations. If you are having any trouble using your account, please reach out so we can help.
Please be sure to closely read over the description of the bike (scroll down on the bike page) you’re looking at to ensure it will fit you (look careful at the height range), your needs and your schedule re: check in/out days. If you want help selecting a bike that might fit your needs, please contact us!
Due to limited funding for winter accessories (studded tires) and the much higher maintenance/repair costs that come with year-round riding, our program will close again over the winter. We don’t have a specific date selected for our closure, but will keep a close eye on the weather and update our site once we go into winter hibernation mode. If you want to borrow a bike in 2026, get one reserved in the next 1-2 months!
Remember – if you go on to purchase your own bike, please reach out to us via email BEFORE you buy! We have discounts available at both Watt Cycleworks and Perennial as well as some bike brands (Bunch, Aventon and another hopefully coming soon!).
Program Reminders
To protect our volunteer capacity to run the program, please do NOT book a bike if you are not able to check it out during the designated check out window. You can see the check in/out times on each branch page: Lyndale, Brackett, Rochester.
We do not have volunteer capacity to offer custom/rescheduled check in/out times, so if you’re not able to be there at that time we will need to cancel your loan and reschedule for another week. Check in/out is rain or shine (as long as there’s not flooding/lightning/severe weather/dangerous AQI). If your schedule changes at any point prior to your loan, you can cancel your booking directly through our website, or email us for help.
As a reminder, all bikes need to be transported by riding them to/from our locations – we do not allow members to transport bikes in a car (for safety and liability reasons), so please plan to walk, take transit, get a ride from a friend, or use bikeshare. OR – if you have a folding bike, most of our bikes can easily transport a folding bike in the cargo area with some straps!
For safety reasons, we do not permit members to install or uninstall accessories on the bikes (like child seats). We can make some limited modifications to install or uninstall kid seats, depending on volunteer & accessory availability, but please choose the bike that is set up to most closely fit your needs (based on the photo/description) and reach out to us at least one day ahead of your loan to see if we can help meet any individual needs you have re: different accessories.
If you want to volunteer or have any questions, ideas, feedback for us please don’t hesitate to email us via the contact form on our site or directly at info@mcbl.bike.
Upcoming Events
We hope to see many of you at the following events.
- August Rochester Orientation: August 18th, 6-7:30pm (register here)
- State Fair Eco Experience Building: August 27-September 7
- Nicollet Open Streets: Saturday, September 26th @ 11am-5pm
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