Thursday, March 15, 2012

Welcome to the TNR!

This is the official blog for the unofficial Tuesday Night Ride, or TNR.  Weekly scooter ride in the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This year we're leaving from the parking area near the World War I Memorial Monument in Saint Paul.  It's at the west end of Summit Avenue where it intersects with the River Road.

We meet after 6:30 and ride at 7:00pm.  If it's raining a little bit, we might still right.  If it's raining a lot, it's likely someone will want to goad you into riding anyway.  And if it's snowing, we might discuss it, but won't ride.  Be prepared to ride for an hour or more, and have a scooter that is capable of highway speeds.  We don't usually go on highways, but a 50 cc scoot just won't keep up with the pack.

It's a weekly ride, so if you miss a week you can show up the next week.  Once a month, once a season, it doesn't matter to us.  We just like to ride.

The ride is usually led every week, but some weeks you'll all show up and have to come up with your own route.  The "standard" Saint Paul route is known by many, and you can take that.  Or you can just wander.

We typically end somewhere for refreshments after the ride, and it could be anything from ice cream to a sit-down restaurant.  Alcohol is not guaranteed, but it's possible, so keep that in mind if you're thinking of bringing someone underage.

Helmets are not legally required for motorscooters, but on the TNR, they might as well be.  We're not comfortable with riding with folks who don't respect the dangers of riding, and not wearing a helmet kinda falls into that camp.  Let's not argue about it.

Finally, the TNR is full of all sorts of different people.  We try to be as inclusive as possible, but most of us are experienced riders, and as such we tend to go on more "technical" rides.  Nothing scary, but if you can't ride in a group and manage a hairpin turn, crossing railroad tracks, and/or maintaining a safe speed, you might want to wait until you've got some more miles under you before joining up.  Not sure?  Just ask!  We're quite friendly.  Most of the time. :)

4 comments:

  1. I like the "we're very inclusive" preceded by "don't bring a 50" and "don't bring people underage", and followed by "our rides are hard, why don't you wait until you're a better rider?"

    Seriously, our rides are inclusive - Robert's just a jerk :-P

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  2. I SWEAR I'm going to get out with you guys this year!

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  3. I stopped by on a super nice Tuesday and no one showed. Is this still an active group?

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