Grease Rag has been leading group bike camping trips for beginners for ten years. This year, the BIPOC FTW* trip is August 24-25. Scroll down for details on the trip and how to sign up.
*Black, Indigenous, People of Color and Femme, Trans, Women. In other words, people who do not benefit from white/cis male privilege
Accessible bike camping trips
We aim to have our trips be low barrier, fun, skill building, safer spaces
Low barriers!
A vehicle option to get you and your gear to the camp site. Sliding scale $0-$20 camping fee. Hooking you up with the gear you need. Clear expectations and established a safer space. Lots of encouragement!
Fun!
Biking, talking, eating, and being with each other is fun!
Skill building!
We will have a planning meeting to talk about cooking, packing, and gear. We will share skills about building fires and setting up tents. We can provide additional skill shares if you have other topics in mind, too!
Safer spaces!
We will establish a safer space policy up front, provide a quiet area of camp, designate people to help deescalate conflict, and provide name tags with pronouns.
About the Grease Rag Group Camp Trip
Want to give bike camping a try in a safer and supportive environment? WE GOT YOU.
- Don’t want to/can’t bike? We are arranging a vehicle to get you to the camp site.
- Don’t want to/can’t pay $20? It is a sliding scale of $0-$20 fee.
- Don’t have all the gear you need? We will hook you up with borrowed gear! Our community is mighty, and will provide us with everything we need.
- Don’t feel confident about your ability? You can do this! Our route is mostly flat, mostly on trails, at a casual pace, and we will have mechanical support on the ride. Come to a BIPOC FTW Ride Together group ride to get your legs ready.
Art by Cori Nakamura Lin
Don’t let the whiteness and the cis maleness of the outdoor industry deter you from enjoying the outdoors with us. For inspiration, follow these Instagram accounts dedicated to us outside.
@IndigenousWomenHike on Instagram
@TheBlackOutdoors on Instagram
@BrownFolksFishing on Instagram
@FORUSftwofcolor on Instagram (That’s us!)
Read this wholesome account of the last BIPOC FTW camping trip, or this account of a recent beginner bike camping trip.
Schedule
Sunday 8/18
- 6:00 – 8:00 PM – Mandatory Planning Meeting at Midtown Global Market
- One week before the trip!
- At this meeting we’ll do a trip overview, answer questions y’all have, and sort out any final gear shares. It will be a great opportunity to chat with each other before the big trip too! The Grease Rag community has a lot of communal knowledge, and we are here to make sure the trip is a success for everyone.
Saturday 8/24
- 11:00 PM – Meetup in Powderhorn Park
- We will have a few ice breakers and casual get to know you activities before and after the ride.
- 11:45 PM – Roll out
- 3:00 PM – Arrive at Carver Park
Sunday 8/25
- 10:00 AM – Roll out
- 2:00 PM – Return to Midtown Global Market
What You Are Responsible For
- Having a bike in decent working condition
- Getting your labeled gear to the meet up (masking tape and a permanent marker works great)
- Adhering to our Safer Spaces policy (Read it here)
- Your own snacks, lunch, and beverages
- Having your tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad arrangement worked out- Gear Email will be sent on August 10th)
- Bringing eating utensils (see list under Food)
- Contributing to our salad bar and breakfast bar (see Food)
- Yourself!
The Ride
This is the Route (bookmark me)
The ride is 26 miles, almost all on trails with some on-road riding, and mostly flat. There will be multiple ride leaders, mechanical support, and up to 35 of us riding together. This will be a great experience! We will be rolling at 10-12mph, and no one will be left behind.
To get us to our campsite we will bike out on the Greenway, to the North Cedar Regional Trail, where will will take our first break at Texa Tonka Park. We will continue on Minnetonka Blvd for a short distance to Minnetonka LRT trail, where we will continue to Excelsior Library, where we will stop. There is a brewery and a grocery store. We will continue on the trail until we reach our campsite.
Campsite
The campsite is the group camp site at Three Rivers Park District Carver Park: Zumbra 2. It can accommodate 35 people, 5 vehicles, and has a large stone shelter in case it rains, fire ring, and picnic tables.
Food
We will provide
- Supper basics (vegan/halal rice & lentils/beans)
- Spinach greens for the supper salad bar
- Granola and plant milk for the breakfast bar
You need to provide
- Snacks for the ride out and back- enough to sustain yourself from noon to 4pm
- Beverages, although there will be plenty of water
- Your own plate, bowl, napkin, fork, knife, spoon, mug, cup, water bottle
- A “salad bar item” that we will put out buffet style, so you can build the salad of your dreams- Think proteins, dressings, and whatever is fresh fresh from your garden. Whatever you like!
- A breakfast bar item that we will put out buffet style so you can build the granola bowl of dreams. Think nuts and fruit and whatever else!
- Bring your own snacks.
What to Pack
In addition to what is listed above, in the food instructions, you may also want to refer to these packing lists.
GR Bicycle Camping Packing List – a handy spreadsheet
Bike Camping Packing Pack List – a big list with tips and recipes!
Volunteers
Sign up to volunteer! (Some roles are paid)
If you have any questions or concerns, please ask: greaseragmpls@gmail.com