Category: Fun Stuff

When it comes to making a city “livable”, safe biking and walking routes are one of the top things city planners talk about. Sioux Falls got to that conversation a little late, with one beautiful exception – the 20 mile loop that circles the core of town.

Not only is the bike trail good fun for everyone, it’s a pretty sweet way to get yourself in and out of downtown. With the addition of spurs into various neighborhoods, the Bike Trail is well on its way to being a viable commuter choice, weather permitting.

With the pandemic in the air, more and more Sioux Fallsians have discovered the trail. That’s awesome! But with use up by 200% over the last few years, congestion is starting to take it’s toll. And like every conflict these days, there’s a little culture war going on.

On the one hand you’ve got kids, families, and dog walkers out on the trail in greater numbers. On the other, you’ve got some serious speed-demons blazing through, on a perpetual quest to break their personal best times, shooting through the civilians with spandex-snugged swagger.

If we don’t get along, there’s going to be headline-grabbing crash before long. We don’t need a dead dog, a broken neck, or a hospitalized kid on the front page. Fortunately, plenty of folks are starting to tune in and wise up.

Check out Keloland’s reporting on the issue here.

Our take away? It’s pretty simple:

Out for a stroll or a casual leg-stretch with the fam? Keep to the right side of the trail, like you would on any road. An approaching biker might be gaining on you faster than you realize. Make it easy for them to pass by having the space readily available.

Big-time biker trying to get your sweat on and make the best of your fancy new gear? Slow up a bit when approaching other people, judge their (lack of) awareness and give a friendly announcement of your intentions to pass. You can lose a few seconds, it ain’t going to kill you.

And if you’re wearing headphones/earbuds, keep the volume down so you know what’s happening around you. Sure, it’s fun to be in the zone rocking out to your tunes, but you’re in public in a growing city. Common sense still applies.

There’s still plenty of space for everyone out there. For safety’s sake, let’s keep Midwestern Nice alive and well on the trials.

Ok kids, this might come as a shock to you, but Downtown Sioux Falls — currently the hottest spot in town — wasn’t always alright.

If you’re new to town — or under the age of 21 — you might not know just how bad things had gone in the hub of our wee little metropolis.

It’s a typical story, repeated in a thousand other mid-size cities across the US: Some developer turned a cornfield into “The Mall” and suddenly the combination of air-conditioning and free parking(!) made shopping on (the metaphorical) Main St. passe. How can you compete with Orange Julius anyway?

Read up on the fall & rise of the coolest coupla blocks in South Dakota. Here’s a great place to start: The Argus Leader dug in and put all of the facts in one place for ya.

We like to make it easy to know your history. Hopefully, we’re learning from the mistaken ambitions of the past. If not, we’re bound to repeat them. We’re sure there’s another cornfield out by Tea or Harrisburg that some deep-pocketed guy believes to hold the pearls of the future. Let’s keep proving them wrong and keep Downtown happening for a long time to come.

Here’s some good news for you Sioux Falls bike-loop lovers out there: The Get ‘n Go on the corner of Cliff and 229 is turning into the next location of Spoke ‘n Sport!

Could there be a better location in town? It’s actually – literally, as the kids say – right on the bike trail, next to one of the best parking spots for out-of-town access to the trials.

What a great place to meet up for group ride, to snag a few accessories for the ride, or to have someone knowledgeable tweak that chain that just started slipping half-way ’round the trail.

Kudos to the team for thinking this one through. We’ll be stopping in soon, even if we’re a little sweaty and stinky from the ride. They’ll forgive our appearance, right?