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Riding in Minneapolis' Powderhorn 24 bike race stands out as one of the most fun events I've been involved in by bike—ever. The field of riders is men, women, teams, solo riders, unicycles, recumbents, road bikes, touring bikes, folding bikes, fixies, single-speeds, etc, etc. All riding together... for 24 hours. The wide range of cyclists and wheels big and small all riding together made a bit of a party out of it (to say nothing of the hundreds of people camped along the Greenway's start/finish area). Trapped together in the maze of the Powderhorn neighborhood, we all shared an intense need to keep going and going and going. Minneapolis bike culture at its best!

The route was simple, or so it seemed. There was about a 5 mile loop that started and finished on the greenway. The loop (or lap) was a fairly straightforward ride that made a rectangular pattern out in the open streets (not a closed race course) around Powderhorn Park. The lap had 4 checkpoints that you had a hole punched on your lap counting card that we were all wearing as necklaces. If you missed a checkpoint, the next checkpoint would not give you a punch and this way it was obvious that everyone was hitting all checkpoints every lap.

When I signed up I didn't pay attention to anything beyond it being a 24 hour ride. Upon learning about the checkpoints I thought it was something a bit different than I imagined and I considered bailing out, but thanks to peer pressure (I signed up with a friend whom I had done a 24 hour ride with once before) I kept my doubts somewhat in check. After finding out we wouldn't just have our laps counted, we'd have bonus checkpoints throughout the 24 hours within a mile of the route, I worried we were on the verge of a potential disaster. Truth: the last 24 hour ride Derek and I did together led to us making some irrational decisions starting at about 14 hours in and were pretty much completely delirious for the last 8 hours (and that was a simple ride to Duluth and back!).

The roll out with a few hundred spectators cheering the couple hundred riders was exciting and we quickly got into a rhythm and discovered that even with all the stops, we were able to keep up a decent pace and within a couple of laps we had a route that was making sense to us. An hour in and we had over 15 miles under our belts and then we get handed a manifest with our fist 5 bonus stops (each with 2 hours windows to stop at them).

The bonuses forced us to start thinking beyond the laps. We had to go to a Beehive where we added antennas to our helmets to turn us into bees (worker bees, for sure), did a karaoke stint to Rocket Man, raced through a little obstacle course on a tiny kids bike, rode a lap on a Nice Ride, did yoga, played out a bit of an operetta (I was Crete, stirring up the seas), tried a little bike polo on my recumbent, wrote a Haiku, learned about in-season veggies at the Midtown Farmers Market, etc, etc. Phew!

The bonus (!) of the bonus stops was that they kept us sane (though they were mostly doing things that took me out of my comfort zone) and the constant encouragement and socializing with other riders kept up our pace and sometime Saturday morning we had ridden a double century and a triple seemed do-able. How cool is this, eh? Things continued going smoothly for us and while we didn't make the triple, we did end up clocking 275 miles over a total of 51 official laps.

The final lap was glorious in that the "race" was over and all the riders were content with simply finishing off the lap (only full laps were counted) and celebrating an amazing accomplishment. Thanks to all who came out to cheer us on, to the organizers and volunteers of the Powderhorn 24, and to our fellow riders!

Here's some video that I shot:

This Saturday is Bike Day at Midtown Farmers Market and we'll be there running the Bike Valet all morning. Whether you're looking for a way to get your veggies, berries, and baked goods home from the market via pedal-power, or just need a safe place to park your wheels while you shop—we've got you covered. We'll have a sampling of grocery panniers & shopping baskets on display as well as our carrot-colored cargo bike (The Bullitt, of course), a Brompton folding bike, and a utility bike ideally suited for market shopping. Fancy a test ride on the Brompton? Interested in finding a way to haul a canning session's worth of tomatoes by bike? We're happy to help.

What: Bike Day at Midtown Farmers Market

When: Saturday, June 30 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: E Lake Street and 22nd Ave S—between the Midtown YWCA & the Lake Street/Midtown light rail station—a few blocks south of the Midtown Greenway.

Other Bike Day highlights at Midtown Farmers Market this Saturday:

• Market staff will be giving away Midtown Farmers Market panniers to 5 lucky winners
• Quality Bike Products (QBP) has donated 10 sets of bike lights and 5 bike racks that will be offered as prizes during the day
• Nice Ride will be running a booth with info and games and passing out free (yes, free!) bike helmets
• The Midtown Greenway Coalition will be participating as a Community Table
• Our friends from Angry Catfish will be offering complimentary safety checks throughout the morning

All in all, the Midtown crew has a great day planned for the bike community. You won't want to miss this market! See you Saturday!

Today's post is part of a new series of entries dedicated to showcasing Perennial Cycle's involvement in local farmers markets during the summer. Be sure the watch the Shopcast as the weekend approaches to see where you'll find the Perennial Cycle team throughout the season.

So you've custom-ordered your Brompton and you've settled on a front-luggage solution—be it the Folding Basket, the T-Bag, the S-Bag, or another option. Maybe you've even considered the B&W hardcase for traveling with your Brommie. You're good to go when it comes to commuting to work, heading out to the grocery, and hopping on a plane. But what about when you're just grabbing drinks or a coffee with friends? Sure, you could carry a bag or stash your phone, keys & wallet in your jeans. But, if you're like me, you might not want to bother with a shoulder bag, however small, and you might not have any pockets in the skirt or dress you're wearing. That's where Po Campo's Six Corners Wristlet & Handlebar Bag comes in.

As Emily demonstrates in the video below, the Six Corners Handlebar Bag is petite yet roomy and within view while you ride, and plays just as well with Brompton's handlebars as it has with Civia or Linus in previous editions of the Shopcast. And, like the easy carrier block mount you're used to with your Brompton bags, Po Campo's handlebar bag is made to clip on and off quickly when you're locking up your Brompton and want to take your valuables with you. Best of all, and especially important for any Brompton owner, Po Campo's little handlebar bag won't interfere with the bike's fold if you're bringing the whole package in with you at your destination.

(And gentlemen, before you excuse yourselves for a replay of our folding competition on YouTube, note the stylish, unassuming tones of the Umber Handlebar Bag. Just consider the screaming teal interior part of what gives you speed when you're down in aero on your S- or M-bar.)

Ahem. Back to the bag at hand. One of the best things about the Six Corners Wristlet is that it's not just a handbag. It's a wristlet, yes. It's also a purse when you clip the handle at either end, or a clutch with the handle removed altogether. There's even a hands-free option if you happen to be sporting a belt: the back of every one of these beauties is outfitted with two convenient loops through which to slip a belt, so long as it's not ultra-wide.

Aesthetically, what really makes the Brompton + Po Campo combo hit it out of the park is the way the Po Campo patterns sing alongside Brompton's many color-personalities. You can pair Fanfare with Sage for the tone-on-tone look above or match up the complementary Feathers with Brompton's Arctic Blue. Rounding out the trio is Umber, a great neutral that will ride well with any Brompton—hers or his. And, though they likely won't be around long, we also have a few of Po Campo's now discontinued laminated-cotton "Bicycles" wristlets remaining. They pair well with matching white, turkish green & raw lacquer handlebars and contrast nicely with Brompton's warm hues of yellow, orange, and red. Get 'em before they're gone!

See you later this week for another of our new features, "At the Market."

We're kicking off the official start of summer (a few days late, perhaps...) with a handful of new columns and new contributor. Our newest Shopcast contributor and recently-hired Brand Manager, Martha Garcés, is a graphic designer and friend of folding bikes who's been a Perennial Cycle fan since she moved to Minneapolis 4 years ago. She agonized over the color choices for her own custom Brompton, enjoys interior design, food & graphic design blogs, and posts her personal projects and photography at marthaandtom.com, a blog she shares with her husband Tom.

Today, Martha will be introducing our newest column... Bags! Bags! Bags! This new biweekly column is inspired by Perennial Cycle's special focus on commuter and utility biking and our broad selection of bags in all shapes & sizes. We'll be highlighting a new bag or group of bags in each post, and we'll often include a coupon (watch for this week's special deal in the post that follow...). Martha's first Bags! Bags! Bags! will be up next.