A Smorgasbord of Genosack Rides, Rigs, and More

Words by Trevor Nelson, photos by Trevor Nelson, Rafael Fraga, Andrew Nepsund, and Peter Limberg

Last September, Minneapolis bike crew Genosack decided to host its first group bike rides after gaining a following in the bike community. Desiring that nostalgic feeling of riding your bike with friends as a kid, the plan for these rides was to focus on the joy of biking and community. This was more for the casual biker, the jeans and a T-shirt folks, but anyone and everyone was more than welcome to join.

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Needless to say, we were going to take it slow at a nice party pace and enjoy the ride. Beyond that, it was a good opportunity to plan fun routes featuring some of the great terrain the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) have to offer. There’s a vast network of paved bike paths throughout the two cities, and if you’re looking for it, there’s plenty of unmapped singletrack and even some gravel—all within city limits.

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With no expectations of how the first ride would go, Justin You joyfully volunteered to lead the first ride. Justin wasn’t going to half-ass it, either. He spent the afternoon before the ride prepping. He pre-rode the route ahead of time, did some bushwhacking to clear up an obscured path to a beach where he’d even hauled firewood and prepped a bonfire overlooking Lake Hiawatha. What a gem! That evening, our excitement grew as people started to show up. It was quite a decent turnout! We socialized for a moment to account for any latecomers. Justin then gave a short welcome speech, and everyone got ready to go, remembering to pack some fizzy drinks for the road, of course. Or, in Justin’s case, situating his chihuahua, Mr. Bean, into a cozy padded front basket.

We rode along the Minnehaha Creek and stopped for a quick session at the “creek jump,” a favorite dirt kicker over a path near the creek. Following the jump, we passed through some South Minneapolis neighborhoods. A few folks continued jumping bikes off curbs and anything else that looked enticing, while others simply savored the meandering ride. We made it to Uptown and hopped on the Midtown Greenway (once a busy railcar corridor, now a paved bike path), some of us riding the parallel gravel path for maintenance vehicles.

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From there, we reached the Mississippi River path, looping us back to the Minnehaha Creek Trail and eventually back to Lake Hiawatha, completing our route. Those who decided to stay after the ride pushed their way through the tall marsh trail Justin cleared earlier, and we all piled out onto the beach. Stoke was high. We enjoyed the warm fire with beers in hand (thank you, Fat Tire). At some point, we even had pizza delivered to the beach. We were all grateful for the turnout and success of the ride Justin had hosted.

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The following week, we held our second group ride, a casual route around the chain of lakes in Minneapolis with a short detour on some singletrack through the woods. Fellow Genosacker Peter Limberg and I co-hosted this one. Word and hype about the first ride must have spread because a massive crowd filled the meetup spot at Kenwood Park as the departure time approached. There was a buzz of conversation among the crowd as they socialized before the ride.

Peter and I welcomed the large group. We packed our baskets and bags, and the swarm of cyclists funneled out of the park and onto the bike path to begin the ride. We rode dirt trails through the woods, circled the lakes as the sun set, made some leisurely stops along the way, and ended with another social bonfire, all with the Minneapolis skyline gracing our view. We knew there was something special here. As the warm days became numbered, Genosack continued to host group rides throughout the fall—rain or shine—adding variety to each one.

Genosack x Stepwise

After a couple of chilly weeks in October, we came up on some warm weather for our final group ride of the season on Sunday, November 5th. This ride was a collaboration with Genosacker and coffee aficionado Dalton Jones, owner of Stepwise Coffee in St. Paul. We met up at Dalton’s coffee shop around noon for a pre-ride hang. With a bonfire burning in the Stepwise yard, we spent a couple of hours enjoying the company, warm weather, and Dalton’s delicious coffee. The day yielded another successful turnout. Aside from the usual crowd, some friends all the way from Fargo, North Dakota, joined, as well as our local pomeranian legend, Smores, who rides copilot with their owner Ethan via baby Bjorn.

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On the ride, Dalton led us through some fun shortcuts in the neighborhood and down a long hill toward the river. We descended the hill into a large forest called Crosby Farms Regional Park (a flourishing natural area that borders the Mississippi River, full of dirt and paved trails). We rode the paved paths under the tree canopy, stopping briefly at the river bank and soon making it to our final destination, a Robin Hoodesque sunken pit in the woods (nicknamed “Coach’s Corner”) that has a firepit and a rather large hip you can skyrocket your bike off of if you so dare.

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The sun was beginning to go down as we uncovered our stash of beers and firewood and began another bonfire. Moments later, a painterly sunset formed beyond the trees as we all watched a few brave souls getting “sendy” on the hip. Big shout out to Nathanael Olsen for putting on an absolute demo! It was a glorious way to end the day. As the night ended, people slowly filtered out, and we eventually pedaled back to Stepwise, feeling thankful for our community and fulfilled by what felt like the perfect day to wrap up an amazing season of rides. Until winter biking starts, that is.

Genosack Rigs

During our pre-ride hang at Stepwise, I had the opportunity to photograph a handful of the riders’ bikes. If you’ve followed Genosack at all, you know we love custom bike builds. Aside from our own bikes, these group rides have brought a plethora of custom builds out of the woodwork. Although many of the bikes on these rides are cool 1980s and ’90s 26ers (#26aintdead), there’s plenty of variety and bikes of all types along for the rides.

With no lack of customization and personalized touch, they each have their own fun character, which is something to appreciate. I have always enjoyed tinkering with bikes, and in recent years, building them too. Through those experiences, I’ve come to understand that if you put love into your bike, it’ll love you back. Below are some photos and accolades of just a few of the wonderful rigs folks in our community have put love into. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Tyler’s Soma

If building a ridiculously silly bicycle was a crime, I would be serving 25 to life. Many bicycle rats have owned this Soma 4one5 frame, and I have personally put it through many variations. This ATB touring rig is the latest of those iterations. Before you ask, yes, it is a 69er. The more time you spend zooming in on the pictures, the more ridiculous little details you’ll find! Thankfully, silly bicycles aren’t a crime, but I am still behind bars. You feel me?

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Katey’s Surly

This is my Surly Troll. I think it’s from 2012. I bought it used, and I haven’t changed much! In this photo, it has some Velo Orange tourist bars, an unbranded burrito bag, and a borrowed stem bag. It’s usually rockin’ a front basket, but I went over the bars one too many times and crudded up the hardware. The front triangle and sloped top tube make this thing sick to ride. It’s an absolute machine, and it takes me anywhere. I love that I can huck it around with little concern!

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Glenn’s Bridgestone

This is my Bridgestone MB-3. Running a Shimano Deore 1×10 drivetrain, XT brakes, and tubeless 26 x 2.1″ Panaracer Gravelking tires. It encourages me to ride however I want. Long miles while hopping curbs, taking shortcuts down stairs, and cruising alleyways with potholes like acne scars. It’s chill enough to lock up outside the bar but still likely to start a conversation with a stranger while you share a smoke. It’s like as a kid when you’d make a new friend, and your vibes just linked—you both knew you were in it for the long haul. You know who you are.

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Annika’s Specialized

My bike is a 90s Specialized Hardrock. The fella I bought this from built it up, and holy moly, do I have fun with it. It’s got Sycip Wonder Bars with plenty of sweep and thumb shifters that are a dream compared to the grip shifts I had on my old ride. This thing is perfect for riding to work every day. I love stretching my legs, man. I feel lucky when I’m riding my bike. It rocks.

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Jack’s Surly

I went with a Karate Monkey for its playfulness without sacrificing versatility. Put a squishy fork on, and it’s a trail bike. Put a rigid fork and a fork on, and it’s a touring/commuter setup. I love how the subtle purple looks on the bike; it makes it my own. The scratches read “property of Jack O’Connell.” I had the same exact bike stolen from me this summer, and I missed it so much that I bought another and then branded it myself. The scratches also remind me the bike will be mine forever, till death do us part.

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Chaney’s Crust

This is my Crust Wombat. It’s used mostly for stunts that I have no business attempting. It’s a single speed. It has no paint. It’s got a dropper post and 2.6″ tires and it’s made it through everything I’ve thrown at it thus far.

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Lindsey’s Laguna

I’d been dreaming about a gravel bike for a while, and spring 2023 became the perfect time to build one. I wanted to incorporate as many used parts as possible, so my Genosack babe Trevor Nelson and I frequented a few used bike stores around Minneapolis and Facebook marketplace for a frame and parts. We found a beautiful vintage Laguna Mountaineer with lugged Tange tubing and a long enough chainstay and tire clearance to convert it from 26″ to 650b—an awesome find. Shout out to Recovery Bike Shop and Full Cycle in Minneapolis for having the best selection of used parts. And thank you, Trevor, for the love, vision, and effort. This bike has been a joy this year. It has the comfiest ride, plenty of rack space for bikepacking, a charming bell, and a smiley face light for commuting around the city. It’s a total stunner.

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Andrew’s Rivendell

This is my Rivendell Atlantis, as seen as a Reader’s Rig here on the site. It’s my favorite bike, and it’s always changing, but right now, it has some fun Paul Component parts, some Magic Components Moth Bars, Ultradynamico tires, and a few bags from RandiJo Fab and Hungry Bags! I saw my first Rivendell back in 2014 and swore then that I’d get an Atlantis someday. It’s been a blast to make this one my own!

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Adam’s Trek

My bike is a 1991 Trek 7000 purchased from my friends over at Behind Bars Bicycle Shop in Northeast Minneapolis in February of 2023. Until this past year, I had been a fixed/road biker. The ATB bug hit, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m predominantly riding for leisure or commuting. Finding a rad community to connect and grow with has been a breath of fresh air in my life. Like, what’s better than ripping around with your friends? Big ups to Genosack and all the homies in the peripheral for uplifting so many others and making cycling fun and accessible to all.

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You can keep up with the Genosack crew on Instagram.

Further Reading

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