Saturday’s ride will start at 8:00 from Starbucks and head northwest to Edina via I-35W. Again, due to construction on Diamond Path at 140th Street, we will return to Starbucks via Evermoor and Shannon Parkways. We will stop near the half-way point at Hyland Lake Park, where you can buy food and drinks.

This week's route will offer a sense of familiarity, as we will start on the same roads as last week. However, we will head north towards Edina via the Minnesota Valley State Trail, following a clockwise direction. The trail will greet us with its enchanting scenery, allowing us to soak in the beauty of nature as we pedal onward. Just like last week, we will take a well-deserved break at Hyland Park, pausing to refuel and chat amidst the tranquility of the surroundings.

Once again, the weather looks questionable for a group ride Saturday, so we’re going to ride to Edina via the Minnesota Valley State Trail on Sunday morning. The ride will start from Rosemount at 08:00 and we’ll have a mid-ride stop at Hyland Lake Park Reserve. The weather Sunday will be cool, for this time of year, with temps in the 60s, partly cloudy skies, and 15 mph wind from the northwest.

I hope you’re surviving the extended heat wave, and riding when it’s safe to do so. A cool front that’s coming through Friday is supposed to help us by lowering the humidity and the morning temperatures for a while.

Saturday’s 56-mile ride will leave Rosemount at 08:00 and go to Edina via the I-35W bridge. This is a new version of our Edina route that I created, because the Minnesota Valley State Trail under the Highway 169 bridge is still closed. During the ride, it should be 69 to 80 degrees and sunny with a NW wind from 4 to 8 mph.

The wind and cool temps we’ve had this week are leaving, and Saturday is going to be a great day for riding. At 08:00, it’s going to be about 42 degrees and sunny, so we can get started early and still have our afternoon free. We will leave Rosemount at 08:00 and follow a 54-mile route to Edina that we did last July, when there was a heat advisory. We’ll head west through Burnsville and Savage and stop at Hyland Park in Bloomington. Then, we’ll continue on to Edina before returning via Bloomington and Eagan. Although we are heading in the same direction as last Sunday’s ride, we’ll mostly be on different roads and we’ll cross the Minnesota river at different places. At the end of the ride, it should be in the upper 50s with a 5 mph tail wind.