Bike thieves hit the Minneapolis Cargo Bike Library, but the new effort will ride on, with a little help from its friends. (Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Cargo Bike Library)

There was bad news for one of the best things that happened in Minneapolis this year.

Bike thieves hit the new Minneapolis Cargo Bike Library last week. The venture allows people to borrow cargo bikes and cargo e-bikes for a week, for free.

Would you steal a bike from these dogs? (Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Cargo Bike Library)

The thieves broke into a locked garage and made off with two of the library’s cargo bikes as well as two bikes belonging to the family that had offered their garage as temporary storage for some newly donated bikes. Security cameras captured footage of someone using a jack to pry open the garage door in the middle of the night. Both the bikes and the garage were insured, but it will cost the volunteer-run nonprofit $3,000 just to cover the deductibles.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that this is Minneapolis — the bike-friendliest city in America. As word of the theft spread on Tuesday, donations poured in. By noon, the fundraiser had almost reached its goal.

“It’s been overwhelming,” said Cargo Bike Library founder Laura Mitchell, who hopes to use any extra donations to expand the bike library. “This year is really just a pilot year ... We figured we’d see what lessons we could learn. This [lesson] was a tough one.”

The library launched earlier this year in partnership with the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, the Lyndale Neighborhood Association and the Metropolitan Council. Cyclehoop built secure storage hangars where library members could check out bikes. But before their first ride, members take an hour-long orientation that covers everything from bike helmet fitting to how to safely operate the heavy cargo bikes.

Before anyone can check a cargo bike out of the library: an hour-long orientation class. (Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Cargo Bike Library)

“We want to make sure that folks are safe and ready to go when they borrow a bike,” Mitchell said. At first, she worried that requiring in-person lessons might discourage participation, “but all the orientations we’ve had have sold-out within days of launching them. Now we’re at a point where we have so many people who have completed orientation and are ready to take out bikes — but we only have so many bikes.”

They have even fewer now.

If you visit the fundraiser, you will find pictures of the stolen bikes. If someone tries to sell you a bright green Kona Ute, a nice gray Lectric Trike or a Tern LinkD7i folding bike, pass the word to bikes@mplscargobikelibrary.com.

Cargo bikes are expensive. Electric-assist cargo bikes even more so. The library, which was modeled on similar programs in places like Boston and Vermont, gives people access to bikes they might not be ready to buy or might not be able to afford. People who’ve never tried an e-bike might not realize how easy — and fun — they make it to get around on two wheels.

“I mean, I am in very good physical health and I do not have the energy or interest in hauling 120 pounds’ worth of my two children around with me — but I can do it with an electric cargo bike,” Mitchell said. “I’ve benefited from it with my own family and I’m just really excited to see” what other families do with a cargo bike of their own for a week.

At the end of each week-long rental, the new cargo cyclists share their tales of errands and adventures with Mitchell. A senior citizen took an e-bike on a cruise from the Lyndale neighborhood to Minnehaha Falls without worrying about being too tired to bike the five miles back. A veteran took her service dogs on joyrides. Another cyclist took a disabled friend on treks into parks and trails they couldn’t have reached by car.

Most of the library's cargo bikes are securely stored in a Cyclehoop bike hangar, but thieves broke into a locked garage that held some newly donated bicycles. (Photo courtesy of the Minneapolis Cargo Bike Library)

”This is a community resource that provides a really good service and an exciting opportunity to folks at zero cost,” Mitchell said. “When I tell people about it, their jaws just open. ‘What’s the catch? What do you mean I can just test this bike for free?’”

The bike library was a bright spot at a time when we could all use some good news. The sting of someone stealing a little bit of that joy may be why the community rushed to donate and make the program whole again.

“I think that’s why it’s hitting such a note with people,” Mitchell said. “We need good things right now.”

To learn more about the cargo bike library, visit mplscargobikelibrary.com, or sign up for the newsletter to find out when the next orientation will be. If you’d like to chip in, the online fundraiser is here.

about the writer

Jennifer Brooks

Columnist

Jennifer Brooks is a local columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune. She travels across Minnesota, writing thoughtful and surprising stories about residents and issues.