While it is important to again mention that Bike Twin Cities is about riding in our community, having fun and improving the quality of our daily lives it doesn't hurt to have a little kick back with some swag and hardware!

The prizes for the 2011 Bike Twin Cities range from some great swag and discounts from our sponsors to at least two Globebikes(tm) provided by our partner One on One Bikes.  The prizes and qualifications are as follows:

Qualifications For Prizes

• You must be registered here in the Bike Twin Cities community.
• Participants must be 18 years of age or older by June 1, 2011
• You must demonstrate safe biking at all times!

Clarifications

• Closing Date: The course will be officially closed Aug 31, 2011 11:59pm CST
• Submitted pictures will be certified once the submissions have closed
• Grand prizes will be awarded by Sept 30, 2011
• Legal ID will be required to claim awards and should match the registration infomation in your BikeTC community profile
• All awards will be final and cannot be shipped
• Once prizes have been awarded they are your responsibility

Grand Prizes

The grand prizes for Bike Twin Cities 2011 are Globebikes(tm).  We have two ways to win these bikes.

The first way to win is for the first person to complete the entire Bike Twin Cities course.  The course includes 50 clues most of which will be distributed to our Stations over the course of the summer, however, some of these clues will be provided directly by BikeTwinCities on Twitter and Facebook.  The first person to complete all of the clues will win the first grand prize.

Should more than one individual complete the course on the same day then there will be a drawing for the winner amongst all qualifying participants. To qualify for a grand prize all qualifying pictures must be posted here in the Bike Twin Cities community. When you post a picture the date and time are recorded and this will be how we determine the qualifying participants for the grand prizes. Should you resubmit a picture that will be the date used. Should course not be completed by the end of the day Aug 31, 2011 CST then the available prize will rollover to the second opportunity to win.

The second way to win a grand prize is to complete five (5) clues by the end of the day Aug 31, 2011 CST. Any qualifying participant who completes these clues and posts their pictures on time will be entered into the drawing(s).

Swag Prizes

Swag prizes will be given out mostly via social media engagement, this is a social experience after all. Bike Twin Cities is a community experience so we want to make sure we are encouraging and rewarding those who show up and follow through. We build a community and improve the quality of our lives by making genuine connections with those around us and getting to know one another. The swag prizes helps make that process a little more enticing.

The primary opportunity for Bike Twin Cities swag prizes comes from Station check-ins on Twitter and clue picture posting on Facebook. So get out and connect with your Stations and solve those clues.

Secondary opportunities for swag prizes comes from the Bike Twin Cities #ShareYourRide initiative. Randomly throughout the summer we will pick from those who #ShareYourRide and will award some sort of prize to those who are picked. This means if you are interested in those prizes you will need to keep us informed of where you are riding as the drawings will be based on the previous week's participation.

Finally there will be other opportunities for prizes but we are still working on those so we are not able to share those details just yet. However, you can count on these involving a bit of creativity or further engagement in the enjoyment of our city. They are going to be a lot of fun.

The bike studio is up and running, has been for over a year now. We just did not tell anybody. We were too busy. Riding, and such.

The bike junkyard has been in place for about 10 years. It was started by the Satanic Mechanic and myself. If it (the bike) was made in the last 40 years we probably have it. But you have to go down there and find it.

We are the third generation of culture to inhabit the space. During the 1970′s a bunch of artists moved in. In the 1980′s some musicians and film people moved in that knew the artists. 1990′s a biker, that knew the musicians and film people, that knew the artists, moved in. The stage was set. The 90′s were a whirlwind of biker, music, film and art in the hood.

Participating in Bike Twin Cities is rather simple, however, being that we're all adults by choosing to participate we are all agreeing to one key premise - this is for fun and that is why we are here.  Bike Twin Cities is designed to allow participants many ways to socialize and share in the experience.  We want people to feel comfortable joining us for an afternoon, a weekend or for the whole season.  The objective is to get people out on their bikes enjoying Minneapolis, the bike trails and our community.  For those looking to participate, the full experience is as follows.

• Register in our Community

• When registering keep in mind that this is a simple program.  We ask for just the most basic info to make sure we can execute the program. However do not submit fake information because we won't be able to verify who you are should you win any of our prizes.  Also no one should be asking for any other personal information via our site.  To claim our prizes we will ask for more identification when you come to pick up the prizes to make sure we are accurate in our endeavors.

• Follow us on Twitter (@BikeTwinCities)

• Involvement with Twitter is not necessary to participate in Bike Twin Cities. However, many of our prizes will be given out to those who choose to participate via Twitter. Also, many of our Station partners may be offering their own check-in bonuses so there are some great benefits to taking part in our Twitter features.

• Like us on Facebook (Bike Twin Cities)

• Involvement with Facebook is also not necessary to participate in Bike Twin Cities. Again many of our prizes and furthermore possible bonuses from our Station partners will be based on Facebook participation. Also, the secret to participating on Facebook is you get to compare pictures and notes with others on where you think the clues might lead.  Bike Twin Cities will offer more info on a clue ONLY if it has become obvious that it is not clear enough to our participants.  This is the fun of the game ask around, socialize, get to know people and see what you can discover about our great city.

• Get on your bike and stop in at one of our Bike Twin Cities Stations (Course opens June 1 and closes Aug 31)

• Besides registering here on Bike.tc this is where the participation is very much necessary. Look through our Station list and plan out a bike ride to stop in at as many Stations as possible to gather clues.

• Tweet the checkin code provided (sample below) at each station
  #Biketc Checkin: [Station Code] http://bike.tc

• The Bike Twin Cities check-in code will be less than 140 characters as per the design of Twitter. The key to qualifying for the prizes via Twitter is that the entire Bike Twin Cities code (as shown above) must be intact. If all of the Bike Twin Cities info is not present then we cannot accurately track the entries thus we are unable to qualify your check-in. If you feel a check-in code is in error please discuss that with the Station at which you are trying to check-in.

• Follow the clue provided by the Station to a Landmark somewhere on the Course

• All clues will lead to somewhere in Minneapolis that is bike friendly.  Clues will lead to Landmarks and Icons that have to do with community and quality of life - e.g. history, beautiful scenery, places to escape within the city, places/items of public benefit or value. So if you think a clue is leading somewhere that is not safe for bikes to go or something highly commercial then you are looking in the wrong place. Our number one rule is safety!

• Take a picture with you, your bike (demonstrating bike safety) and with your answer to the clue provided

• All clues will lead to someplace where you will need some support taking a successful picture. A qualified picture will always include you, your bike, at the designated Landmark with the Icon in the picture. The goal here is to get people out biking together. So find a partner, build a team but get out and enjoy the city.

• Post your photo on the Bike Twin Cities Facebook page

• Again, posting on Facebook accomplishes two goals. It allows you to qualify for prizes and enables you to check your thoughts about a clue versus others. Some of these clues will be tough so more brains will be helpful.

• Finally when you think you have solved each clue post your pictures in your profile here in the Bike Twin Cities community

• Once you feel you have the correct pictures save them to your profile here on Bike.tc. To qualify for the grand prizes you will need to have at least 5 accurate pictures submitted in your profile by August 31st. Also, there is a grand prize to the first person to complete the entire course!