Cyclists will gather at the Brookview Community Center in Golden Valley next month for a 30-mile ride through the West Metro dedicated to Minnesota law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. Registration for the 2026 Ride to Remember opens at 7 a.m. on Sunday, September 13, with riders departing at 8 a.m. from the community center at 316 Brookview Pkwy S, according to event details shared by Law Enforcement Labor Services, Inc.
The fully escorted route will wind through several West Metro communities, with designated memorial stops in Plymouth, Minnetonka, and St. Louis Park where participants and observers can pause to honor officers killed on duty, per the Law Enforcement Labor Services, Inc. event listing. Riders will get full police traffic escort control, light mechanical support, medical assistance, hydration stations, and a complimentary post-ride meal, with the event open to both law enforcement personnel and civilian supporters age 18 and older. The ride is organized by Law Enforcement United – Team Minnesota, and according to the Blaine Police Department, anyone can join to honor, remember, or support the mission, with registration open through the event's online sign-up page.
A Route That Shifts Across the Metro Each Year
This year's West Metro course is a departure from recent editions of the ride. In 2024, Team Minnesota's Ride to Remember ran a 32-mile route through the South Metro, starting in Eagan with memorial stops in Burnsville and Mendota Heights, according to the group's own event history. The rotation gives different suburban communities a turn hosting the tribute stops each year, expanding the ride's reach across Twin Cities jurisdictions.
Law Enforcement United is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2009 that has raised more than $3.4 million for officer memorial and family-support organizations nationwide, according to Law Enforcement United National. That funding flows to groups including Concerns of Police Survivors and the Officer Down Memorial Page. Earlier this month, Law Enforcement United donated $592,000 to Concerns of Police Survivors to fund its Kids Camp, Young Adults Camp, and peer-support programs for surviving family members of fallen officers, according to Concerns of Police Survivors.
Why the Ride Carries Extra Weight in Minnesota
The memorial ride lands against a painful backdrop for Minnesota law enforcement. In February 2024, Burnsville Police Officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and Firefighter-Paramedic Adam Finseth were killed while responding to an emergency call, followed by the May 2024 death of Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell, also killed while responding to a call, as reported by KARE 11. Minnesota recorded its highest number of law enforcement deaths from gunfire in 42 years in 2024 following those killings in Burnsville and Minneapolis, per MPR News.
The losses have reverberated well beyond Minnesota. In May 2025, Elmstrand, Ruge, and Mitchell were among 345 law enforcement officers nationwide whose names were formally added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial wall in Washington, D.C., as documented by CBS News. More than 300 law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty across Minnesota history since recordkeeping began in 1874, with those records maintained by the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association, according to a separate CBS News report.
How to Take Part
Riders can sign up for the September 13 event through the online registration page. The ride includes rest stops along the route, food, and light mechanical assistance for anyone who needs it during the 30-mile trip through Golden Valley and the surrounding West Metro communities.
