top bicycle-friendly cities and towns

[swaters]

The Washington Post contacted both Adventure Cycling and Bicycling
magazine to submit their favorite bicycling cities and towns. The
reporter, Andrea Sachs, decided to combine both organizations lists in
the article, 10 Other Great Biking Cities, published on 10/1/06. The link to the article is:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092900490.html
Read the parent article, Denver's Trails Stretch From Urban Chic To Rockies Peaks at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092900626.html
We are looking forward to hearing about your favorites.

Susan Waters
Media Director
Adventure Cycling Association

This message was edited by 900 on 11-3-06 @ 9:18 AM

[char2006]

I live in the Washington, D.C. area, and personally, I think it's a good place to bike due to the bike path system that travels in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia.

[litespeed]

The best bicycling towns are college towns. They have plenty of bicycling people, bike lanes, trails and considerate drivers. Tallahassee FL and Eugene OR come to mind. New York and San Francisco are quite good as major cities go mainly because of the excellent motorists. In NY especially they really know how to look six ways at once.

[ptaylor]

I'm disappointed that the Washington Post did not contact the League of American Bicyclists. They, are, IMHO, the preeminent advocate of bicycle friendly cities and towns.

Paul

[Turk]

I live in St. Paul, Mn and I think the city is pretty bicycle-friendly. I would say it's better than St. Louis and Chicago by far and better than Milwaukee, on a par with Madison. Those are other cities I'm familiar with.

There is noplace in the cities I wouldn't go on my bike because of traffic or safety issues. I've even biked at night through some of the worst. The one problem I had was that I used to work in Eden Prairie and there wasn't a good way to get there from East St. Paul. The rivers, railroads, and expressways are barriers but can be dealt with. Usually there are alternatives to busy roads.

One year I lobbied hard to get a 500-yard long bikeway made to go over an abandoned interurban streetcar bridge. The pols were in favor and it got funded but a resident complained to the mayor about it and it got eliminated. I waited about 20 years and tried again through my city bicycle advocate committee and they got it done. At least my grandchildren can use it if they live here.

[fleutz]

On the Northern Tier route you will run into a town called Mentor, Ohio. Watch out the people do not like cyclists at all. Even though it's a "Bicycle Friendly town" someone forgot to remind the people of it. People use horns, taunts or various other stupidities here so watch it this town stinks for cyclists !




And That's All There Is !

[Seel]

If "Bicycle Friendly" relates to Bike Paths, then I vote for Xenia, OH. From the hub at Xenia Station (Old Railroad Station) you can travel South to Cincinnati, East to the outskirts of Columbus, OH, West to Downtown Dayton and even further South towards Middletown, OH, and North almost to Urbana, OH (just north of Springfield).

The paths lead you through various landscapes (mostly flat) and towns which make for great rides. They are well maintained and for the most part everyone one the paths (walkers, rollerbladers, etc) are courteous.

Then again if "Bicycle Friendly" relates to roads - I have yet to find a city that is truly "Friendly". Motorists have yet to understand their responsibility to "Share the Road". I find this true if I "take my lane" at an intersection or simply riding to the right. Motorists are always very eager to prove they can maneuver a 3,000 lb hunk of steel around us and be in front.

Even the media doesn't get it! Anytime there is a story about an accident involving a bike -  it's presented in a way that the cyclist was at fault. I'm not saying we (cyclists) are perfect - we're just not in the wrong 100% of the time.

So, where do I ride; I ride the roads around Xenia and beyond. The bike paths are great for a leisurely ride but I like the openness of the road. There are plenty of back roads out there where motor vehicle traffic is minimal and to top it off there are hills!

This message was edited by Seel on 11-21-06 @ 2:14 AM

[Sailariel]

Belfast,Maine is on the way toward being very bike friendly. The two main thorougfares now have bike lanes. Our local bicycle shop bends over backwards to help people. Belfast Bicycle Club is very active--three group rides a week and an active time trial schedule. The club also does bike safety rodeos for kids. and our police department registers bikes for 25 cents to cover filing and the cost of a numbered decal. The snowfall is very light here on the coast so we ride pretty well year round. All the fat tired steel bikes come out around this time.

[rootchopper]

I would agree with Char2006 that Washington DC is pretty hard to beat for a city its size, especially in the Eastern US. We have a growing network of hundreds of miles of bikeable trails including the Mount Vernon, Capital Crescent, Washington and Old Dominion, and Rock Creek Trails, and the C&O Canal towpath.  DC can't hold a candle to Davis California however. I visited Davis in 1979 and I was amazed.  Bike lanes and facilities everywhere.  A community that is totally committed to bikes as transportation. Great weather. And flat terrain.

[mike_khad1]

I live in Portland Oregon. I moved here 6 years ago from the east coast. Portland is the most bike friendly city that I've ever seen. I bicycle commute to work year round (with the exception of ice storm days or wind storm days - not that frequent). My one-way distance is 13 miles with 10 of those miles being on dedicated bike paths. It can't be beat.



Work to Eat
Eat to Live
Live to Bike
Bike to Work

[DaveB]

..being on dedicated bike paths.

Where do you get these?  All of the "dedicated bike paths" I've ever seen are shared with walkers, runners, kids on skateboards, baby carriages, dogs on loooong leashes and, in general, users not paying the slightest attention to traffic discipline. In fact, most of them look at bicyclists as unwelcome intruders on THEIR trail.

In many ways, they are far more dangerous than road riding.

I agree that rail-trails far away from residential areas and at least one mile from major road crossings or parking areas can be nice to ride on but city trails are a horror for biking.

This message was edited by DaveB on 12-15-06 @ 9:40 AM

[kwdidion]

I can vouch for Madison. FANTASTIC biking city.  I live in Las Vegas now and it's the pits.

[Dan_E_Boye]

I lived in Eugene for a while and it is a good cycling city.

I lived in Tucson a long time.  It claims to be bike friendly but it is not.  There are a lot of hostile motorists there.  It's dangerous to be a pedestrian there too.  

[TCS]

I am dismayed that the Washington Post rankings are based largely on paths.

If a city wants to be this cyclist's friend, give me restriped thoroughfares to create wide right lanes, safe & convienent ways to cross freeways, rail lines and rivers (dedcated space on existing bridges & overpasses or bike bridges), traffic lights that sense I'm waiting, yellow lights that are long enough for me to cross the entire intersection, reasonable bike parking at shops, retail & places of employment and good connectivity from neighborhood to neighborhood.

TCS

[DaveB]

....give me restriped thoroughfares to create wide right lanes,...

Be careful what you wish for.  Chicago has done just that and the results couldn't be more dangerous and less bike friendly if they set out to make them that way.  

The "bike lanes" in Chicago are striped dedicated lanes outside of the parking lane and inside of the auto travel lane.  Do you see the problem?  Every parked car pulls across the bike lane either while parking or while coming out of the parking space.  Drivers open their doors directly into the bike lane.  None of them ever looks for bicyclists.  

As i said above, be careful what you wish for.

This message was edited by DaveB on 12-23-06 @ 7:19 AM