What are the most bicycle friendly places in the US?

16 comments

  3. I’ll put in a vote for the philadelphia area, as there’s a great trail network. A map is [here](https://www.dvrpc.org/webmaps/thecircuit/), which also includes future plans. Note, these are real trails, and not just the shoulder of a road with a sign.

    If you’re looking for a workout, you may be out of luck, as many of the trails are old railroad beds, which means the trails are pretty flat. And, the trails are popular for runners and walkers, so if you want to go fast you’ll need to be on the trail early in the morning.

    Of course, getting to and from the trails is an issue most places, and so I’ll drive to the parking lot and then ride from there.

  5. Traditionally, Portland and Seattle have been the best among larger cities. But there’s been a bit of a drag in recent years. Cycling culture is so strong there that the old guard, more experienced and more willing to ride in mixed traffic or on unprotected bike lanes, doesn’t see the need in providing protected bike lanes and multi use paths for people with families or who aren’t trying to cycle for speed.

    Both Ohio and New York State have cycling routes that are mostly paved that go from one end of the state to the other. That doesn’t do much for day to day transportation, but its nice to have if you want to take some time off and bike across a state.

    College towns are usually fairly cycle friendly on or near campus. But if you go outside of the college town portion of the town, its probably going to resemble your more typical rural or exurban US and most people won’t bike on that.

    Louisville often doesn’t make a lot of cycling lists, and doesn’t have a lot of dedicated paths or bike lanes. But downtown and the neighbors outside of it are mostly on a good grid and I see a ton of people on bikes every time I go down there.

  8. Davis CA has a very high percentage of bicycle commuters, which is probably a good proxy for bike friendliness in general.

  10. So, I live in Eugene Oregon. We have EXTENSIVE networks of bike trails and paths that crisscross the city, as well as a large number of protected bike lanes with their own signals, etc. We are consistently rated (by whoever) as one of the most bike friendly small cities in the country. I travel around town exclusively by bike (and walking) and do not own a car, and have no problem here.

    Nonetheless, on reddit (for example) people in Eugene talk constantly about how “shitty” the bike infrastructure is. I think this is just because even when it’s GREAT, it’s not enough to counterbalance the degree to which our built environment was designed exclusively for cars for 50+ years.

  12. Ann Arbor, MI is really nice. NYC is just OK but it is still the best way to get around the city.

  13. Definitely not Delaware.

    A bicycle recently tried to take the life of our current sitting President!

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