jackgoldman123
Boring and predictable
The Best Cities for Cyclists (Published 2021)
Bicycle riding has exploded in popularity, but the quality of your rides will vary depending on where you live.
best cycling cities
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I saw that San Francisco came in at #1, before the website booted me out until I make an account.
I don't know how that works, half the streets in San Fran are near vertical. I would have thought that makes for great car chases, and poor cycling.
I don't know how that works, half the streets in San Fran are near vertical. I would have thought that makes for great car chases, and poor cycling.
That just means that half your ride is all downhill!
Off a cliff is also downhill....
It says the rankings are from LawnStarter. What knowledge, let alone expertise, does a lawn care company trying to sell lawn mowing services have on this topic? Bicycling and riding lawnmowers don’t have too much in common
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
Wow, thanks for sharing. A few hot takes:
- reduce global warming? Pleeeease! I love bicycles. They are maybe my favorite machines. But people talk like they just grow on bicycle trees and fall off when they're ripe. Soooo natural. The truth is the mines and factories that sources all the metal, carbon fiber, plastic and rubber are thousands of miles away wrecking other people's environments. So are most of the factories that build the parts and assemble the finished bicycles. And oh by the way, the factor workers in China don't hop on and ride them to your favorite "LBS" - bikes are shipped by container ship, train, and truck at the enormous consumption of carbon fuel. So while I wholehearted endorse bicycling in all its manifestations, please spare me the greenie weenie "save the planet" talk.
- I have never heard of LawnStarter either. Maybe that's the point. Sponsor some NYT-approved city ranking and get your name out there. Don't get the environmentalists started about lawns or the suburban housing where most lawns reside...
- Okay, on the meat of it. The article says they weighted the results across four categories - weather, routes, bike shops, and bike-share programs. That looks heavily skewed towards commuting over other forms of cycling. And they specifically call out bike lanes per mile. That looks like more lanes = higher ranking. So its really more a "Best Cities for Bike Commuting" than all cycling. Okay fine. Access to long stretches of low traffic roads or bike-friendly neighborhood streets is probably of more interest to sporting road cyclists or those looking for fitness. And obviously mountain bikers need access to dirt trails.
- The usual suspects are at the top - San Francisco and Portland. Fair enough. Both have strong bicycle cultures. Portland (and Seatle) has good weather for cycling? Yeah, I don't know about that. I'd say people ride despite the weather, not because of it.
- City #3, Fort Collins, CO, is the home of New Belgium Brewing, the purveyors of Fat Tire Pale Ale. Perhaps a little craft beer product placement or fanboyism?
- Washington is the top city east of the Mississippi River. Hurray! Actually, the bicycling here is quite excellent. Lots trails. In fact, you can hop on a bike and ride all the way to Pittsburg without ever crossing an automobile along the C&O Canal and Cumberland Rail Trail. Quite exceptional! Besides the plethora of dedicated trails, there are a lot of bicycle friendly roads and neighborhoods in DC, VA, and MD. Plus, there's easy access to low-traffic rural two-lanes roads and quite a lot of mountain bike trails.
- reduce global warming? Pleeeease! I love bicycles. They are maybe my favorite machines. But people talk like they just grow on bicycle trees and fall off when they're ripe. Soooo natural. The truth is the mines and factories that sources all the metal, carbon fiber, plastic and rubber are thousands of miles away wrecking other people's environments. So are most of the factories that build the parts and assemble the finished bicycles. And oh by the way, the factor workers in China don't hop on and ride them to your favorite "LBS" - bikes are shipped by container ship, train, and truck at the enormous consumption of carbon fuel. So while I wholehearted endorse bicycling in all its manifestations, please spare me the greenie weenie "save the planet" talk.
- I have never heard of LawnStarter either. Maybe that's the point. Sponsor some NYT-approved city ranking and get your name out there. Don't get the environmentalists started about lawns or the suburban housing where most lawns reside...
- Okay, on the meat of it. The article says they weighted the results across four categories - weather, routes, bike shops, and bike-share programs. That looks heavily skewed towards commuting over other forms of cycling. And they specifically call out bike lanes per mile. That looks like more lanes = higher ranking. So its really more a "Best Cities for Bike Commuting" than all cycling. Okay fine. Access to long stretches of low traffic roads or bike-friendly neighborhood streets is probably of more interest to sporting road cyclists or those looking for fitness. And obviously mountain bikers need access to dirt trails.
- The usual suspects are at the top - San Francisco and Portland. Fair enough. Both have strong bicycle cultures. Portland (and Seatle) has good weather for cycling? Yeah, I don't know about that. I'd say people ride despite the weather, not because of it.
- City #3, Fort Collins, CO, is the home of New Belgium Brewing, the purveyors of Fat Tire Pale Ale. Perhaps a little craft beer product placement or fanboyism?
- Washington is the top city east of the Mississippi River. Hurray! Actually, the bicycling here is quite excellent. Lots trails. In fact, you can hop on a bike and ride all the way to Pittsburg without ever crossing an automobile along the C&O Canal and Cumberland Rail Trail. Quite exceptional! Besides the plethora of dedicated trails, there are a lot of bicycle friendly roads and neighborhoods in DC, VA, and MD. Plus, there's easy access to low-traffic rural two-lanes roads and quite a lot of mountain bike trails.
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Tucson recently completed their famed "Bike Loop" a few years ago. Part of it actually passes fairly close to my house - about 3 miles away. So I only have to use surface streets (neighborhood streets mostly) a short distance to get to the Loop, and then I can cross the entire city car - and traffic light - free. Rest area pullouts throughout, and water fountains. If you're in the neighborhood and have your bike give it a whirl - one of the few things Tucson has to offer that's really great, IMHO.
www.arizonabikerides.com
The Loop River Path Tucson, AZ | Bike Path Ride Map & Elevation
The Rillito River bike path also know as "The Loop" a great ride along the river beds of Tucson, AZ. Riding the loop there are NO cars or traffic lights.
www.arizonabikerides.com
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
That's awesome! You know, another reason Tuscan is an excellent cycling city - its FLAAAAAAT! I visited a few years ago and loved it. I had a great ride up in Saguaro National Park (which is not flat). Also, any cycling enthusiast visiting Tuscan needs to take the drive (or ride if you're feeling ambitious) out to Bisbee to see the Bicycle Brothel. Might be the my favorite bike shop in the country.Tucson recently completed their famed "Bike Loop" a few years ago. Part of it actually passes fairly close to my house - about 3 miles away. So I only have to use surface streets (neighborhood streets mostly) a short distance to get to the Loop, and then I can cross the entire city car - and traffic light - free. Rest area pullouts throughout, and water fountains. If you're in the neighborhood and have your bike give it a whirl - one of the few things Tucson has to offer that's really great, IMHO.
The Loop River Path Tucson, AZ | Bike Path Ride Map & Elevation
The Rillito River bike path also know as "The Loop" a great ride along the river beds of Tucson, AZ. Riding the loop there are NO cars or traffic lights.
Toronto, hands down.
not only the metro, but also the trails out-and-about the Niagara escarpment region plus the trail around the entire lakefront practically to Buffalo!!
not only the metro, but also the trails out-and-about the Niagara escarpment region plus the trail around the entire lakefront practically to Buffalo!!
Yeah, but putting snow chains on a bike in winter is a bit of a PITA.Toronto, hands down.
not only the metro, but also the trails out-and-about the Niagara escarpment region plus the trail around the entire lakefront practically to Buffalo!!
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jackgoldman123
Boring and predictable
Baton Rouge has a velodrome - how could it be last on the list?
Well, okay.
But the alternative, automobiles, are "ditto ... and then some" on every category. Aaaaand they use gasoline for fuel.
Bike-commuting is a key part of the lifestyle but ... there should be more to it than that.
I don't like bike lanes ... putting bike lanes on some streets seems to absolve the politicians and bureaucrats from making all the other streets wide enough and well paved enough to be "cyclist friendly". They give us some bile lanes, and we are expected to stick to those and stay away from everywhere else.
Cycling over shards of broken glass and other riot detritus isn't very cyclist-friendly.
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
Yes, that's true. I guess I don't think about cars as alternatives to bikes, or vice versa. Each has a role.
100%. Painting a bike lane on the side of a 45mph boulevard (where the actual speed of traffic is more like 60) does not make for good cycling infrastructure. However, bike lanes make sense used in conjunction with other measures like alternate routes with traffic calming measures. I would like to see more cycling infrastructure planned out from the perspective of allowing cyclists to maintain momentum, since momentum=easier cycling=more people encouraged to cycle. "Idaho" stops and that kind of thing. It drives me nuts to see stop signs on multi-use trails at road intersections. The cars should be the ones stopping if there are bicycles or pedestrians present! A driver only has to move their foot from one pedal to the other and back to stop and start. But braking and pedaling back up to speed takes a lot of effort on a bike, especially uphill. Okay, rant over.
Shhhh! We're all still pretending that Portland is the city where "the dream of the 90's is alive".
Nuts, my lame-o work internet won't play the video. Have to catch this one later.
Vancouver. Bike friendly.
Yeah. Rather than an bike lane here and a bike lane there, give us decently wide shoulders everywhere, without bike-trap sewer grates at the bottom of man-made potholes out of the blue.
Yes, that momentum thing is important. And "rules of the road" for cyclists that would turn stop signs into yield signs
Dunno what that term means. But I suspect I agree with you.
Bummer.
Basically, CNN accosts a Congressman out on the street as he his unlocking his bike. He finds an interesting way to tell them they are fake news and to fake off, and then rides off into the sunset. Wearing a suit.
tankerjohn
A little poofier than I prefer
That's an "Idaho" stop. The name comes from Idaho's bicycle traffic laws, and I believe it has been adopted by other states. Frankly, it should be the law in all the states and territories because A) it makes sense and B) its what everyone does anyway
What?!
A Republican riding a bicycle? Now that's got to be fake news!
We are losing all the good LBS in the Dallas area. Two of my favorites are now closed. The metroplex has a nice variety of paved and unpaved trails, but street riding is at your own risk.
