best states for bicycling
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best states for bicycling
I found this ranking interesting:
Ranking | League of American Bicyclists
I knew that my state (Alabama) wasn't a very bicycle friendly state, but to rank dead last.... sigh.
Ranking | League of American Bicyclists
I knew that my state (Alabama) wasn't a very bicycle friendly state, but to rank dead last.... sigh.
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Maryland is #7 . But the 60-80% on Legislation and Enforcement. Is an absolute joke, when it comes to enforcement. Click on the link at the bottom of the page that says 2008-2014 rankings. Washington state has consistently maintained the #1 spot. I wish I had never moved back to Maryland from Minnesota. Minnesota has been in the top 5 for the past six years. When I was living in Minnesota, the hostility towards cyclists' was almost non-existent.
Last edited by Chris516; 04-08-15 at 08:10 PM.
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best states for bicycling
As a road user, my most important criteria would be in the Infrastructure & Funding column, particularly Infrastructure. But I wonder if Infrastructure assesses only bike-specific byways, i.e. MUPS, whereas probably the most active cyclists, commuters and roadies, ride the auto roads. That column is especially distinctive because the majority of states scored 0-20%, and only two states scored in the highest range recorded, of 40-60%.
For example, most of my cycling experience has been in Massachusetts and Michigan, ranking #’s 10 and 14 respectively. But the spread would be wider IMO if determined just by the presence of paved shoulders on regular highways in the metro Boston and Detroit regions.
As a road user, my most important criteria would be in the Infrastructure & Funding column, particularly Infrastructure. But I wonder if Infrastructure assesses only bike-specific byways, i.e. MUPS, whereas probably the most active cyclists, commuters and roadies, ride the auto roads. That column is especially distinctive because the majority of states scored 0-20%, and only two states scored in the highest range recorded, of 40-60%.
For example, most of my cycling experience has been in Massachusetts and Michigan, ranking #’s 10 and 14 respectively. But the spread would be wider IMO if determined just by the presence of paved shoulders on regular highways in the metro Boston and Detroit regions.
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Washington State is #1 , but I wonder how they calculated the percentage of the infrastructure and funding. Seattle in particular has been heavily investing in bike infrastructure and greenways, but the same cannot be said about the other cities in the state. Many of our bike lanes are poorly designed, too, but I guess the quality of the bike infrastructure isn't part of this evaluation.
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One thing that the League located in Washington fails to take into account is that most of the states in the center of the country have tens of thousands of miles of quiet country roads with a minimum of traffic. Not everyone rides in crowded cities.
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I agree that quiet country roads are the nicest place to ride, but unless you live and work on either end of a quiet country road, riding on them takes you from nowhere to nowhere... so perhaps the cycling is pleasant, but not necessarily useful, or even possible if you don't also have a car.
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wilfred
However be aware that tens of millions of us do not believe that the country or the world revolves around big cities.
BTW us people out here in the fly over states have had bicycles for several years now.
However be aware that tens of millions of us do not believe that the country or the world revolves around big cities.
BTW us people out here in the fly over states have had bicycles for several years now.
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Sitting on it works fine.
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True, but even in 'flyover country', cities are where major improvements can be made that allow utilitarian cycling to be popular and truly improve the penetration of non-automobile transport. This is true of Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Louisville as well as Boston and Los Angeles. If a farm hand needs to go to the next town to pick up medicine for the sick cow, she's not going to go by bike.
#12
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Sad but true. When you look at where the focus is it's understandable. You can get all kinds of legislative changes, create gobs of programs, and do all kinds of education, but if people are afraid of being killed by someone driving a car they're not likely to ride. If you add NL, DE, DK, FI, SE and others you'd see a different trend with darker blues in the infrastructure column and a lot less in the other columns.
#13
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I'm amazed that Florida ranks so high. Then again, the differences between Florida and Alabama at the bottom of the list are pretty slim.
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On the downside, you do have a lot more traffic.
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Why would you think Washington is any different? Its not.
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Mn is right on at #2 . We work hard to be heard though. The ONLY thing im not happy about this year is that they want to pave a trail at the river bottoms, its KNOWN for being an amazing off road trail. plus the river floods most springs. I think the money would be better spent fixing cracked up trails that already exsist. I know they want to connect their paved trails. It takes away from the magic of feeling in the wilderness in the middle of a city. When the construction starts. I cant imagin it will be fun to ride down there. BUT they "Promise" they wont mess with the off rode trails. I get it. but even still. *grumpy*
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diahard
Not Washington state, Washington DC. People on the east coast give little consideration to the rest of the country. If it doesnt apply to the east coast, it is not news.
Not Washington state, Washington DC. People on the east coast give little consideration to the rest of the country. If it doesnt apply to the east coast, it is not news.
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It's hard to rank by state. I think it should be broken down into rural and city cycling. Best cities may not be in the best states, and since most people live in cities and choose to ride recreationally out in the country, I think it would be more useful a list.
I know this is not the Bike Touring forum, but this is my experience having toured self contained through almost 40 states/provinces. I mostly avoid big cities so my ranking is for rural areas.
#1 for ease of cycling, wide roads with big shoulders, plenty of good roads, great scenery - mountains to beaches, plenty of markets, campgrounds, etc: CONNECTICUT
#1 for best locals who are friendly, helpful, and generous: KANSAS
So there is my list.
FYI: I have not cycled through Minnesota or Wisconsin yet - both near the top of the OP list.
I know this is not the Bike Touring forum, but this is my experience having toured self contained through almost 40 states/provinces. I mostly avoid big cities so my ranking is for rural areas.
#1 for ease of cycling, wide roads with big shoulders, plenty of good roads, great scenery - mountains to beaches, plenty of markets, campgrounds, etc: CONNECTICUT
#1 for best locals who are friendly, helpful, and generous: KANSAS
So there is my list.
FYI: I have not cycled through Minnesota or Wisconsin yet - both near the top of the OP list.
Last edited by JoeyBike; 04-11-15 at 08:45 AM.
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Hard to beat WA state, bike lanes everywhere and bike friendly drivers. I've ridden in VA, FL, GA, TN, PR, and KY. Bottom line is East Coast drivers are not too friendly. KY do have some nice Amish country roads though.
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It's hard to rank by state. I think it should be broken down into rural and city cycling. Best cities may not be in the best states, and since most people live in cities and choose to ride recreationally out in the country, I think it would be more useful a list.
I know this is not the Bike Touring forum, but this is my experience having toured self contained through almost 40 states/provinces. I mostly avoid big cities so my ranking is for rural areas.
#1 for ease of cycling, wide roads with big shoulders, plenty of good roads, great scenery - mountains to beaches, plenty of markets, campgrounds, etc: CONNECTICUT
#1 for best locals who are friendly, helpful, and generous: KANSAS
So there is my list.
FYI: I have not cycled through Minnesota or Wisconsin yet - both near the top of the OP list.
I know this is not the Bike Touring forum, but this is my experience having toured self contained through almost 40 states/provinces. I mostly avoid big cities so my ranking is for rural areas.
#1 for ease of cycling, wide roads with big shoulders, plenty of good roads, great scenery - mountains to beaches, plenty of markets, campgrounds, etc: CONNECTICUT
#1 for best locals who are friendly, helpful, and generous: KANSAS
So there is my list.
FYI: I have not cycled through Minnesota or Wisconsin yet - both near the top of the OP list.
"How Many Cities ... [have you cycled in?]"
… An interesting question might be what did you think of those cities for cyling.
Here’s my parochial (North American) list, off the top of my head, roughly in amount of time spent there. Most of my riding in the non-residential cities beyond Michigan and Boston is done early in the morning and/or weekends, very often in association with business conferences, and limited to the downtowns.
Here’s my parochial (North American) list, off the top of my head, roughly in amount of time spent there. Most of my riding in the non-residential cities beyond Michigan and Boston is done early in the morning and/or weekends, very often in association with business conferences, and limited to the downtowns.
- Metropolitan Boston: premier (if you know your way around)
- Detroit (proper): good infrastructure though I haven’t cycled there in a long time; the susburbs are my most recent experience, and the car is still king; nice bike paths but just recreational
- Ann Arbor, MI: idyllic, with strong appreciation and support for cycling
- Philadelphia: nice (most early morning rides)
- New York (Manhattan): intense after about 6:00 AM. Central Park is a treat.
- Baltimore: nice (mostly early morning rides)
- Washington DC: pleasant and interesting, but slightly confusing street layout; suburbs were car-traffic-laden
- Toronto (downtown): hairy main streets with no bike lanes, but interesting if you find alternate streets
- Montreal: limited experience, but nice
- Portland, ME; pleasant and friendly traffic
- Miami Beach: a real treat, pretty pleasant streets
- Los Angeles: limited experience, nice weather when I was there
- Tampa: pleasant streets, nice weather
- Bermuda, incl. Hamilton]: So nice, but could get boring
- Charleston, SC: pleasant, historic and quaint
- St. Louis: passed through on a Sunday Morning
- Charlottesville, PEI: don’t remember much, but was low traffic
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 04-11-15 at 01:18 PM.