Best Bike-Commuting City - based on personal experience
I see a lot of 'bike city' lists, they tend to be overall evaluations. I'm interested in best cities for commuting by bike and based on personal experience. I've been to many of the top 'bike cities' over the last year or so, here are my thoughts:
San Francisco is the best city I've seen, bikes and cars seem to work well together and get along. Not a lot of special infrastructure, but the culture seems to get how to use the road together. I was only in the area around Moscone Center (Dreamforce) and was on foot the whole time (no need for a bike).
Chicago,last month I was in Chicago, it's good, but it really depends on non-motorized routes. The roads did not seem as bike friendly - very car-focused drivers. I did rent a Divvy to go a few miles from my hotel to McCormick Place, using the lake trails.
Washington DC, I was there for vacation with the family, much like Chicago, DC is focused on non-motorized routes. I got on the roads once or twice with the bike share bike (my wife hated being on the road with cars, but that's true where ever we are). We were around The Mall, didn't get to far from the tourist areas.
Houston, I was impressed to see the bike share there, didn't get to use a bike on this trip, but I don't think I'd like share those roads (too car-focused culture).
New York City, this appears to be a very good bike city, I was in mid-town around Time Square. I was on foot my whole time on this trip, but I would have been happy to rent a bike to get around NYC. I was also impressed that the bike share program was available in the winter - I was there for a good snow storm.
Minneapolis, my home town, I think Minneapolis is one of the best bike cities for commuters. It has a nice mix of non-motorized and on-road infrastructure. Riding on the roads, even major roads, is not terribly stressful.
Paris, France, great bike city, but I was not willing to get into that mix, I didn't feel I understood how to use the roads.
Tours, France, I did bike that city and it was the MOST WONDERFUL city I have ever biked (also the smallest city in my list).
Footnote, I don't like the dependence on non-motorized (rail-to-trails, side-paths, etc) routes for bikes because if I'm bike-commuting, I'm limited to places on the non-motorized routes. There's nothing wrong with it, however it should be matched with a good on-road environment to allow a person to get where they want to go. Non-motorized paths are great for recreational riding when your specific destination isn't as important.
My observations are fairly limited (admittedly), feel free to add more details with your personal experience, and add other cities you have been to (good or bad)