Old 02-10-18, 11:34 AM
  #4  
wipekitty
vespertine member
 
wipekitty's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Land of Angora, Turkey
Posts: 2,476

Bikes: Yes

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 687 Post(s)
Liked 220 Times in 163 Posts
Happily, it's a bit different in my area!

I live in a "city" (I hesitate to call it that) of about 50,000, with an adjacent community to the north with another ~20,000, surrounded by smaller communities and rural areas for maybe another ~25,000.

The largest growth areas I've observed are among women (road and mountain biking), family cycling, and winter cycling (especially fatbiking). There are a ton of shop rides, group rides, and events/races for all different skill levels and disciplines - including road, MTB, gravel, and fatbiking. There's also a huge social ride (bar hop) that attracts insane numbers of people, like over a thousand. I haven't seen a ton of growth in commuting, but that's unsurprising for an area that isn't really urban.

I think all the local bike shops - I believe there are four, but I might be missing some - have done a good job promoting cycling and catering to different interests. It may be helpful that there are not many alternatives for purchasing bicycles locally - no Performance Bike, REI, etc. - so anyone who doesn't want an X-mart bike is getting one that fits properly and includes free tuneups.

My town and the adjacent community have also been doing a ton to improve cycling infrastructure. There are strong local and state advocacy groups, which have been working to improve trail access for cyclists and educate cyclists and drivers.
wipekitty is offline