I've lived in Austin and I would say it is bike friendly, but it will be tougher commuting depending on the area. It is truly "hillcountry" but I don't see this as a bad thing...just more of a workout! It's where Lance Armstrong lives and trains. There are definitely hills, but in no way are there mountains or super steep hills like SF. Also, there is practically no winter but man does it get HOT. But it's a drier heat. It is a VERY artsy city (with amazing music, animal-friendly, gorgeous scenery, and restaurants).

I've lived in 8 cities across Texas and I would say Austin is the most conducive to an outdoor lifestyle.

Can I throw in a vote for Wilmington, NC? Small-ish city, but we have killer beaches that are generally easier to get to by bike than car when the tourists are in town. I've been commuting here for a year now after moving from Denver, CO, and yes it is certainly different than a big city, but in a good way. The city has listened to the small but vocal cycling community and is making improvements to the infrastructure to include protected MUPs, designated bike routes, and increased signage.

New Orleans ranks top five or six in percentage of bicycle commuters. The city is very bikeable. However, many drivers are 1000% clueless, and the cops are some of the worst offenders. I got run over by a cop. Just guess how that one ended...

If you can handle some ridiculous summer heat, you should check out NOLA. Our really hot months are June-September. There is also the hurricane issue June-Nov with the peak in September. Occasionally one is going to hit us, many times they are going to near-miss. Katrina-like storms come along every 30 years or so. The entire USA has not had a landfall of such a storm since Katrina and Rita hit weeks apart in 2005. Generally hurricanes give plenty of warning so you can prepare or leave.

NOLA has always been very easy to get around on a bicycle just by accident. Over the past few years they have actually been trying A LOT to accomodate cyclists and attract young talent to move to the area. This effort has awakened neighboring suburbs to start taking action as well.

As far as crime goes, most is criminal on criminal and drug related or revenge. But if you enjoy night life, NOLA never closes so you could be caught out when the knuckleheads are prowling. Most of the attempts on me were due to taking short cuts through sketchy areas out of laziness. We don't put our poor people in ghettos. The city is sort of a patchwork quilt of rich, middle class, and poor all stitched together. The patches are relatively small, so it is possible to get lazy and just take the shortest distance between two points. Even then, most poor people here are honest, hard working people. There are no neighborhoods where everyone is a scumbag. But there are neighborhoods where the scumbags feel comfortable acting on their scumbagness. This is how I get in trouble now and then. But all the time on a bike and places I go amount to a statistical zero of trouble. Been cycling in NOLA since 1973 and Jefferson Parish as well. I find it very easy to access about 85 percent of area north of the Mississippi River and south of Lake Pontchartrain. A few places are challenging due to freeway crossings but most freeways in the actual city are elevated, so you just go under them.

Lastly - TONS of people here ride bikes. There is a huge cycling presence in many parts of New Orleans.

So you should put us on your recon list for sure.

Bring all of your sweat glands.

Cheers.

I love your beaches.

What's the best bike for commuting in hurricane season? How do the hardcore bike commuters handle it?

My experience (a couple years on the Gulf Coast) was that for anything serious, most things will close. Less serious tropical storm scenarios are not a big deal: it's just winds like you get in the high plains/mountain west regions and a lot of water. Honestly, normal summer storms were worse for commuting because they had more water, which led to some concerns about visibility. Any bike that can get wet works fine: I never had fenders in the South, because if it's raining like that, you're gonna get wet.

Too hot for me down there, though. I'll take my -20F and be happy about it.

Except for cops, medical personnel, and the power company, the city pretty much shuts down DURING a hurricane. And that has to be pretty much a direct hit which does not happen all that often. For stronger hurricanes even the cops and energy company shut down for the worst of it. Can't get anywhere - trees and power lines will be down across roads. Not many people are going to be biking when a hurricane hits, so no special bike required. Local officials are going to be BEGGING people to stay put. If you get hurt out there somehow, you are on your own until the storm passes and debris gets cleared.

As far as a major flood event like Katrina happening again, that is unlikely. At least for now until sea levels rise as is being predicted for 30 years down the road. The city actually survived Katrina. Defective levees that were built improperly and not inspected properly (by the Army Corps of Engineers) failed the NEXT DAY due to high water pushing on the floodwalls with big waves at a perfect angle. The 9th ward being the exception. They got flooded during the storm as they are closer to the Gulf outlet canal. For the past eight years the levees have been fixed, improved, and extended. Correctly we hope. New and bigger pumping stations have been constructed and are still being built one by one. So as far as property damage due to levees breaking again, we all feel pretty sure that we are in much better shape.

How do people handle it? Depends on lots of factors. My wife and I just pack up her car and get out. It's like a bull fighter dodging the bull. We just "step out of the way" of the storm as we move to the west. Hurricanes are strongest at the center and the NE quadrant. So we go to the weak side. Stay with friends, or a hotel somewhere. Some of my friends go camping up north. Some live in their cars at various rest stops, truck stops etc. Others stay in NOLA and go to a shelter if their house is not sturdy or often floods when it rains hard. Shelters area a crowded mess but at least you won't get cut off from help if you got sick or have special needs. Many people just stay home and tough it out with no power or a generator, extra food and water. There is a new evacuation program to help people get out of town on buses. It's been tested once and was not the nightmare I thought it would be. If you have pets, they go on a different bus. So if you are car-free, this is one option. We leave town to save my wife's car because our street floods. Our house is raised enough off of the ground but the car is exposed. We don't go back home until the power grid is back up.

In short, we rarely get clobbered. You have time to prepare or get out. It does give us something to worry about all Summer and Fall. There is almost always a storm brewing somewhere between Africa and NOLA to keep an eye on. And they are hard to predict EXACTLY where they are going sometimes. So mostly it's worry for nothing, but we still get stress at some level even when the danged things don't come near us in the end.

Hurricanes, in my opinion, are the safest natural disasters. Tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, tsunamis, and volcanoes, all strike without much advance warning - maybe while you are asleep. And blizzards hit up north one after the other after the other all winter. You can't just pick up and leave every time. I think we leave town to avoid a hurricane once every three or four years - usually for two or three days. Not too bad.

Hope this helps.

Those are really good points about the various kinds of disasters, [MENTION=95183]JoeyBike[/MENTION].

I have learned that if the weather is sufficiently iffy around here, they just close the office... and the whole University... and everyone closes everything else, too. So you don't ride. At least that's how it worked over the winter.

One morning, I rode in with 1.5" of snow atop .5" of ice. But the office was open, roads were sanded/salted, and traffic was flowing by the house. Slow and steady got me to the post office and then to work.

Then there was the day that big snowstorm hit the Triangle and we ended up with 6"... it started snowing at 11:30am Wednesday and everyone started bugging out. I stuck around until 1 or so and then rode home... again, just took it slow, aired down the tires, and moved to the sidewalk as necessary. Took me a half-hour to ride 3mi. They closed the university at 2pm and kept everyone away until Monday, by which time everything was clear enough.

Hi everyone,
Thanks for your replies. This is fascinating information. I am curious if anyone has information on commuting conditions in Richmond, VA or Norfolk, VA?

I know I'm not in the traditional "South" as BROOKLINEBIKER was probably asking about, but we are south - Commuting in El Paso, Texas is very nice. Part of the attraction is the anonymous nature of cycling in ELP. Since there's not a huge political cycling "movement" here there is also not a big anti-bicycle backlash. Therefore is is relatively safe. Read my blog on the subject (if you're interested) here: The El Paso Cyclist: Why Bicycling is Safe in El Paso for an explanation.

El Paso is ranked as the safest large city in the country, too. We have nice weather, although hot in the summer. There are some very nice pro-level lbs's as well. I know BROOKLINEBIKER that you're probably not interested in the Desert Southwest, but we are a "southern" city, so I though I'd give my dusty burg a thumbs-up! :thumb:

If you consider VA south….
Any of the communities around DC and DC itself I have found so bike friendly.
DC, Arlington, Alexandria, etc...

Southern cities I have ridden, that seem friendly enough to me. Particularly when compared to San Antonio and Houston, which I also ride...
Austin, although less bike able now than 15 years ago due to nonstop development, popularity, auto traffic
Memphis, lots of efforts here, mayor and Green Lane Project
New Orleans, very bike able……many cycling trips through NO and much time spent running and cycling there…
Baton Rouge, La
Savanah, Ga
Florida panhandle communities of Pensacola, Destin area, Panama City, even Mobile, Al
St. Pete, Fl area

Birmingham, Al and Nashville, Tn are not too bad either. Both pretty southern cities.
Atlanta, Ga is becoming more and more so…particularly commuting from suburbs perspective

My $.02….
Other thought is to help create a vibrant bike culture wherever you live and ride...

The LAB website always keeps a list of America's most bikeable cities: bikeleague.org/content/bicycle-friendly-communities-released
You'll see a short list of 2014 award winners at the right of the page, and a pdf file of a more detailed list is in the main article.

Roanoke, Virginia seems bike friendly, and has an ever expanding system of bike trails. I ride the Greenway for an 18 mile out and back every morning, shady and all along the river. Beautiful place.

Little Rock is doable. I think North Little Rock got a Bronze level certification from the LAB. But the weather is liveable, only a few days affected by snow. For years, the focus of activism was actually on improving tourism facilities. But this has improved the politicians awareness that bicycles contribute to the economy. That makes them happier to work on improving bicycle facilities around the city. There is still a lot of work to be done though. The bicycling community has become cohesive, and Little Rock is a nice sized city, small but a capital city. And lots of nice riding in all directions, both mountain and delta land.

http://www.arktimes.com/binary/845c/...ittle_rock.jpg

Only if you add Durham to the list

I rarely make it out that direction. But OK! :)

Just be wary of the American Tobacco Trail -- lots of crime but hopefully it will get better

Sad but true. I have only done the ATT once, and only from Southpoint to the end down in Cary and back. It was very nice.

I did the whole trail round trip last Saturday. Lot of folks out on the trail early so no real worries. Attacks on the trail are newsy and that tends to enhance the danger in people's minds. With a good dose of awareness and timing, few will be at any risk. It seems that there are more reports right around the time school let's out for the summer - bored teenagers sometimes do stupid senseless things.