I'm a country kid and commute to and from work regularly. In my part of the state, though, bicycles on the highways are rare and I'm the only one I've ever seen commute in my work town of 7000.

Yesterday I rode to Des Moines from Atlantic trying to ket to about 65th and Douglas; what a major pain....in my eyes. I took the trail from Redfield on and just before it goes under I35, there's a barricade and trail closed sign. No way to get past the barricade. Back tracked to 128th and headed north on that to Douglas and used the "bike path" to near 86th, but then that abruptly ended. The trail system seemed to have no logic, at least as far as trying to actually go anyplace. It's like they were there only for recreation. Why wouldn't there be a warning that the trail is closed ahead just like there would be on streets and roads???

At 4:30PM, Douglas just did not look appealing to share with the cars so (shuddering) used the sidewalk.

Maybe I'm being just like the car drivers we all complain about with how inconvenient things are.

I recently visited West Des Moines and found the trail system a little difficult to navigate initially but I was amazed. You could ride from one end of town to the other. Trails backed right up to the grocery store or mall. There were dedicated bike routes everywhere. And not just a lane on the side of a busy street like here in Chicago. Where you are likely to be killed by the car door or someone driving in the lane. The confusing part is not all the trails follow the main roads. They actually have dedicated easements away from busy streets and out of harms way. You can ride with your kids or in my case elderly parents without fear. Get a map and try again. They have one of the most progressive bike trail systems I have seen.

RR

Bike friendly in the sense of
1) having relatively flat terrain;
2) most major attractions are within 5 miles of the city center
3) has a pretty reasonable trail system, a lot of which is at the moment closed due to construction
4) has, in the older part of the city (not the suburbs) a very good grid system of streets that provides lot of opportunities for low-traffic routes
5) has a downtown that doesn't have much traffic on the weekends. Although it can be a little gnarly in the evenings, due to bar traffic.
6) has a 1500 acre city park adjacent to the downtown which is great for walking, cycling, fishing or hanging out.