League of American Bicyclists bike friendly state rankings

[Formulasaab]

http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2013/05/bicycle-friendly-states-ranking-announced/

For whatever it is worth, my state (born, raised, current home) jumped from 10th to 5th in one year. Hooray for the great state of Delaware!

[s4life]

http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2013/05/bicycle-friendly-states-ranking-announced/

For whatever it is worth, my state (born, raised, current home) jumped from 10th to 5th in one year. Hooray for the great state of Delaware!

I am a bit surprised by some of those entries (minesotta?) but glad that my two resident states are in the top 10. IL and NJ;)

[InspectorGadget]

I am surprised, I really expected to see Utah in the bottom 14 rather than the top. I do think we're getting better, but 14th? Nice.

[Lanterne Rouge]

New York is probably 7 places higher in that list than it should be :no::mad:

I could rant all day about my fellow commuters and the establishment but I won't.

[shovelhd]

Massachusetts #6???? Did anyone actually try and ride here???

Out here in western MA it's a mixed bag of consideration, aggression, and ignorance. We had a state cop pull our group ride over because we were safely riding a double paceline. He had no clue the law had changed.

[bluesea]

Not surprised at #35 for HI. Perhaps it should be lower, but agree on the light blue for education & encouragement.

[jmoore]

poor North Dakota

Of course there are so few people in ND that you could find a rural road somewhere and ride with no issues aside from the north wind.

[Formulasaab]

Massachusetts #6???? Did anyone actually try and ride here???

Out here in western MA it's a mixed bag of consideration, aggression, and ignorance. We had a state cop pull our group ride over because we were safely riding a double paceline. He had no clue the law had changed.

Looking at the "Report Cards" provides some insight.

Interestingly, Massachusetts and Delaware are #6 and #5 respectively.

In the "Top 10 Signs of Success" area...
Curiously, considering your experience, "Bicycle Education for Police" is a box that MA checked, while DE did not.

However, DE has a "SAFE PASSING/VULNERABLE ROAD USER LAW", while MA does not.

MA checks "BICYCLE SAFETY EMPHASIS IN STRATEGIC HIGHWAY SAFETY PLAN", but DE does not.

DE checks "TOP 10 STATE FOR CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR QUALITY SPENDING", but MA does not.

[biker72]

I am a bit surprised by some of those entries (minesotta?) but glad that my two resident states are in the top 10. IL and NJ;)

You really need to go to Minnesota and ride a little. I would have rated them a little higher than 4th...:)

[FlashUNC]

Come on North Carolina...

[kurto]

I'm glad to see my home state of Wisconsin come in at 8th. Riding here is quite good, and in the past year or so, the Wisconsin Bike Federation has really stepped up and done a lot, especially convincing some legislators that better biking conditions will help tourism. It probably doesn't hurt that Trek has been active for a while in promoting biking throughout the state.

[zap]

the folks who conducted the study must have been on some giggle drugs.

Maryland well ahead of Vermont????????????

[bikinchris]

Not surprised at #35 for HI. Perhaps it should be lower, but agree on the light blue for education & encouragement.

Hawai'i is the ONLY state that has an actual bicycle education program. The other states typically have safety classes that include only a video and coloring book class.

[Columbus SLX]

http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2013/05/bicycle-friendly-states-ranking-announced/

For whatever it is worth, my state (born, raised, current home) jumped from 10th to 5th in one year. Hooray for the great state of Delaware!

Having lived in both MA and DE for 18+ years each, I gotta say there is no comparison. Eastern MA is the toughest place I've ever ridden a bike - and with this year's terrible winter the roads are in the worst state of repair since I moved here. OTOH, the sightseeing is amazing and we have a really strong coalition here for cyclists' rights (including a pro-cycling mayor in Boston's outgoing Tom Menino) but it's still a really rough place to ride. This year we've had a few deaths by both private motor vehicles and MBTA buses.

In my experience, DE drivers show a tremendous amount of courtesy to cyclists. The roads have full-width bike lanes in most of Northern DE (no joke, they are 8' wide) and I gotta say I love riding there.

[Louis]

In my experience, DE drivers show a tremendous amount of courtesy to cyclists.

All the criteria they used to do the ranking are fine, but how in the world can they leave out "Attitude of drivers toward cyclists?"

IMO, after accessibility, quantity and quality of low-traffic rural roads, that's the second most important factor determining whether a given area is "bike friendly." (we'll ignore other factors that locals can't control, like weather, wind, etc.)

[Columbus SLX]

All the criteria they used to do the ranking are fine, but how in the world can they leave out "Attitude of drivers toward cyclists?"

It's hard to quantify, I suppose.

[Louis]

It's hard to quantify, I suppose.

I agree. Too subjective to just send out a survey and see what people think.

It is safe to say that there is probably some positive correlation between a state's willingness to spend $ on bike-related stuff and the attitude of their drivers toward cyclists.

[jemoryl]

Massachusetts #6???? Did anyone actually try and ride here???

Out here in western MA it's a mixed bag of consideration, aggression, and ignorance. We had a state cop pull our group ride over because we were safely riding a double paceline. He had no clue the law had changed.

My reaction exactly at seeing NJ at #7. Their categories - Policy, Legislation, Education, etc. do not take into account NJ drivers and their wanton disrespect for others.

[carlucci1106]

New Mexico #48

No wonder every ride seems like Mission Impossible :bike::help:

[sulfate125]

I have done many road rides in northern nm and all have been wonderful experiences.

[carlucci1106]

I have done many road rides in northern nm and all have been wonderful experiences.

Must be nice to only have to go to the ski resort region, which may be the tiny percentage of like-minded people. Taos, Angelfire. Yeah, it'd be swell to live there.

Come to my town where you have to dodge potholes, broken glass EVERYWHERE, rez dogs, and drivers who are too drunk to pay attention. Oh, and then if it's not bad enough there are goatheads everywhere. That is what most of NM is like.

[sulfate125]

Yes, perhaps visiting is different from living there.

[yarg]

New York is probably 7 places higher in that list than it should be :no::mad:

I could rant all day about my fellow commuters and the establishment but I won't.

+1 New York (State not city) would rather spend $ on anything else but bike facilities.

[snowcrash19]

I grew up in ND. Being ranked #50 is pretty awesome. In a state with 600,000 (less than one city in most states) there isn't a lot of reason to be "bicycle friendly." You don't need plans, lanes, education, blah blah blah. I did 140 mile rides from on city to another on 2 lane highways and got passed by less than a dozen cars. People are considerate and generally pretty friendly there. They often are more annoying for being TOO cautious when passing or hovering behind you for many miles.

I no live in Alabama, that is a bit different story. Cycling here is getting better but there is a reason they are on the bottom. Still loads better than Florida!

[merckxness]

Massachusetts #6???? Did anyone actually try and ride here???

Out here in western MA it's a mixed bag of consideration, aggression, and ignorance. We had a state cop pull our group ride over because we were safely riding a double paceline. He had no clue the law had changed.

Heh, try some of the areas near Houston, where the P1/2s in a sanctioned race were pulled over and given a matter-of-fact lecture on riding bikes by a State DMV officer. :no:

[torquer]

It is safe to say that there is probably some positive correlation between a state's willingness to spend $ on bike-related stuff and the attitude of their drivers toward cyclists.

I'm not so sure; that may be the case in Amsterdam and Copenhagen (not under discussion here, I know) but empty/spacious bike-friendly roads won't show up in the cost accounting, while NYC bike lanes cost a ton, and are justified on the basis of lives saved from taxis and delivery trucks. And the bike lanes (not to mention the CitiBike program, but I digress...) just serve to piss off drivers even more.

+1 New York (State not city) would rather spend $ on anything else but bike facilities.

I don't have that much out-of-state experience to base comparisons on, but I was surprised to see how low NYS ranked. Certainly lowest of the "first world" economies.;) Maybe I'm just used to it, but I'd rather ride in the city's northern suburbs, or rural areas upstate, than in much of the stretch of east coast where I have spent any time riding around.

[Keith A]

All the criteria they used to do the ranking are fine, but how in the world can they leave out "Attitude of drivers toward cyclists?"

IMO, after accessibility, quantity and quality of low-traffic rural roads, that's the second most important factor determining whether a given area is "bike friendly." (we'll ignore other factors that locals can't control, like weather, wind, etc.)Totally agree!

I am continuously saddened to see that Florida, with one of the best climates for riding year round, does such a poor job supporting cycling. Yes it does get hot and humid during the summer, but we have so much great riding weather all year long. However, our state and local gov't (legislative and enforcement) seem to view cyclists as nuisances.