Bicycle friendly state rankings

[tiretrax]

http://bikeleague.org/content/ranking

a few surprises, like Montana.

[Mr.Pave]

I think Oregon should be higher up the rankings, this is cycling central if you can deal with the rain. Also we have the best Cyclocross scene in the US hands down.

[pjmsj21]

Being a fellow Oregonian, I agree it is a great place to ride but for me it is mostly geography and the residents are very attuned and have (for the most part) a positive attitude towards cycling.

I think Oregon falls short of Washington and the other higher ranking states in that Oregon has fallen short of committing sufficient dollars to the cycling infrastructure that it should. Attracting cyclists to Oregon along with their dollars that they spend, should be a much higher economic priority. We have great rides that could be more fully developed with dollars spent on wide shoulder, and linking routes through the wine country and other places.



I think Oregon should be higher up the rankings, this is cycling central if you can deal with the rain. Also we have the best Cyclocross scene in the US hands down.

[Fatty]

http://bikeleague.org/content/ranking

a few surprises, like Montana. And Illinois !

[Ralph]

I live in Florida, Central Florida, to be exact. Mostly flat with rolling hills, some 15% grades on W side of area. One of our popular century rides in Central Florida has 5500 feet of climbing (I know....not very impressive compared to mountains). Florida does not rank well on this list. However, I know of no other area in USA I would rather live and bike year around. I don't live in the area tourists see, and think of as Florida. And I've been in about every part of USA with my bike. So I think cycling friendly is a very regional thing, not a state thing. Lots of great cycling, cycling infastructure, etc, in states that rank low as a whole.

[veloduffer]

I have seen these rankings before and mildly surprised how high New Jersey is ranked, considering that it is the most populous state (per capita) and high density.

[Ahneida Ride]

I have seen these rankings before and mildly surprised how high New Jersey is ranked, considering that it is the most populous state (per capita) and high density.

I was surprised at that too. NJ is heavily densilated. :eek:

[thwart]

Good to see our Wisco maintains its usual high rank.

Winter notwithstanding… :help:

[CunegoFan]

Utah. Top 10. Sweet.

[biker72]

I'm surprised Colorado isn't rated a little higher.

[oldpotatoe]

I'm surprised Colorado isn't rated a little higher.

Well, it really depends on where you are in this very big state, that has huge variations in 'ride quality'.

AND altho riding around the 'republic' is good, I think the riding around San Diego was more varied by a lot..plus more shoulders/lanes for cyclists there. Nothing more 'interesting' coming back after looking at the Velodrome progress, during the workweek, and deciding to come back west on Arapahoe..yowser...I drove up to Ned the other day and was surprised at how many were on bikes and how narrow the road was, w/o a shoulder in a lot of places.

Going south, along the front range, riding isn't quite as 'good'..like in Colorado Springs or Pueblo. IMHO.

[druptight]

Big ups to California & Ohio making huge single year leaps. Call me a skeptic, but wouldn't it be in a state bicycle coordinator's best interest to inflate their ranking to draw in cyclists? Although I guess the flip side of that is that if you want to push for more funding/support/legislation, you'd want to show how far down the list you are.

[William]

Being a fellow Oregonian, I agree it is a great place to ride but for me it is mostly geography and the residents are very attuned and have (for the most part) a positive attitude towards cycling.

I think Oregon falls short of Washington and the other higher ranking states in that Oregon has fallen short of committing sufficient dollars to the cycling infrastructure that it should. Attracting cyclists to Oregon along with their dollars that they spend, should be a much higher economic priority. We have great rides that could be more fully developed with dollars spent on wide shoulder, and linking routes through the wine country and other places.

While I don't disagree that more could be spent on cycling infrastructure, Oregon is a wonderful place to ride with so much varied terrain, and in most places, very low traffic. I'm biased, but I think the riding around Corvallis was some of the best riding anywhere (maybe Velotel has me beat there :) ). Right outside your door your choices: Flat valley floor, rollers, mountain climbs in the Cascades and Coast range, and mixtures of all of them. From PDX: rides out toward Estacada, Sauvie Island, Skyline, Helvetica, Logie Trail, etc...








William

[kurto]

Good to see our Wisco maintains its usual high rank.

Winter notwithstanding… :help:

Right. I told myself all winter that spring/summer/fall (I think it's all one season now) make it worth it. It's nice to live in a place where I can ride out my door, do 40 quick miles with ~3k feet of climbing and see more cows than cars. Also, WI Bike Fed has been doing good work and I'm seeing more billboards and yard signs with "3 Feet It's the Law."

[blessthismess]

I'm proud of my home state. #1 wooo!

[chiasticon]

Big ups to California & Ohio making huge single year leaps. Call me a skeptic, but wouldn't it be in a state bicycle coordinator's best interest to inflate their ranking to draw in cyclists? Although I guess the flip side of that is that if you want to push for more funding/support/legislation, you'd want to show how far down the list you are.
i'd give more ups to ohio if they would finally pass the three-foot law. it's been "proposed" forever, and is law in toledo, cleveland and cincinatti, but state-wise it keeps hitting obstacles.

not that anyone will ever give me three feet anyway, of course. :mad:

[oldpotatoe]

i'd give more ups to ohio if they would finally pass the three-foot law. it's been "proposed" forever, and is law in toledo, cleveland and cincinatti, but state-wise it keeps hitting obstacles.

not that anyone will ever give me three feet anyway, of course. :mad:

They have a 3 foot law here but most drivers get confused if moving to the left to pass a cyclist means they cross a double yellow line. So I just ride where there is a shoulder.

I got dusted off yesterday by a great big black Escalade yesterday, while on the 3 ft shoulder, he was too. Couldn't catch him....I'm guessing texting.

[malcolm]

Not hard to believe Alabama's ranking. It's one of the reasons I ride the mountain bike almost exclusively these days. Our road biking sucks but we have some nice single track.

[merlinmurph]

MA is #10? Really?
Doesn't say much for the other 40.
I will admit that there is a pretty good push for bike trails lately, though I'm very rarely on them.

[sworcester]

And then there is Texas, falling in the rankings ..:mad:

[rallizes]

Being a fellow Oregonian, I agree it is a great place to ride but for me it is mostly geography and the residents are very attuned and have (for the most part) a positive attitude towards cycling.

I think Oregon falls short of Washington and the other higher ranking states in that Oregon has fallen short of committing sufficient dollars to the cycling infrastructure that it should. Attracting cyclists to Oregon along with their dollars that they spend, should be a much higher economic priority. We have great rides that could be more fully developed with dollars spent on wide shoulder, and linking routes through the wine country and other places.

I rode thru Lincoln City, OR once. I'd never experienced hostility towards bikes like I did there. But it seemed to be the exception.

[bewheels]

One needs to consider the lens that this ranking is being based on. This is not a "hey here is a list of states that are cool to ride in..." or "people will be nice to you on the road..." or "places with great riding weather..." ranking.

The League of American Bicyclist is focused on advocacy, policy, trying to provide a voice at the decision making table. And therefor their rankings are always based on how much influence they think they have in those states, with the hope that this translates into bike friendly states.