I'm releasing my list of the top 10 most bikeable U.S. cities

[unterhausen]

Here it is:
(this space intentionally left blank)

My ville was named one of the top 10 in a recent list. There is no reasonable metric under which this is true, it's remarkably unfriendly and hilly too (part of the metric used in making the list). There are people that are trying, but really the truth is still that this is a pretty bad place to ride your bike until you get out of town. http://grist.org/list/whats-the-most-bike-friendly-city-in-the-u-s-not-what-youd-guess/

[Gummee]

You evidently have to add Bentonville, AR to the list

Link (http://dirtragmag.com/singletrack-to-school-how-one-arkansas-town-is-securing-its-cycling-future/)

M

[unterhausen]

that is really nice.

We have some bike paths, but just as one example, my kids never could safely ride to school until they were 13-14. There is a bike path to the high school from 2 directions, but you can't get to those paths safely from our house. And the bike lanes on the road are narrow and so are the lanes, so actually you can't give a bike legal clearance without crossing the double yellow. To get to the closest bike path from our house, you have to cross a 55mph road and ride the shoulder of that road for 1/4 mile. So many missed opportunities

[djg]

Interesting rating system. So Cambridge, Mass, number one, is pretty bike-able. I'm not sure it's a bike-able city, because I'm not sure it's a city, but whatever. Yes, there are bike lanes and plenty of places to lock a bike once you arrive wherever. The terrain is easy enough. You can run errands on a bike, ride to work, etc. A couple of bike paths. A couple or a few bike shops. Lots of people ride.

And yet . . . the roads are terrible, even by crumbling infrastructure standards, and the winter is bad -- cold and wet and long -- not typically as bad as this past winter, but still . . . Oh yeah, one is tempted to say that the drivers are animals, but most animals are more predictable than Boston-area drivers, and when not cornered, less hostile.

I mean, I like Cambridge. But depending on how you tweak your rating methodology, or maybe even just your coding, I can see how Cambridge would rank pretty high, somewhere way below 100, or 200, or who knows where.

[cmg]

How did Fargo, ND wind up 28th with a score 69.3? Mean while car-centric (every month is truck month, ford ad) San Antonio which hasn't seen snow in 15 years is ranked 131st 42.1.

[bironi]

I think Letterman covered the 10 most - no?
How about a 10 most worthless cycling cities, states, countries, planets.......................................

[witcombusa]

"I'm releasing my list of the top 10 most bikeable U.S. cities"


Why would you WANT to cycle in any city? :confused:

(or live in one for that matter)

[MattTuck]

Interesting rating system. So Cambridge, Mass, number one, is pretty bike-able. I'm not sure it's a bike-able city, because I'm not sure it's a city, but whatever. Yes, there are bike lanes and plenty of places to lock a bike once you arrive wherever. The terrain is easy enough. You can run errands on a bike, ride to work, etc. A couple of bike paths. A couple or a few bike shops. Lots of people ride.

And yet . . . the roads are terrible, even by crumbling infrastructure standards, and the winter is bad -- cold and wet and long -- not typically as bad as this past winter, but still . . . Oh yeah, one is tempted to say that the drivers are animals, but most animals are more predictable than Boston-area drivers, and when not cornered, less hostile.

I mean, I like Cambridge. But depending on how you tweak your rating methodology, or maybe even just your coding, I can see how Cambridge would rank pretty high, somewhere way below 100, or 200, or who knows where.

+1

Where to begin... have these people ever been to Harvard Square?

[JAGI410]

How did Fargo, ND wind up 28th with a score 69.3? Mean while car-centric (every month is truck month, ford ad) San Antonio which hasn't seen snow in 15 years is ranked 131st 42.1.

Fargo/Moorhead/West Fargo all made the list and they are essentially the same metro area. Note that hills were part of the equation, and in this metro area, there are none. This community will automatically get a higher score thanks to the lack of elevation! Great bike scene, nice paths, ample gravel, low traffic...I guess it's a pretty great place to ride after all.

[oldpotatoe]

"I'm releasing my list of the top 10 most bikeable U.S. cities"


Why would you WANT to cycle in any city? :confused:

(or live in one for that matter)

Boulder is not really a 'city'. The square mileage of it hasn't changed(gotten bigger) for decades(thanks open space..another bag of worms)..without the MUP system, Boulder would be really hard to get around in on a bike. No lanes/shoulders..mix with traffic on 28th and Pearl..the 2 main thoroughfares.

BUT I live in 'NoBo'..and chose to live w/i the confines of the town..since my work was a 15 minute bike commute and wife's was about 20 minutes north..but wished to be in the city limits..easier to get around.

[rzthomas]

"I'm releasing my list of the top 10 most bikeable U.S. cities"


Why would you WANT to cycle in any city? :confused:

(or live in one for that matter)

Riding in a city is fun. Maybe not if you want to haul ass everywhere in kit, but enjoying the urban landscape by bike is a wonderful thing.

[Mzilliox]

you know these lists are stupid when all the cities where people actually ride bikes didn't make the list.

[unterhausen]

they apparently used some sort of algorithm that didn't actually involve people riding bikes. I estimate that around 40% of the population of State College lives in areas where you have to be in the "strong and fearless" or "enthused and confident" category to ride to work. And the downtown is best described as a 4 lane highway with a strip mall in the median. Until that stupid situation is fixed, I can't see how this place could be considered bikeable at all.

[paredown]

What--NYC is not in the top 10?

Seriously though--for how large it is, there are some great rides here--and a developing system of MUTs/bike paths...

Of course, there are NYC drivers and traffic in Manhattan:)

[Lewis Moon]

Tempe is #12. Seems about right. They really try to have a lot of ridable streets. Now if they would just work on making the bike lanes continuous....

[Michael Maddox]

Tallahassee, down at 149, doesn't surprise me. I-10 creates North-South corridors that cut through or over its artificial wall. This funnels THOUSANDS of cars onto those nice canopy roads that everyone loves, creating death traps with no shoulder and no sight lines.

Given that it's a college/government town, a blue city in a red state, and has an active cycling community, you'd be surprised just how AWFUL cycling is here. I am prone to Libertarianism, but It's a prime example of how lack of planning and oversight doesn't necessarily lead to good things.

I don't know what will spark the revolution: $10-a-gallon gas? Congestion-limiting laws? An increase in human decency?...but I'm sure ready for it to happen.

[Waldo]

Berkeley is ranked no. 3 and I've no idea why. Drivers are terrible; road surfaces are mediocre, at best; best rideable roads are in the hills, which supposedly detracts from the score; jaywalking is a competitive sport; you are supposed to walk your bike on the Cal campus (ha!); etc....

[witcombusa]

Riding in a city is fun. Maybe not if you want to haul ass everywhere in kit, but enjoying the urban landscape by bike is a wonderful thing.

I commuted by bike in Boston for a few years...that was not my experience!