Top Cities to Ride Your Bike

Colorado, Colorado Springs, cycling | UltraRob | Friday, April 16th, 2010 at 8:33 am

The May issue of Bicycling is out and in it they list the top 50 cities in the US for biking. They did limit the list to cities with a population over 100,000. I’ve ridden in their top 3 picks as well as several others on the list.

Minneapolis was their top pick. I took a class there for work several years ago. I rented a bike and was amazed at the many miles of great bike paths. They did get congested with runners and other users in some spots but everybody got along and in some places there were separate paths for bikes and runners.

Colorado got 3 cities on the list. Boulder was the top rated in 3rd. That’s no surprise as they are well known for being bike friendly. Denver came in at 12th.

Here in Colorado Springs we got 18th on the list. Since 1988 we’ve had a $4 tax on new bikes to pay for bikeways and there are plenty of great places to ride. Of course we have our car/bike issues but there will always be those that think cars are the only ones that belong on the streets.

Here’s the complete list. Did your city make the list or do you disagree with one of the picks? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

1. Minneapolis
2. Portland, OR
3. Boulder CO
4. Seattle
5. Eugene, OR
6. San Francisco
7. Madison, WI
8. New York City
9. Tucson, AZ
10. Chicago
11. Austin, TX
12. Denver
13. Washington, DC
14. Ann Arbor, MI
15. Phoenix/Tempe, AZ
16. Gainesville, FL
17. Albuquerque, NM
18. Colorado Springs, CO
19. Salem, OR
20. Scottsdale, AZ
21. Louisville, KY
22. Chattanooga, TN
23. Long Beach, CA
24. Cary, NC
25. Milwaukee
26. Boston
27. Philadelphia
28. Pittsburgh
29. Charleston, SC
30. Arlington, VA
31. Sioux Falls, SD
32. Boise, ID
33. Kansas City, MO
34. Columbus, OH
35. Tulsa, OK
36. Grand Rapids, MI
37. Billings, MT
38. St. Louis
39. Cleveland
40. Greensboro, NC
41. Lexington/Fayette, KY
42. Omaha, NE
43. Salt Lake City
44. Miami
45. Indianapolis
46. Fargo, ND
47. Anchorage, AK
48. Baltimore
49. Little Rock, AR
50. Rochester, NY