Exhibit A: Portland, Ore., just displaced Copenhagen as the No. 2 most bike-friendly city in the world. Exhibit B: In Davis, Calif., more people cycle to work than drive. Exhibit C: A growing number of Minneapolis residents continue to commute by bike through the winter.
It’s official — more and more Americans and Canadians are choosing to pedal around over pushing the pedal to the metal. And, considering that the sales of upright urban cruisers continue to outpace all other bikes, city biking is here to stay.
Popularity: 8% [?]
No surprise that Austin, TX wasn’t on that list, but it was at the TOP of Allstate’s list of WORST DRIVERS IN TEXAS!!
as a native Texan I blame the recent bad driving here in Austin on all the idiots from Cali. that have moved in. ;0)
MarkR,
Us Californians are all idiots….I’m not sure if you realize that the BikeCommuters.com HQ is based in the OC…of Cali.
I am tired of these quantitative studies. They need to get out and ride. I have live in North Ca., Chicago, NYC, and will be relocating to Minneapolis soon. There is no way that NYC is better than Chicago or Minneapolis (both cities which should be much higher on the list). I see that Madison and Berkeley are missing, two great bike towns.
You know, I was wondering the same thing. Madison is a GLARING omission on that list… and also missing is Louisville, KY, which is making great strides in bike friendliness!
It really bugs me that articles like this rarely give the method and criteria behind these “rankings”. Perhaps it is the scientist in me, or something, but if an article can’t really back up how it arrived at these conclusions, I’m a bit suspicious.
I’ve been commuting rain or shine in Portland, OR for a little over a year now. I’m just glad to hear biking is growing!
I’ve been commuting to work for a little over a year now in beautiful Portland, OR. I’m just happy to hear that cycling is spreading!
I’d be surprised though, if Portland actually surpassed Cophenhagen!! They’ve got it going on!!
If you want to live in a town that was actually built for bicycling you need to know about Rochester/Rochester Hills, Michigan. Rochester Hills is a surronding suburb to Rochester Michigan. Over 40 years ago it was determined that any developer who developed a subdivision or built a house on a main road was responsible for building a bike path. Downtown Rochester is not as bike friendly but is just plain friendly. This is where you come to see people training their ‘Leader Dogs (for the Blind’) or learning to use their new leader dog. You will also hear clicking stop stop/go lights to accommodate the blind. All of this and it is just a charming downtown with one of he best parks with the Paint Creek running through it. It is a park you can bicycle and walk year round. Also, their is good fly fishing in Paint Creek. In any event, you can go just about anywhere here, mostly unhampered by cars.
Sara J
Angela, have no fear: Portland isn’t even close to Copenhagen in terms of per capita bike use. Portland is around 3.5%, whereas Copenhagen hovers in the 30-40% range.
Sara J, Rochester Hills sounds like paradise…except it probably has chilly winters. Why do all the “cool” cities exist well north of my personal “climate comfort line” ?!?