The New Best Cities For Cycling

By Brian Fiske

The new best cities for cycling

A few years into the latest eco movement, we all know that the price of gasoline is through the roof, that Americans are too fat and what Al Gore says about global warming. It has become chic to lower your carbon footprint, buy organic--and ride a bike. While trends can often feel like little more than media hype, we noticed something while researching our latest Best Cities for Cycling survey: real change in surprising places. Increasing pressure to solve local traffic and health problems has led some mayors and city planners to discuss ways to accommodate alternative modes of transportation, not mockingly or grudgingly, but genuinely. The plans are being embraced. Bicycles are being embraced, in ways they have never been before in this country. Of course, cities like Portland, Oregon, and Boulder, Colorado, remain the best in the United States for urban cyclists, just as they were when we last did our survey, in 2006. But this new crop of cities shows that great things can happen in a short amount of time even in big urban centers, and that this may be only the beginning of a far-reaching pro-cycling movement. Get on your bike and roll with it.

Most Improved Cities
Washington, D.C.
Louisville, Kentucky
New York City

Runners-Up
Minneapolis & San Jose

Still the Greatest
Portland, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco & Boulder

5 For the Future
Boston
Los Angeles
Salt Lake City
Columbus & Fargo-Moorehead

Worst Cities for Cycling
Dallas, Memphis & Miami