2014 Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities

On the bowed Williamsburg Bridge above the East River, I finally experience what so many New York cyclists have told me. On my bike I’m not beholden to the paucity of parking, exorbitant cab fees, rat-infested subway tunnels. The turrets of the modern kingdom, Manhattan, splay out before me. I feel as if I own New York.

When I arrived in this incredible but complicated city to conduct the final stage of research for our Best Cities rankings, I had my doubts. The world knows (and loves) New York for many things. But cycling? I don’t think so. Over the course of four days here, though, the more I rode, and the more New Yorkers I spoke to, the more I understood. At a party, a nurse talked to me about freedom: freedom to go exactly where she wants, when she wants—only faster. Then she swung her leg over a vintage Fuji and headed out into the rainy night. “Eeeasy,” said a trim British man behind the counter at Sid’s Bikes NYC in Chelsea. “Especially compared with London.” A retired bike messenger and alley-cat race promoter told me that simply riding a bike in New York today is so much better than just five years ago.

Over the last few years across the United States, numerous cities have made cycling improvements, but none has done as much as quickly as New York. In 2008, powerful and moneyed naysayers scoffed when former Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled an ambitious plan to transform New York’s mean streets and reclaim them for people instead of cars. Gallons of green paint were spilled to create a citywide welcome zone for cyclists. There are now more than 350 miles of new bike lanes, many of them barricaded from traffic by concrete and parking lanes, encouraging even casual cyclists to ride up Broadway and through a car-free Times Square. Flickering bicycle traffic lights usher packs of commuters across intersections. And more than 96,000 annual members subscribe to the nation’s biggest bike share, Citi Bike.

Ridership stats are impressive. Between 2007 and 2011, the city doubled the number of bike commuters on its streets. According to the U.S. Census, the one percent of New York City commuters who ride to work comprises the largest population of bike commuters (a total of 36,496) in the country. Thousands more New York cyclists (not counted by the Census) use both bikes and public transit on their daily commutes. By 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio vows, bicycling will comprise 6 percent of all trips in the city.

In this metropolis of more than 8 million people, where fewer than half the residents own cars, cycling has long made sense. Congested streets and packed subways mean bikes are often the quickest method of travel from point A to B. But for decades, a car-oriented mindset made quality bike lanes, paths, and bridges an afterthought. A hundred years ago, spectators packed Madison Square Garden to watch six-day bicycle races. By the 1950s, the pastime had disappeared. A national infatuation with automobiles, along with the car-loving policies of highway baron Robert Moses, which categorized bicycles as toys rather than vehicles, nearly made cycling in NYC extinct. Only the brave or the desperate—messengers, deliverymen, and determined enthusiasts—dared to get around by bike.

Even as they choked on exhaust, New York’s cycling advocates fought back. In 1973 they founded Transportation Alternatives, and hailed the installation of protected bike lanes on Broadway and 6th Avenue in 1980 (though they were torn out a month later after Mayor Ed Koch yielded to protesters). In 1987, advocates rallied the masses to defeat a bike ban in midtown, and in 1991 cyclists finally regained access to the Queensboro Bridge after Transportation Alternatives members, including the organization’s director, Jon Orcutt, blocked traffic with their bikes and welcomed arrest.

But only after witnessing the transformations in quality of life—and the acclaim that followed—in bike-friendly international rivals like Paris and London did city leaders truly begin to take cycling seriously. In 2007, a visionary and forceful transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan—who commuted by bike from the West Village to City Hall—set about reshaping New York into a city in which everyone could peacefully coexist. She hired Orcutt, the aforementioned advocate, as policy director of the NYC Department of Transportation. In lieu of drawn-out planning studies, she installed experimental infrastructure using temporary paint and pylons. (When critical voices arose, she shot back, “It’s just paint.”)

Every August, Sadik-Khan closed seven miles of Manhattan to cars and invited walkers, runners, cyclists, adults, children, even pets, to play on Park Avenue as part of an ongoing Summer Streets initiative. The open-streets festival won the hearts and minds of NYC residents. When the tabloids inevitably attacked, Sadik-Khan pointed to independent polls showing that 64 percent of New Yorkers supported bike lanes. Bike riders rejoiced, but a final fight remained.

On a blustery March afternoon, I arrive at the Prospect Park West bike lane in Brooklyn. It was here in 2010 that a minority of angry residents, including a former head of the DOT, labeled this 0.9-mile protected lane as an eyesore and a threat to the elderly. They filed suit, ordering its removal. Protests pitted retirees wielding anti-bike-lane placards against helmet-clad parents and children. The media went berserk. The Guardian online said the bike lane, “could affect the future of cycling worldwide.” The Brooklyn Paper called it, “the most controversial slab of cement outside of the Gaza Strip.”

Only in a city as iconic as New York does a battle over a bike lane become international news. And therein lies one of the major reasons BICYCLING chose the Big Apple as this year’s number one. Success here, we strongly believe, will radically speed up the spread of bike share and cycling culture across the country. Though I arrive at the scene of the infamous backlash with visions of riot police and smoldering ruins, the bike lane remains. The picketers are gone. Today injuries from crashes for all users are down 63 percent; speeding, 74 percent. At rush hour, traffic flows instead of jamming. Amongst local cyclists, I fail to detect a hint of lingering resentment. “What do you think of this bike lane?” I ask a woman pedaling beside me.

“I love it,” she says, looking at me like, Duh!

Not everyone finds riding in NYC so idyllic. I meet with blogger (and BICYCLING columnist) Eben Weiss, aka Bike Snob NYC. “Show me New York’s underbelly,” I tell him. Rolling through Central Park, Weiss points out where a cop once tackled Lance Armstrong for riding on the sidewalk. En route to Harlem we swerve around limos parked in a bike lane and teenagers walking three abreast in the bike path.

“Typical,” says Snob.

Yes, as one city official told me, “It’s still New York.” But a new initiative, Vision Zero, aims to declaw the lingering culture of roadway lawlessness. The program, which originated in Sweden, dropped citywide speed limits to 25 mph and increased ticketing. In 2013, the nonprofit Bike New York taught free safety and street-skills courses to 16,000 New Yorkers, filling the new bike lanes with law-abiding “roll” models.

The city’s transformation continues. Along the Harlem River, Weiss points out one literal underbelly: Above us, New York’s oldest river crossing, the High Bridge—once part of an aqueduct—is undergoing a $62 million bike-ped restoration. Weiss says with satisfaction, “Soon, we’ll be able to ride up there.”

On my last night in New York, in the cold rain at the Red Hook Criterium, dozens of men and women race track bikes—which neither coast nor brake—around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. A few hundred spectators huddle along the railing, passing around flasks. Racers and industry reps who’ve come from as far as Montreal and Italy tell me that last year (in better weather) fans lined this course 10 deep.

The crowds that once filled the Garden for track races are back a century later in Red Hook. Why here, why now? A tan PR man from California tells me that the Red Hook Crit is unique: It’s at night, it’s the zeitgeist of urban cycling, and it’s intriguing to both utilitarian cyclists and core bike racers.

Then he softens his tone and leans in.

As if to explain everything, he says, “It’s New York.”

Great Bike Shops
With locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Bicycle Habitat has a friendly repair staff and lots of useful gear aimed at commuters.

NYC Velo in the East Village is an independent, family-run shop that caters to commuters, mountain bikers, and serious road racers alike.

Ride Brooklyn has a wide selection of bikes in Williamsburg and Park Slope and friendly, approachable mechanics. They’ve also been huge supporters of Brooklyn Bike Park, an off-road mountain bike park and pump track.

Community Connections
At the Rapha Cycle Club in the Meatpacking District, you’ll find members of the cycling community meeting for rides or watching vintage racing films over bacon-encrusted pastries. Browse high-end cycling gear or just hang out and drink beer or coffee.

New York Cycle Club is an all-volunteer recreational cycling organization that puts on rides, spring training programs, and events in the tri-state area.

Reclaim the streets for two-wheeled and two-legged travel by joining Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy organization dedicated to improving infrastructure for cycling and walking in NYC.

Best Events
With 32,000 participants, the Five Boro Bike Tour is one of the largest cycling events in North America, and takes you through car-free streets on Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.

Prefer a smaller crowd? The NYC Century Bike Tour claims to be as challenging or relaxing as you make it. Tour the diverse neighborhoods of NYC with 6,000 of your closest friends, as you cruise through Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.

Must-Do Ride
Head out from the Brooklyn Bridge to Rockaway Beach in Queens on the Flatbush Avenue Bike Path, and continue north to Oceanside.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Caitlin Giddings

Lisa Curcio had not ridden a bike in 40 years. But on a spring morning in 2012, the then 57-year-old county judge straddled a new hybrid bicycle and pedaled onto Milwaukee Avenue—where bike traffic reaches Amsterdam-like capacity—and rode into work. Today, Curcio owns four bicycles (including two commuters) and arrives at the courthouse via Dearborn Street, a new two-way cycle-track bisecting downtown Chicago. In his first term as Mayor, Rahm Emanuel saw through an ambitious (some said insane) bike plan calling for 100 miles of buffered and barricaded bike lanes. Citywide, traffic cameras cut speeding cars by as much as 90 percent. Dooring fines doubled to $1,000, and penalties for scofflaw cyclists more than quadrupled. Emanuel also snipped the ribbon on a $60 million bike-ped flyover for the iconic lakefront trail, and engaged in a bike-share arms race with New York City, installing the most stations in the U.S. The result? Thousands of Chicago residents rediscovered cycling.

Great Bike Shops
With two locations on popular bike routes through Lakeview and Andersonville, Johnny Sprockets has welcoming mechanics and a huge well-rounded inventory for roadies and city riders.

Boulevard Bikes in Logan Square specializes in top-notch service for urban cyclists, retro enthusiasts, and commuters without making road cyclists feel out of place.

Looking for a high-end bike? Get a Grip Cycles in Irving Park features “best-in-class brand selection” and expert repair, in addition to sponsoring a triathlon team.

Community Connections
The Active Transportation Alliance is Chicago’s voice for better biking, walking, and mass transit. The organization hosts bike commute challenges and fun annual events like the Bike to Brew pedals and pints party.

Every Saturday morning amateur racing team XXX Racing leads a no-drop ride up to Highland Park and on to several loop extensions. The route is also used by the Spider Monkey Cycling Club, which includes a mix of racing and non-racing members.

Best Events
The Sunday before Memorial Day is Bike the Drive, hosted by the Active Transportation Alliance. More than 21,000 cyclists take over all four lanes of Lake Shore Drive, which is closed to traffic, and take in the sights and sounds of Lake Michigan without distraction from cars.

Sample delicious local foods along a 12-, 22-, 43- or 62-mile route through Chicago’s South Side at the Four Star Bike & Chow. The ride passes multiple points of interest, including the site of the 1893 World's Fair and President Obama’s house, and ends in a festival at the University of Illinois at Chicago campus with a picnic, music, and Revolution Brewery beer.

The Chicago Cross Cup series draws huge crowds of cyclocross racers and their supporters. Bring a cowbell and beer to cheer on the serious competitors and their less-serious Cat 4B compatriots, many of whom are just out there to have fun in street clothes on commuter bikes.

Must-Do Ride
Take the Chicago Lakefront Trail to South Shore Drive, and head south on rural roads to Three Floyds Brewpub in Munster, Indiana, where you can loop back or have a friend pick you up in order to fully enjoy the brewery’s offerings. Those less comfortable with long rides should try the Green Bay and North Branch trails, which have access to the Chicago Botanical Gardens.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Caitlin Giddings

Minneapolis has long been an exemplary city for cycling—it topped our rankings in 2010 and was second in 2012. Even so, before she became mayor in 2014, Betsy Hodges said the city needed even better amenities for people like her who enjoyed biking but shied from traffic. Last winter, in her first official decree and bundled against the cold in a full-length down coat, Hodges addressed a group of bicyclists sipping steaming coffee beside the recently plowed Midtown Greenway bike path. Overnight the temperature had touched 10 below, but Hodges, like the city’s 4,000-plus year-round bike commuters, was undeterred. She delivered a proclamation touting the city’s progress: 19 miles of bicycle boulevards installed since 2011; one of the country’s biggest bike-share systems per resident; and learn-to-ride classes that have spread the city’s bike culture to its large Somali community. She declared January 3rd Winter Biking Day, and read aloud that Minneapolis bicyclists were “just plain tougher and much better looking than bicyclists from all those wimpier cities.” Then Hodges declared that by 2020, Minneapolis would install 30 more miles of protected bikeways, so people like her, and thousands of others in the city, would feel more comfortable riding their bikes. All these efforts kept the city in our top three in one of our most competitive surveys ever.

Great Bike Shops
Bring your bike around back at the One-on-One Bicycle Studio for an affordable repair job, or enjoy the café up front. This is the place to be if you’re looking for a huge selection of used bikes.

Founded in 2002, the Hub Bike Co-op is a worker-owned cooperative and full-service shop with a wide variety of bikes and accessories. Employees are friendly and knowledgeable with good reason—they have a stake in the success of the shop.

Behind Bars gets a lot of love from the local Minneapolis bike community for friendly, helpful service and great deals on new and used bike parts.

Community Connections
The Twin Cities Bicycling Club is a nonprofit with recreational rides and events open to members and non-members of all skill levels. Multiple daily club rides are scheduled per day, rated from Relaxed to Very Strenuous.

Best Events
If you’re as into drinking as you are bikes, the Stupor Bowl is an annual bike messenger tradition, billed as “America’s Drunkest Bike Race.”

Pedalopolis is a newish event that somewhat replicates the weeklong mania of Portland, Oregon’s Pedalpalooza. Enjoy free community bike fun on daily themed rides, watch racing documentaries, or attend open shop nights designed to empower women and trans cyclists.

Held in mid-August, the Powderhorn 24 is a 24-hour team bike race through South Minneapolis with neighborhood bonus checkpoints and plenty of opportunities to stop and hang out.

Must-Do Ride
For a gentle cruise, the 7-mile Calhoun Lake-Harriet Lake bike path loop is delightful.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Caitlin Giddings

Every summer in June they arrive in the twilight, in twos and fours and packs, bicyclists clad in little, soon to be nothing. This year, a record 9,060 Portlanders gathered for the World Naked Bike Ride. Officially a protest event—against oil dependency, and our vulnerability to motorists among other issues—and a public show of support for immodesty, the riders were also there in celebration of a city smitten with cycling. The group met at a neighborhood park surrounded by locals looking on from lawn chairs. Police blocked the streets. An adult marching band, LoveBomb Go-Go, trotted amongst the masses. Nearing midnight, everyone disrobed. They pedaled, then they partied. The attitude about cycling here is just one of many things to cheer: a planned light-rail bridge that will also bring $40 million in new buffered bike lanes and paths; a proposed apartment project with 1,200 parking spaces for bikes; and a university that supports urban cycling research, Portland State, which last year released a scientific study proving that, yes, bike commuters really do arrive happier. So happy, in fact, they might just disrobe. Yet, the lack of a large bike-share system and protected bike lanes put Portland off the pace of the most innovative cycling cities and drop it to its lowest ranking in our survey since 2010.

Great Bike Shops
River City Bikes has free bike maintenance classes (and espresso!), as well as knowledgeable mechanics that don’t talk down to beginners.

Want to find an affordable used bike or volunteer time refurbishing one for a needy kid? The Citybikes. The long-standing co-op has free open shop nights and two separate locations in SE Portland.

Co-owned by bike racer Eric Tonkin, Sellwood Cycle Repair has been repairing and selling new and used bikes at fair prices since 1991.

Community Connections
The Bicycling Transportation Alliance works to improve local cycling conditions through advocacy and programs that teach kids safe routes for riding to school.

Ready to pin on a bib and throw down on- or off-road? OBRA organizes and hosts local races of all kinds: road, track, criterium, time trial, cyclocross, or mountain bike.

Best Events
Keep Portland weird and geared at Pedalpalooza, a weeklong series of rides themed on everything from Star Wars vs. Star Trek to a Sound of Music sing-along.

Bridge Pedal is the one day a year cyclists get to check out the views from the top of the Marquam Bridge—join nearly 18,000 other riders in an all-bridges takeover.

Hundreds of cyclists take on the mud—and a quick lap around the velodrome—at Cross Crusade: Alpenrose to kick off the cyclocross series opener.

Must-Do Ride
A century loop from inner Portland along the Columbia River Gorge takes you past stunning waterfalls and over the legendary Bridge of the Gods.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Caitlin Giddings

In our nation’s capital, east of the Anacostia River, you’ll find few bike lanes and no bike shops. So four years ago, when the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) launched its East of the River program offering free repair clinics, learn-to-ride classes, and social rides, residents were understandably skeptical. But when the volunteer mechanics really did show up, people called their friends. Entire families brought their bikes. Today hundreds of bicycles have been put back on the road and in April of 2014, with fervent WABA support, the city broke ground on the $22 million Anacostia Riverwalk Trail link, part of an almost 70-mile regional trail system. In the last two years across DC, pilot bike-lane projects switched to full-scale implementation. A protected lane on M Street recently went in with sturdy concrete curbs instead of plastic bollards. In 2013, DC unveiled a new transportation master plan featuring 70 more miles of similar fully protected bike lanes. By increasing ridership in underserved communities and making cycling safe and comfortable for all, a city known for its gridlock—both vehicular and political—strives to lead the nation.

Great Bike Shops
Bicycle Space is a thriving, newish store in Mt. Vernon Square that holds community rides, happy hours, and free yoga classes.

Located right in Logan Circle, the Bike Rack is a friendly, full-service independent bike shop and a Giant Bicycle dealer.

Community Connections
WABA, the main bike advocacy organization in the city, has a 40-year history of working to make DC a better place to bike. Try the group’s annual 50 States & 13 Colonies Ride—a 62-mile ride that hits the District’s 50 state-named streets or a 15-miler that takes on streets named after all 13 original colonies.

Potomac Pedalers is one of the largest bicycle clubs in the US, with thousands of members and more than thousands of rides for all ability levels.

Founded in 1880 as the League of American Wheelmen, the 100,000-cyclist strong League of American Bicyclists advocates for cycling rights and safety all over the nation.

Best Events
Try the Greenbelt training race series in Greenbelt Park—the races are held every Wednesday in the spring and summer on a 1.4-mile loop through the park.

Must-Do Ride
Rock Creek Park is one of the nation’s biggest linear urban parks and closed to traffic on weekends. Loop through the park, connect to the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda, and drop back down to the Potomac and make your way toward Haines Point and the Jefferson Memorial.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Caitlin Giddings

More than 12 percent of Boulder’s population already commutes by bike—the highest rate among U.S. cities with populations greater than 100,000. Nearly three-quarters of residents get the minimum recommended daily aerobic activity. The obesity rate here is just half the national average. But that hasn’t stopped the city from continuing to push for more change. City officials recently began discussing a formerly taboo subject: increasing urban density to reduce car trips. Having more than 10 percent of residents ride to work is great by U.S. standards, says the city's bicycle and pedestrian senior transportation director Marni Ratzel. “But compared with European cities, it’s low.” Which is one reason Ratzel has looked to places like New York City for inspiration on innovative new infrastructure. Boulder has also installed a pilot protected bike lane, allowed electric bikes on paths to accommodate an aging population, and will nearly double its bike-share system by adding 16 more stations. Advocacy group Community Cycles has taken the lead on equity, offering earn-a-bike programs for low-income residents and organizing women-only social rides.

Great Bike Shops
Fun fact: Boulder has twice as many bike shops (15) as Starbucks. Our favorites:

Vecchio’s knows more about road bikes than anyone.

If you can’t find what you need in University Bikes’ grand, sprawling space, it doesn’t exist.

Boulder Cycle Sport epitomizes friendly service and has some of the best selection in town.

Dirt Labs isn’t a traditional shop, but they’ll fix any suspension ever attached to a bike.

Community Connections
Many of the shops in town have club rides; here are three alternatives:

The Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance has no less than eight regular rides, including kids’, skills, and the no-drop “Gurlz Ride.”

One of the best lunch rides in town is the NCAR group, which meets Tuesdays at 11:45 year-round for a solid hour-plus road spin. Tempos are brisk, but dial down some in winter months.

FasCat Coaching’s winter indoor rides are no spin class. It’s your bike, with their power meters and expertise. It’s a great jump-start on the season or intro to power-based training.

Best Events
The Venus de Miles, a women’s-only gran fondo, features routes from 33 to 100 miles and raises money for Greenhouse Scholars. The Venus Bike Club hosts twice-a-month training rides at Full Cycle.

Boulder’s mad for cyclocross and the Boulder Cup is its biggest party, held annually at Valmont Bike Park. Come to race, or just to watch.

The granddaddy of all swap meets, Veloswap is part yard sale, part expo and wall-to-wall bike craziness.

Must-Do Ride
The floods of 2013 have kept local roads in various states of repair closure, but Flagstaff Mountain is the local favorite for a great climb and better view.

Fruit Loops makes a perfect 40-ish mile spin on flatter terrain.

Our favorite is Peak to Peak: US 36 to Lyons, then spin up Highway 34 to gorgeous views on the rolling Peak to Peak highway before a long, cruisy descent from Ward down Lefthand Canyon.

Take your mountain bike over to Valmont Bike Park. Dirt jumps, pump tracks, flow trails, freeride? It’s got it all.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Joe Lindsey

Cyclists using the Market Street protected bike lane comprised 76 percent of the road’s commuters on this year’s Bike to Work Day, packs of roadies gather every morning to pedal 50 miles through the hills to Silicon Valley, and cabbies and bus drivers undergo mandatory education on sharing the road with cyclists. Yet the city isn’t immune to nationwide ills, like the inequitable enforcement of bicycle crashes. When Amelie Le Moullac, 24, was sideswiped and killed by a delivery truck in August of 2013, the SFPD claimed there was no evidence to charge the driver, and one officer went so far as to blame the victim. After the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition uncovered video from a local business showing the driver was at fault, city leaders called an emergency hearing on cycling enforcement. Nearly 40 cyclists shared personal stories of police bias—and officials took action. The police promised quarterly updates on its efforts to increase traffic safety and meet the city’s Vision Zero initiative. Buffered bike lanes and green paint now guide cyclists down Folsom Street where the crash occurred, and the city recently christened a protected contra-flow lane (one that goes against regular traffic) on Polk Street, providing a long-awaited connection to City Hall. As for the future? Last spring, the city doubled the amount of funding for bike-ped projects.

Great Bike Shops
In addition to 10 other locations in Northern California, Mike’s Bikes has a shop in the South of Market neighborhood with a friendly, unintimidating staff and free Tuesday night maintenance classes.

Fresh Air Cycles is a great little road and ’cross shop on Divisadero, with an experienced staff and a community-oriented approach toward bikes.

Community Connections
A meeting place for anyone passionate about cycling culture, the Rapha Cycle Club leads weekly rides up to Marin County, while also selling Rapha wear and local coffee.

In addition to local advocacy, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition offers free urban cycling workshops and lots of resources to help you safely and legally navigate the streets of SF.

The Bike Kitchen is a co-op in the Mission District that offers members of the community affordable ways to gain access to bicycles. Pay a $5 day-use fee or become a member at low cost to access tools and advice from volunteer mechanics.

Best Event
San Francisco Bike Party is an inclusive group ride on the first Friday of every month that seeks to explore different parts of the city. Be ready for spontaneous dancing along the route.

Must-Do Ride
The 25-mile SF to Hawk Hill loop takes you over into Marin, where you’ll climb above the fog for a breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city.

Fruit Loops makes a perfect 40-ish mile spin on flatter terrain.

Additional reporting by Caitlin Giddings

Last December, dozens of residents draped in green scarves packed the city council chambers for a public hearing on a transformative new bike plan. They wore green to signify their allegiance with thousands of others who’ve joined the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways coalition since it was founded in 2012. In just two years, the entirely grassroots coalition led the design and construction of 13 miles of new greenways (peaceful roads that prioritize recreation) in six neighborhoods. The new bike plan would further acknowledge their efforts. A woman rose from the scarved supporters and came to the lectern with three small kids dangling from her side. She described how the bike plan’s proposed 239 miles of new greenways and 102 miles of protected bike lanes would quell her greatest fear, a truck barreling down on her babies. The city listened: When a pair of renegade planners installed a protected cycle track under an overpass, instead of tearing it down, officials created a better version. A bike-share system with helmet-rental kiosks will arrive in late 2014. And thanks to those scarved supporters, the bike plan, estimated to cost up to a half-billion dollars, was officially adopted.

Great Bike Shops
Need a bike rental or quick fix in downtown Seattle? The Bicycle Repair Shop caters to the commuter crowd, with same-day repairs and a large selection of commuter accessories.

Located in Columbia City, Bike Works is a nonprofit bike shop seeking to build sustainable communities through educating youth and adults about cycling. Stop by for full-service repairs, or shop for new and used bikes you can’t find elsewhere.

Back Alley Bike Repair has mechanics that go above and beyond to be helpful and a convenient location in Pioneer Square.

Community Connections
Cascade Bicycle Club organizes events to serve Seattle and the Puget Sound cycling communities. As a nonprofit advocacy group, they’ve also successfully lobbied for laws increasing penalties to negligent drivers who have killed or injured cyclists.

Best Events
One of the 10 biggest recreational cycling events in the country, the STP or Seattle to Portland is a 202-mile supported tour of the rolling, rural terrain between the cities, designed to be ridden in one or two days. Sign up early—the ride sells out quickly every year.

The legendary annual Dead Baby Downhill Bike Race bills itself as the “Greatest Party Known to Humankind.” Now in its 18th year, the mayhem starts with a ride from Beacon Hill to Georgetown before dissolving into cycling chaos.

Must-Do Ride
A 61-mile loop takes you on a rolling, scenic spin around Lake Washington.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Caitlin Giddings

With the most microbreweries per capita in Colorado, Fort Collins produces 70 percent of the state’s beer. There’s the New Belgium brewery with its Tour de Fat, a nationwide bike carnival in support of bike advocacy. There’s Equinox Brewing, which delivers kegs via custom trike and converted its entire parking lot into a bike depot. And two bike shops that double as pubs, Road 34 and Cranknstein. “Most everyone I know here in the beer world is also involved in bike advocacy,” says Cranknstein co-owner Evan Rau. Between 2010 and 2012, an already expansive network of bike paths saw an 80 percent increase in ridership (to 7.9 percent of all commuters), earning the city platinum status from the League of American Bicyclists. The city’s Bike Library, where anyone can borrow a bike for a day, was established in 2008, two years before the nation’s first official bike-share system in Washington, DC. In 2014, it expanded into a new Downtown Transit Center. When the city kicked off an update to its bike master plan in October 2013 that included new facilities like protected bike lanes and neighborhood greenways, 220 residents showed up at an open house to weigh in. Then almost everyone rode their bikes—to toast their lifestyle.

Great Bike Shops
With two locations in Fort Collins and one near Loveland, Lee’s Cyclery has been around since 1963—long enough to be considered an institution. Stop in for a laid-back but professional repair job.

The Fort Collins Bike Co-op’s mission is to get the whole community riding and educate everyone on bike safety and maintenance. Swing by to fix your bike during open shop hours, or get involved in one of the co-op’s many volunteer programs.

Community Connections
It’s tough to know whether to file Cranknstein under bike shop or coffee shop/bar, but it’s best not to overthink it and just enjoy the winning service—both drink-wise and mechanical.

Dedicated to improving riding in Fort Collins, the local advocacy group Bike Fort Collins has a bunch of ongoing and annual events to get involved with, including a team that volunteers to help out at the USA Pro Challenge race every year.

Best Event
New Belgium’s Tour de Fat is a US-wide affair, but the whole thing started here in Fort Collins. Grab a beer and witness the parade and cycling circus that make up the annual family-friendly bike festival.

Must-Do Ride
The Horsetooth Reservoir Loop is a local favorite, with challenging climbs, fast descents, and all-around amazing views.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Caitlin Giddings

In the early 1990s, Cambridge—just six square miles with one of the nation’s highest population densities—choked on smog and was economically hamstrung by a state-imposed environmental mandate that limited new construction. Desperate to improve its air quality, the city drafted a series of transformative (and controversial) policies. The laws, aimed at reducing auto trips, funneled fees from car-parking permits into the city’s bike program—essentially, taxing cars to improve cycling—and required that new development provide facilities such as bike-share stations, public repair stands, and secure bike parking. As a result, the rate of bike trips in Cambridge has tripled over the last decade. In a collaboration with the city, Massachusetts Institute of Technology installed one of the country’s first protected bike lanes on its campus in 2004. Secure bike-parking facilities throughout Cambridge (one at the Alewife Station T stop houses 500-plus bikes) now teem with bike commuters, who comprise up to 9 percent of all work trips. Even as the city grows, the air clears. In Kendall Square, the city added 4.6 million feet of mixed-use development—apartments, shopping, and office space—and reduced auto traffic by 14 percent over the last decade.

Great Bike Shops
Cambridge Bicycle is an independent shop servicing local riders and the MIT cycling team, which seems as good a reason as any to trust them with your mechanical needs.

The mechanics at Hub Bicycle Company love bikes, and it shows in top-notch repairs and customer service. The shop is also woman-owned and makes a point to profess its support for women in cycling, as well as its support for safer streets and more trail access.

Community Connections
The Cambridge Bicycle Committee organizes area bike tours and fun rides that draw hundreds of cyclists, like the annual Bow Tie Ride or the Sound+Vision tour.

The Hub Bicycle Company on Cambridge St. has regular “Cannoli Friday” parties. Come for the cannoli and drinks; stay to hang out and talk about bikes.

Best Events
New to cyclocross? Team Monster Truck runs practices geared toward newbies in Danchy Park, which include rounds of bike tag that double as interval workouts.

Show up and saddle up at monthly meetups for RAWR Bikes (Really Awesome Women Riding Bikes) at Flat Top Johnny’s in Kendall Square.

Once a month, Boston cyclists loop through Boston and Cambridge for the Boston Bike Party—a rowdy, soundtrack-backed celebration on wheels.

Must-Do Ride
Ride the Allis Loop, named for former Olympian and 1974 US national road cycling champion John Allis, who did the ride every morning before heading to work to coach the Harvard cycling team. Today the ride remains the go-to training loop for the Harvard squad.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Caitlin Giddings

One Reason It Makes The Cut
The new $28 million, 1.1-mile-long Boardwalk Trail hovers over downtown’s Lady Bird Lake and provides a crucial connection between east and west Austin.

Great Bike Shops
Located right outside of downtown, Austinbikes is more like hanging out at your local pub than going to the bike shop. Known for its support of the racing community, Austinbikes sets its service counter up like a bar with stools where you can visit with your buddies after work on a Friday while you get your bike worked on. The shop offers comprehensive bike fits and sells Cyclesoles Custom Cycling foot beds.

It would be remiss of us not to mention Mellow Johnny’s, the mega-store that belongs to, and is named after, Lance Armstrong. Along with bikes and gear, the shop features a commuter center with storage lockers, a coffee bar, and an indoor training facility with a full-time coaching staff.

Community Connections
The Austin Cycling Association hosts multiple rides a week for every ability level that are both guided and self paced, and offers classes on cycling in the city, group riding skills and defensive cycling.

The Austin Flyers Women’s Cycling Club holds group rides and skills clinics and fields a racing team.

Best Event
The PURE Austin Driveway Series is held every Thursday from March 13 through October 16, on four courses located at the privately owned racetrack, meaning that you never get bored of the course. Your competition might include some of the nation’s top up-and-coming racers, such as Giant-Shimano’s Lawson Craddock and Garmin-Sharp’s Nate Brown. You can ride to the races on the South Walnut Creek Trail; afterwards, enjoy dinner from a food cart and free beer.

Must-Do Ride
Take Fitzugh Road out of the cities and roll into Texas Hill Country and out to the boyhood home of President Johnson in Johnson City. On your way back you can stop at one of the new breweries on the route like Jester King and Thirsty Goat.

Conquer the notorious “Triple Bitch”, a three-tiered kilometer climb that concludes the Lime Creek ride. The ride zigzags around Lake Travis. Getting to Lime Creek is easy, thanks to new traffic-free bike lanes.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett

One Reason It Makes The Cut
The recently installed 15th Street protected bikeway (the first of three planned protected lanes) links Union Station through downtown with the state capital, and has reduced dangerous sidewalk riding by 61 percent.

Great Bike Shops
Salvagetti is not an Italian name; the shop’s founders simply added “tti” to the word “salvage.” The playful attitude of the shop makes it easily approachable for the new or experienced rider. It offers classes on basic bike maintenance, mountain biking and more.

Yawp Cyclery will sell you new gear but is more than happy to fix your old cruiser. The shop got its name from a Walt Whitman poem, “Song of Myself” (“I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world”). For a full explanation, stop into the shop.

Community Connections
The Rocky Mountain Cycling Club offers group rides in the Denver area nearly every night during the week. It also puts on the Colorado Triple Crown Series, consisting of timed double century rides that have up to 20,000 feet in elevation gain.

Out Spokin’ is Denver’s LGBT Cycling Club. The club consists of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individual and their supportive friends and family. They organize weekly rides, as well as coordinate teams for touring rides like the MS150.

Best Event
Every July, 4,500 cyclists gather for a 10-mile moonlit cruiser ride on closed streets. The ride begins with a pajama dance party. Costumes are encouraged, and the best win prizes.

Must-Do Ride
Grab your mountain bike and head to Belcher Hill for the White Ranch Technical Descent Tour. Climb and descend over 2,200 feet in just 11 miles. This trail features switchbacks, rock gardens, and all things gnarly.

Take a spin through downtown on a bCycle—Denver’s bike share program was the first large-scale operation in the nation.

Ride Map

Related: Denver Ride Guide

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett

One Reason It Makes The Cut
The culture of hardcore commuting (even during the polar vortex) is buoyed by Madison Bike Winter, an organization that encourages year-round bike commuting with a tongue-in-cheek axiom: It’s “not as bad as you might think.”

Great Bike Shops
Everyone at Machinery Row rides to work, so they know exactly what you need in the hot Madison summer or the frigid winter. The shop sells trail passes for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and reinvests all of the profits back into cycling initiatives. Besides bikes, gear and bike fits, the shop also offers special exhibits on subjects like vintage cycling posters.

Community Connections
Prefer bikes with one wheel? Then the Madison Unicyclists are for you. The group focuses on promoting youth programs, including bi-monthly unicycling practices.

The local chapter of Team Luna Chix offers themed weeknight rides with awesome destinations like Taco Tuesday and rides to the movie theater.

Best Events
The Saris Cycling Group sponsors Madison’s Ride 2 Recovery Honor Ride. The ride races money to improve the health of military through rehabilitation, including outdoor cycling programs and Spinning Recovery Labs at military and veterans affairs locations. The event features 12-mile, 35-mile and 70-mile options.

Every Tuesday, Thursday, and some weekends the Madison Bike Polo group gathers at Reynolds Park to play a game of hardcourt bike polo. Beginners are welcome and the club will even supply bikes if you don’t have one.

The Horribly Hilly Hundreds claims to be the toughest one-day challenge ride in the Midwest. Taking place right outside of Madison in Blue Mounds State Park, the course features over 10,000 feet of elevation gain and choices of 100k, 150k, or 200k. Hosted every June, the ride brings in over 1,300 participants each year.

Must-Do Ride
The Capital City Trail consists of 17 miles of paved paths directly through the heart of the city. You can take the path to the Henry Vilas Zoo, the arboretum, or the beaches of Madison. For a longer ride, you can link up with the 40-mile Military Ridge State Park Trail or the 52-mile Glacial Drumlin State Trail.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett

One Reason It Makes The Cut
Municipal agencies are committed to better conditions for riders. Case in point: The Philadelphia Parking Authority asked cyclists to report illegally parked motorists by tweeting #unblockbikelanes to @PhilaParking.

Great Bike Shops
Breakaway Bikes sells and services all types of bicycles and also offers bike fitting, coaching, indoor training sessions, and biometric testing services.

Curious about cargo bikes? Try before you buy by renting one from Firth and Wilson in Spring Garden. The shop also offers all standard repairs and service, as well as specialized Brooks saddle repairs.

Community Connections
The Bicycle Club of Philadelphia sponsors weekly rides for all levels and a fall foliage bike tour, as well as an annual century (below).

Ladies: Want to meet other women who ride? Sturdy Girl Cycling offers a recreational ride group and a racing team.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia campaigns for new bike trails throughout the region as well as for safe cycling routes within the city, and runs a variety of programs for cyclists of all types, from Bicycle Ambassadors to Girl Scouts on Wheels.


 

Best Events
Test your legs on the 18 percent grade Manayunk Wall at Velothon Philadelphia, then stay to watch some of the world’s fastest men and women tackle the same climb during the Philly Cycling Classic (June 2015). Insider tip: Watching from the Wall is ideal because it is the start/finish, but if you want a quieter spot to catch the action check out Lemon Hill and East Fairmount Park.

Explore the local countryside and state parks at the Scenic Schuylkill Century, and then bond with your 1,000 new friends at the post ride pizza bash.

Every Tuesday night around midnight, cyclists gather at the bottom of the famous Rocky Steps in front of the Art Museum in pursuit of soft pretzels. The group, which can have as many as 60 riders, cruises about three miles to Center City Pretzel Co., where Philly’s most famous baked good can be had, fresh out of the oven.

Must-Do Ride
The paved/cinder Schuylkill River Trail extends over 60 miles from Center City to Pennsylvania’s Chester County. Notable landmarks include the Philadelphia Art Museum, Boathouse Row, and Valley Forge National Park.

Ride Map


 

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett and Emily Furia

One Reason It Makes The Cut A resurgent grassroots bike advocacy effort overcame fervent opposition and helped win approval of a road diet (replacing car lanes with bike lanes) on South Willamette Street, making a direct cycling route to downtown safer.

Great Bike Shops
Arriving By Bike Bicycle Transportation Store caters exclusively to people who use their bikes for transportation. They stock cargo bikes, e-bikes, rain gear, reflective accessories, and more.

Blue Heron Cycles has been in Eugene for 20 years. They specialize in repairs of classic bikes and building custom bikes. If you’re driving to the store, call ahead and they will help you find a parking spot.

Community Connections
Greater Eugene Area Riders (GEARs) is one of the largest groups in Eugene. It organizes weekly rides, works on advocacy, and provides safety and skills education.

Best Events
Kidical Mass is a monthly ride for kids and their parents. The goal is to introduce children to bicycles and riding on the road. How do you get kids through a road ride? The promise of the ice cream stop at the end.

During every full moon, cyclists congregate at Kesey Square for the Moonlight Mash, a leisurely 9-mile ride with six regrouping points. Special lighting, boom boxes and costumes are always in style.

Must-Do Ride
One popular local route is part of the Blackberry bRamble, a touring ride put on by GEARs. It climbs out of the valley and down into the vineyards of Lorane Valley before continuing on rolling, lightly traveled roads. There are a variety of ways to cut the route to meet your distance needs.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett

One Reason It Makes The Cut
The city, local researchers, and the Boston Cyclists Union collaborated to create one of the nation’s most comprehensive bicycle crash maps, a wealth of data that will make dangerous roads and intersections safer for all users.

Great Bike Shops
Forget dropping a ton of money for a couple quick fixes you don’t feel comfortable doing yourself, Community Spoke will fix your bike for free and show you how to do it on your own for next time. This donation-based shop has a physical location in Jamaica Plain and a mobile clinic, bike-operated of course.

Back Bay Bicycles has been a Boston institution for over 20 years. It has everything from high-end BMC road machines to kids’ bikes.

Community Connections
Boston Bike Party hosts monthly themed social rides. Every ride is a new route and party music is played over a sound system throughout the ride, which ends at a different after-party spot every time. Themes have included Boston Red Socks and Boston T-Party (in celebration of the Transit system).

Best Events
Every year, preceding the running of the Boston marathon, another race takes place on the same course. Over 1,000 cyclists take to the street on the eve of the Boston marathon at midnight on a friendly ride. The ride is free, but if you want to splurge there is a pancake breakfast for $12.00.

The Boston Cycling Celebration takes place over a weekend each September. It opens with the TD Bank Mayor’s Cup, the final race in the season-long National Criterium Calendar, which is sure to bring out some of America’s top stars. The second day features the Hub on Wheels ride, a fully supported casual ride throughout the city with 10-, 30-, or 50-mile options. There’s also a block party with food, music, and entertainment.

Must-Do Ride
A favorite ride for Bostonians starts in Boston and heads towards the famous battlefields of Concord and Lexington. The ride loops past Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond. With this loop you burn calories and expand your knowledge all at once.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett

One Reason It Makes The Cut
The city helps sell neighborhoods on the merit of major bicycle projects by incorporating local artwork that captures the spirit of the community and creates a sense of ownership in the public works.

Great Bike Shops
Bicycle Cellar bills itself as a “cycling commuter support station.” For a small membership fee, the shop provides bike parking, showers, and changing rooms for commuters.

Tempe Bicycles has been in the valley since 1976. The shop has over 4,000 feet of retail space and an extensive rental program including mountain bikes and aluminum and carbon road bikes.

Community Connections
The Tempe Bicycle Action Group (T.B.A.G.) is an advocacy group for making cycling a more prominent mode of transportation and fitness. The group organizes rides, operates bicycle valets at events, runs Bike to Work week and gives training courses on bicycle safety.

Best Event
Every year, Tour De Fat, presented by New Belgium Brewing, rolls into Tempe. The festival is a celebration of all things weird that have to do with cycling, complete with live music, strange contraptions and a lot of beer.

Must-Do Ride
If you’re looking for a more relaxed ride, you can jump on the protected bike lanes on University Drive that connect Arizona State University and downtown Tempe. The path is the product of a $2.2 million grant and features art, crosswalks and a buffer from the road.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett

One Reason It Makes The Cut
In this longtime training destination for top pros, since 2004 the local nonprofit El Grupo has been introducing disadvantaged teens to competitive bike racing, and has become one of the region’s top-ranked junior cycling clubs.

Great Bike Shops
Focusing on high-end and custom bikes, Fair Wheel Bikes is Tucson’s oldest pro shop. However, being located minutes from the University of Arizona, the staff is also accustomed to helping riders find a cruiser or mountain bike or get the quick fix they need.

A small shop that packs a big punch, Transit Cycles focuses on cargo bikes, touring models and commuting gear.

Community Connections
Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage, or BICAS, promotes education, art, and a healthy lifestyle. The center, located in downtown Tucson, provides rental workstations, used parts, and refurbished bikes, earn-a-bike programs, art galleries and metalwork programs.

El Grupo Youth Cycling is a local club for children ages 12–18. The club holds five practices a week and is open to anyone; the group has a stable of donated loaner bikes for kids to use.

Best Event
El Tour de Tucson attracts over 9,000 riders each year. Routes range from 50 to 104 miles, and weave through Tucson and the mountain ranges, with terrain varying from rolling to moderately hilly. After you receive your medal for completing your ride, you can celebrate a day’s hard work at the Downtown Fiesta, complete with beer garden, food vendors, and kids’ activities.

For 11 years, El Grupo has sponsored a bicycle scavenger hunt each April, open to riders of all ages. Participants receive a map of downtown Tucson with 10 riddles on the back. The answers can be found within a three-mile radius and the fastest teams earn prizes.

Must-Do Ride
Mount Lemmon is the go to for tourists and local pros alike. The climb begins at 3,000 feet of elevation and climbs at a steady 5 percent to 9,100 feet over 27 miles. Reward yourself at the top with a giant cookie from Mount Lemmon Cookie Cabin.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett

One Reason It Makes The Cut
To definitively track the effect of its efforts to increase cycling, the city built permanent bike counters into the trail network, providing real-time feedback on citywide ridership.

Great Bike Shop
Freshbikes boasts a large selection of bike brands and professional fitting services. Out-of-towners purchasing selected high-end bikes can take advantage of the Fly and Buy program, which includes a night’s stay at a nearby hotel, complimentary lunch, a guided ride through Washington, DC, ground transportation, and complimentary bike boxing.

Community Connections
Phoenix Bikes is an organization dedicated to youth development. Its “Earn-A-Bike” initiative that requires kids to work a minimum of 25 hours learning how to build and maintain a bike, practice customer service or shop management, and another pre-decided project to earn their own bike. Phoenix Bikes also has programs on riding skills, bike fit, and assessing a bike’s value.

In the area and want to ride, but don’t know where to go? Check out DCPaceline. All local rides are listed with meeting locations, start times, and difficulty rankings.

Best Event
The Air Force Association Cycling Classic is one of the best criterium events in the Mid-Atlantic region, drawing racers from all over the country and the world. Spectators can take part in the challenge ride, kids’ races, and bike industry expo.

Must-Do Ride
The Trail Loop is a connection of four major off-street trails. It combines the Four-mile run trail, W&OD Trail, Curtis Trail and the Mount Vernon Trail. Highlights include the Pentagon, the National Mall and Old Town Alexandria.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett

One Reason It Makes the Cut:
Because students tend to ride en masse, but without regard for traffic laws, Boise State University instituted a ticket diversion program allowing lawbreakers to take a bicycle safety course instead of paying a fine.

Great Bike Shops
George’s Cycles and Fitness is always a top contender for best bike shop in Boise due to its large selection and excellent customer service. With four locations, there’s always one close by.

Boise Bicycle Project is a nonprofit bike shop that sells refurbished bikes and parts at low prices. Its shop’s workspace is open, to let customers learn how to work on their own bikes.

Community Connections
Boise Young Rider Development Squad (BYRDS) is an after school cycling group that teaches group riding, nutritional skills, safety, time management and more. The team works with children 6 through 18 on road cycling, mountain biking, and cyclocross.

Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance works toward getting more people in Boise on bikes through education, infrastructure, advocacy, and collaboration. It offers classes in commuting, a bike registration, and volunteer opportunities to meet other area cyclists.

Best Event
A two-week cycling extravaganza, Pedal for the People is a celebration of all cyclists in the Boise area. Individuals come up with their own events and host them; the event organizer posts them all on one group calendar. Events have included Bare as you Dare rides, the Your Milkshake Brings All the Bikes to the Yard milkshake ride, and Boise Bike Polo.

Must-Do Rides
If you like to climb, try the 16-mile stretch of road known as “Kristin Armstrong Highway,” which was a staple in the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s training plan. Over 3,500 feet of elevation gain delivers you to the Bogus Basin ski resort.

For a more casual ride, take the 25-mile Greenbelt rail that connects Boise, Garden City, and Eagle.

Ride Map

Additional reporting by Elspeth Huyett