America’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities

There are many important things a city can do to gain our consideration for this list: segregated bike lanes, municipal bike racks and bike boulevards, to name a few. If you have those things in your town, cyclists probably have the ear of the local government—another key factor. To make our Top 50, a city must also support a vibrant and diverse bike culture, and it must have smart, savvy bike shops. If your town isn’t named below, use this as an opportunity to do something about it. Already on the list? Go out and enjoy a ride. (Note: We considered only cities with populations of 100,000 or more, and we strove for geographical diversity to avoid having a list dominated by California’s many bike-oriented cities.) MORE

• 5 foreign bike-friendly cities
• 5 American bike-friendly cities (under 100,000 population)

Despite the cold wintertime climate, Minneapolis has a thriving bike community. It has 120 miles of on- and off-street bicycle facilities, plus indoor bike parking and other cycling-friendly facilities. RELATED LINKS:

• Minneapolis Ride Maps
• Submit Your Own Minneapolis Ride Maps

Innovative programs, from designated bike-only areas at traffic signals to free bike lights, make riding in Portland practical even for new cyclists. RELATED LINKS:

• Portland Ride Maps
• Submit Your Own Minneapolis Ride Maps

Ninety-five percent of Boulder's arterial streets are bike-friendly and the city is surrounded by a greenbelt with 120 miles of trails. It's the home of many top pro racers. RELATED LINKS:

• Boulder Ride Maps
• Submit Your Own Boulder Ride Maps

Seattle has a 10-year, $240-million bike master plan that seeks to triple the number of journeys made by bike and add 450 miles of bike paths. RELATED LINKS:

• Seattle Ride Maps
• Submit Your Own Seattle Ride Maps

Ample bike parking, lit bike paths and the Smart Ways to School program are just three of Eugene's cycling-friendly characteristics. RELATED LINKS:

• Eugene Ride Maps
• Submit Your Own Eugene Ride Maps
• More Oregon Cycling

Commuter rails within the city allow bicycles; there's also a bike shuttle across the Bay Bridge during rush hour. RELATED LINKS:

• San Francisco Ride Maps
• Submit Your Own San Francisco Ride Maps

Madison introduced its first bicycle transportation plan in 1975 and has been making bike-friendly improvements ever since. RELATED LINKS:

• Madison Ride Maps
• Submit Your Own Madison Ride Maps

Greenways and car-free central park have long made NYC a fun place to ride, but transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan has begun turning it into a world-class bike city in the last few years. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in New York
• Submit Your Own New York Ride Maps

All new street construction and reconstruction must include bike lanes. The East Pima Region already has more than 700 miles of designated bikeways. Plus, it's sunny year-round. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in Tucson
• Submit Your Own Tucson Ride Maps

Mayor Richard Daley might have more enthusiasm for cycling than any other mayor in the United States. The city has bike lanes, valet bike parking, indoor bike racks and more. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in Chicago
• Submit Your Own Chicago Ride Maps

The hometown of Lance Armstrong has a policy to incorporate bike facilities into all new road projects. RELATED LINKS:

• Austin Ride Maps
• Submit Your Own Austin Ride Maps

In addition to ample bike parking, an impressive trail system and a vibrant cycling community, Denver has police officers and EMTs who patrol on bikes. RELATED LINKS:

• Denver Ride Maps
• Submit Your Own Denver Ride Maps

Washington, DC was the first major city in the United States to implement a bike-sharing program. In the past two years, the city has added 11 miles of bicycle lanes and 10 miles of signed routes. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in Washington, DC
• Submit Your Own Washington, DC Ride Maps

In a state known for the automotive industry, the home of the University of Michigan is an outlier. Five percent of state gasoline and weight tax revenues are used toward non-motorized transportation projects. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in Ann Arbor
• Submit Your Own Ann Arbor Ride Maps

Tempe boasts the highest percentage of bike riders in the state of Arizona. Neighboring Phoenix was a 2009 Bicycling BikeTown. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in Phoenix and Tempe
• Submit Your Own Ride Maps

More than 5 percent of Gainesville residents—many of them students at the University of Florida—commute by bike. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in Gainesville
• Submit Your Own Gainesville Ride Maps

The city has a 400-mile network of urban bikeways that features its own street sweepers. And there are more than 300 city-built bike lockers at 23 locations around Albuquerque, with plans for 50 more annually as companies like Intel and Honeywell sign on. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in Albuquerque
• Submit Your Own Albuquerque Ride Maps
• Albuquerque's South Foothills

Colorado Springs adopted a complete streets policy two years ago. The city is constantly adding more bike lanes and cycling facilities. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in Colorado Springs
• Submit Your Own Colorado Springs Ride Maps

In a region that includes Portland, Eugene, Seattle and other cycling hotbeds, Salem is sometimes forgotten—but the city of 152,000 has 60 percent of its arterial roads accommodating cyclists, so it certainly holds its own. RELATED LINKS:

• Rides in Salem
• Submit Your Own Salem Ride Maps