Showing posts with label Montreal Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montreal Canada. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Bike-Friendly Cities

A couple months ago, I hosted a survey about which U.S. city was the best city for bicycling.

I didn't get much of a response. I think one possibility for the apathy is that many people  do not equate "trails" w/ "cities." There's an attitude that trails have to be out in the country to be tranquil and scenic.

I'll admit, I used to think that way too. But it ain't so, my friends!!

Some of my favorite biking trails go through urban as well as rural areas.

I'm not alone in this assessment. National Geographic Traveler magazine published an article called "Great Bike-Friendly Cities." In that article, the following cities rated high for their bicycle culture and environment. Some of the cities that rated high included:
Mt. Vernon Bike Trail w/ the Washington
D. C. monuments in the background.


  • Portland, OR
  • New York
  • Chicago
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco
  • Montreal
  • Washington D.C.
Some of those cities may have surprised you, but they owe their place on the list to recent improvements in bicycle trails, bike lanes, and general biking accessibility, safety, and promotion.


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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Congratulations to Bike-Friendly cities


National Geographic Traveler recently released its 2010 list of Bike Friendly Cities.
Congratulations to Portland (no surprise), New York (real surprise), Chicago (surprise for some people), San Diego, San Francisco, Montreal, Washington D.C. (I couldn't agree more), and Tucson (sorry, but I have to disagree unless their only criteria for inclusion is road-biking).
I am glad to see a rating system for bike-friendly cities. I love riding bike in urban, suburban, and rural settings. But If I'm going to ride my bike in a city (or anywhere for that matter) I want it to be on a trail. I do not trust drivers. Heck, when I'm driving, I don't trust bicyclists. Let's face it; the two modes of transportation don't mix well. And for bicyclists, it just takes one split-second of misjudgment to end it all.
But I digress. I'm happy for the cities that make biking a pleasure and hope that other metropolises follow in their footsteps. It's good for our health, economy, society, and life in general.
Unfortunately, of those cities that won the award, the only bike trail on trailsnet is the Washington D.C. trail to Mount Vernon.

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