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.

Bike-Friendly Cities

New York & New Jersey Trails

I recently came across a website dedicated to New York trails & New Jersey trails. 

By itself, this was a pretty good find, since I haven't yet had the opportunity to ride bike or hike in New York or New Jersey.

But I was especially thrilled to find out about a wilderness area in the Catskills called the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area.

Why did this excite me, you may ask?

Because ever since I read the book My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George, I've been obsessed by the Catskills. I loved the book, I loved (especially as a teenager) the idea of "living off the land," and I loved the idea of wandering around for a year in the Catskill Mountains. Ms. George did such a fantastic job of describing the scenery and the wildlife, that I could picture myself immersed in the day-to-day trappings of being a recluse in the wilds of New York.

What is especially funny about this is that I grew up in northwestern Montana. Imagine a boy from the mountains of Montana dreaming of the "wilds of New York."  (-:

Someday I look forward to including New Jersey and New York trails on trailsnet.com.

New York & New Jersey Trails