Urban Bike Tourism

First off: I love riding my bike in Chicago, no doubt about it. But what other cities are good bike destinations? Any really good trip stories?

I did a stint in NYC and am returning there for the 5 Boro bike tour this May (first time). Anyone else done this ride?

And last September I returned home to do the Tour-de-Troit. TONS of fun and has me pining for a return trip. Think newly-paved 9-lane surface streets (thanks to the Super Bowl a few years back) with none of that pesky "traffic" that crowded, functioning cities seem to have.

Looking forward to hearing other ideas -

Tags: biking, cities, city, travel

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Permalink Reply by Julie Hochstadter on March 1, 2009 at 12:24am

I have heard great things about the 5 borough ride in NYC.

The League of American Bicyclists rates Davis, CA, Boulder, CO and Portland, OR as the friendliest cities. check it out here . Chicago made the "silver" award level.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Jenkins on March 1, 2009 at 7:11am

Denver, Portland and Seattle are all good bike destinations. St. Louis and Scottsdale not so much.

I want to visit Davis to see the infrastructure.

I suppose Amsterdam, Maastricht and Copenhagen go without saying. In those cities, it took a little while to adjust to the traffic patterns. For example, I had no clue bikes have the right of way in traffic circles and it threw the timing off when I slowed thinking I would be smacked by a car.

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Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on March 1, 2009 at 10:59am

it's not vaguely filthy howard

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 1, 2009 at 9:03pm

Good point about different types of cyclists and different needs. I agree about Portland, OR. Great place to get around by bike, and their public transit accommodates bikes very well. Eugene is excellent, too. If you're okay with climbing some seriously steep hills and coping with traffic, Seattle can be cool. They have some paths on easier terrain, but sticking strictly to those paths is kinda boring. All their buses have bike racks, making it easier to avoid climbing some of the toughest hills if they're out of reach for your climbing ability. Denver is rapidly improving. They have a lot more bike lanes and paths than they did 10 years ago, and a new light rail system, too. Haven't checked out bike access to public transit there, so I can't answer that piece of the picture.

Portland, ME is a nice place to ride. It's a pleasant small city with reasonable drivers who are used to seeing lots of bikes, great fresh seafood, and good local brewpubs. Also, the Maine Dept. of Transportation has a page of well-researched bike routes on their web site. I have friends who live in Maine who have used these to explore other parts of the state and been impressed with the routes, which give lots of landmarks and info on any bike routes along the route (or warning if there are none). You can take a ferry to some of the nearby islands, Bar Harbor or Nova Scotia.

h3 said:

It's important to remember that we have different kinds of cyclists here and we may not all be talking about the same thing.
In north america, I think Portland is probably the best city besides Chicago as a destination for a laid-back bike vacation (e.g. riding a bike around a city). I wouldn't put Seattle on the list-- I was there in September and in terms of seeing people on bikes it was like Chicago in 1990 (plus unless you're a gym-rat the hills will wear you out in a 20-minute ride.)

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Permalink Reply by corrie octopus on March 5, 2009 at 2:39pm

Being from San Francisco, I have to plug the Bay Area as an absolutely fantastic cycling destination. I have great routes and tips to share--it's beautiful, and there's a bit of everything. Urban, coastal, mountainous, and more. Absolutely beautiful and loads of good infrastructure for cycling. Hostels abound, a well as camping spots.

I also did a small tour w/ a friend in Western Mass, which was also beautiful--started in Boston and headed West. Rolling hills, lots of great places to camp, organic farms to crash at...everything. A great place for touring.

Have fun!

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Permalink Reply by on2wheels on March 5, 2009 at 3:03pm

If you want somewhere closer to home, Madison WI is a wonderful cycling city. Also has the countrys best farmers market, a fantastic culture and WI in general is fast moving up the charts for cycling.

There is alot going on cycling wise, their paths are numerous throughout the city. The city is very compact so that you can ride across and around it very easy. Also the number of bike shops per capita is incredible.

I could rant all day