Compared to a lot of places around the world, the United States isn’t known for its bike culture. Part of that is just geography, being a large country with lots of land means it’s more challenging to get around without a car or public transportation.
But, that doesn’t mean that bike culture in the US isn’t growing.
In fact, there are plenty of cities around the country that are encouraging visitors and residents to use bikes a lot more often and are making it easier to do so.
Let’s take a look at a few of these biking friendly cities in the US.
Portland, Oregon
Along with other West Coast cities Seattle and San Francisco, Portland has a deep focus on being more bike-friendly. The city has spent the last few years building miles of new protected bike lanes and expanding current pathways for more users. Through a program with Nike, visitors can find the Biketown shared bike system, which has hubs all over Portland.
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is already a city known for its resident’s love of the outdoors. So it’s natural that this is a top bike-friendly city in the US. The bike-share program here, called Boulder B-Cycle, features easy to ride three-speed bikes that come with baskets to transport your bag (or purchase from one of the many breweries in the city).
Minneapolis, Minnesota
You might be surprised to find people riding bikes in Minneapolis all year round. Just because it’s snowing doesn’t mean bikes aren’t around. The program called, Nice Ride Minnesota, has over 3,000 bikes stashed at 400 locations all over the city. The program is easy for visitors and offers cheap $2 one way rides, perfect for a quick tour around a neighborhood.
New York, New York
The first mode of transportation that comes to mind when you think of New York City is often the fleet of yellow cabs. But, New York actually has the most extensive bike-share program in the country with over 6,000 bikes through the CitiBike program. Take a ride through Central Park, along the Hudson River Greenway or even over to Brooklyn.
Tuscon, Arizona
Did you know that Tuscon has hundreds of miles of bike-friendly trails? While it might be a sleeper on the list compared to some of the other cities, don’t leave Tuscon out. There is a convenient bike-sharing program called Tugo, or you can bring your own and try out some of the local mountain biking trails too.
Austin, Texas
Austin is quickly becoming known as a bike-friendly city. With continued plans to reduce car parking in downtown areas, that opens up more opportunities for biking. With Austin B-Cycle, the rideshare program, more and more people are hopping on many of the growing trails opening up around the city. It’s a great way to work off some of that barbeque!
As you can see, there are plenty of bike-friendly cities around the country. So the next time you’re exploring some of these cities, try doing it by bike.
