The World’s Best Cities for Bicycle Riding
Whether it’s by cycle or mountain bike, you will find the following cities a joy to get around in:
Amsterdam, Netherlands
By most accounts, Amsterdam comes out on top as the most cycle friendly city. It’s hard to argue when 40 percent of this city’s commuting is done by bicycle. A large network of bicycle routes and serious attention given to theft prevention and substantial bike parking encourage the Dutch to move around by bicycle. The Netherlands’ flat landscape also helps! Public bicycles are also available for rent.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Trailing Amsterdam by just a little, almost a third of Copenhagen residents get to work by pedal power. The hippy community of Christiania have actually banned cars from their precinct. In the centre of town a deposit secures you a public bicycle to get around, when is then returned when you drop off the bike at one of many bike racks around town.
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona authorities are also intent on increasing options for cyclists in their city. These include a 100 location strong public bicycle service, development of secure underground bicycle parking stations, optimisation and improvement of existing bicycle routes, and the promotion of bike usage with the hosting of a “Bike Week”.
Portland, Oregon, USA
The community in Portland promote cycling by means of a network that has quadrupled in the last twenty years (as has the number of cyclists), provision of bicycles for commuting to low income adults and plans for even more bike lanes. No wonder Portland is considered the bike capital of the USA.
Trondheim, Norway
The world’s first bicycle lift can be found in Trondheim, Norway. Since it’s opening in 1993, the Public Roads Administration has been encouraging locals to get around by bike. A metal line runs up an ascending street, with the rider balancing one foot on the bike while the other is pulled along slowly but surely up the hill, while attached to the metal line’s pulley system. A tough hill is therefore no longer an excuse to not cycle around town! Nearly one in five locals commute by pedal power (possibly with a little lift power too!)
Beijing, China
Chinese cities are synonymous with bicycle riding. In Beijing, the huge number of bicycle riders are catered for with wide bicycle lane networks that are barricaded off from the main road, so that they are for the exclusive use of cyclists. With the dramatic rise of the motor car in China, these allocated areas are very important.
Boulder, Colorado, USA
Local authorities in Boulder have put bicycle transport at the forefront of their infrastructure planning. This can be seen through a Boulder Safe Routes to School programme, bike lanes on almost all major roads and a healthy budget spend on maintaining and improving Boulder’s cycling network.
Berlin, Germany
Cyclists in Berlin can simply plug in a departure point and destination into a local website to be given the best cycling route for that journey. Like other cities in this list, those responsible are expanding the bike lane network to build on the doubling of bike commutation experienced in Berlin over the past decade.
Dedicated cycling lanes in the above cities can be enjoyed by both youths on bmx bikes and adults on road bikes.
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