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Bikable cities...?


TheBostonian

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The Twin Cities area is known for its bike trails. We have the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway parkway, which is a 50-mile route around the city with adjoining bike trails. There are three trails that pass through Minneapolis: Cedar Lake Trail, Kenilworth Trail and the Midtown Greenway. There is also the Southwest Regional Trail (future LRT), which is 27 miles, the Gateway State Trail in northern St Paul, which 18 miles long, the Minnetonka Loop, which is a 40-mile circut in the western suburbs, and Luce Line State Trail is, which is 63 miles in length. Five of the Hennepin Parks also have paved recreation trails.

That's awesome! That is one of many reasons why I have considered Minneapolis as a possible place to locate. I love the outdoors what's that scene like there? I'd assume considering your post that it's pretty legit. How does it compare to say Denver or Austin?

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Madison, WI, is extremely bikeable, with bike lanes on major city streets, one of the country's most dynamic and successful pedestrian urban malls, bike paths surrounding two lakes that butt up against downtown as well as a substantial bike path system, large parks, expansive greenery, and relative flatness. Not to mention that the University's proximity to the city (1/2 mile from the state capitol, connected by state street mall) and lack of parking pumps numerous bikers onto the roads.

It is interestingly also heavy with moped traffic.

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The outdoor scene in all of Minnesota is really good. We have bike trails that pretty much encompass the whole state and many connections are being made.. but there's always the problem with right of way.

In Minneapolis there are many parks with walking trails and of course many lakes.

The state has 15,000+ NATURAL lakes so camping, fishing, hiking, and biking are very popular in the summer with snowshoeing, XC skiing, and snowmobiling very popular in the winter.

If your'e really into the outdoors, you can camp in teh Boundary Waters Wilderness area. You can't bring any motorized vehicles into the area (you have to use a canoe) but it's a lot of fun.. except that the flies/mosquitos can drive you nuts if you don't have proper protection.

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Best Cities for Biking 2006 by Bicycling Magazine -

Portland, Oregon Once Again Tops Bicycling's Rankings of America's Best Cycling Cities; Portland Maintains Top Overall Spot from Previous Bicycling Rankings

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 2006--

San Diego, Madison (WI) and Boulder (CO) Are Best among Cities of Their Size, While Atlanta, Boston and Houston Are Worst

Portland, Oregon is still America's best cycling city, Bicycling magazine has determined.

Portland, which was previously named America's top cycling city by Bicycling in its most recent rankings in 2001, remained the top overall choice again in 2006, as well as the magazine's choice for top cycling city among those with a population of fewer than 1 million people. Bicycling's complete list of America's top cycling cities is featured in the March 2005 issue of the magazine, on newsstands February 1.

San Diego, CA was selected as the top cycling city in the country for cities with a population greater than 1 million, while Madison, WI (population 200,000 to 500,000), Boulder, CO (population 75,000 to 200,000) and Davis, CA (Best Small Town) were also named the nation's top cycling markets among their respective population sizes.

The worst cities for cycling, according to Bicycling's findings, are Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX and Boston, MA--which, ironically, is the city in which Bicycling VP/Editor-In-Chief Steve Madden grew up and learned how to ride.

Bicycling, the world's leading bike magazine, ranked the top five cities in each of four population groupings--cities with more than 1 million residents; cities with 500,000 to 1 million residents; cities of 200,000 to 500,000 residents; and cities with 75,000 to 200,000 residents--along with the best cycling "small town" (fewer than 75,000 residents) in the country. The winners are:

-- Best U.S. Cycling City (overall):

Portland, OR

-- Best Cycling City (population 1 million or more):

1. San Diego, CA;

2. Chicago, IL

3. New York, NY

Honorable mention: Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ

-- Best Cycling City (population 500,000 to 1 million):

1. Portland, OR

2. Denver, CO

3. Seattle, WA

Honorable mention: San Francisco, CA; Austin, TX

-- Best Cycling City (population 200,000 to 500,000):

1. Madison, WI

2. Tucson, AZ

3. Albuquerque, NM

Honorable mention: Minneapolis, MN; Anchorage, AK

-- Best Cycling City (population 75,000 to 200,000)

1. Boulder, CO

2. Eugene, OR

3. Ann Arbor, MI

Honorable mention: Chattanooga, TN; Cambridge, MA

-- Best Small Town for Cycling: Davis, CA (population 60,308)

To determine its list of the top 21 U.S. cycling cities, Bicycling

started with a list of more than 250 cities and determined the

winners and finalists using criteria that weighed factors such as:

-- "Cycling-friendly" statistics (numbers of bike lanes and

routes, number of bike racks, city bike projects completed and

planned)

-- Bike culture (number of bike commuters, popular clubs, cool

cycling events, renowned bike shops)

-- Climate/geography (the quality of roads and trails for riding,

and how frequently mother nature lets riders enjoy them)

Bicycling also surveyed experts at national bicycle groups such as the League of American Bicyclists, the Thunderhead Alliance and the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA), while also polling more than 600 Bicycling readers.

"Rankings such as ours often provoke a lot of debate, which is understandable and, actually, welcome," said Madden. "Because the riding conditions and levels of cycling enthusiasm in these cities are so outstanding, they all deserve to gain some recognition as America's biking treasures.

"But the selection of Portland as the country's best city for cycling turned out to be maybe the easiest part of this process for us. It's been the top U.S. city in each of our previous three rankings (2001, 1999 and 1995), and cycling has only continued to improve there. The number of cyclists has tripled over the past ten years, city traffic congestion is down because of it, and it's the only urban area that's been able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the past four years (which they've done significantly) while national levels have risen 17%."

Portland and nearby Eugene give Oregon two entries on the Best Cycling Cities list, a number matched by Arizona (Phoenix and Tucson) and Colorado (Boulder and Denver). California had three cities (San Diego, Davis and San Francisco) represented on the list, the most of any state.

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I think in the not-too-distant future you'll see Chapel Hill and/or Durham, NC on one of those lists. In the last couple of years these cities have expanded their greenway systems and added bicycle lanes to roads. Plus the universities (Duke, UNC) are home to hundreds of cyclists, and the weather is ideal.

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Best Cities for Biking 2006 by Bicycling Magazine -

-- Best U.S. Cycling City (overall):

Portland, OR

-- Best Cycling City (population 1 million or more):

1. San Diego, CA;

2. Chicago, IL

3. New York, NY

Honorable mention: Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ

-- Best Cycling City (population 500,000 to 1 million):

1. Portland, OR

2. Denver, CO

3. Seattle, WA

Honorable mention: San Francisco, CA; Austin, TX

-- Best Cycling City (population 200,000 to 500,000):

1. Madison, WI

2. Tucson, AZ

3. Albuquerque, NM

Honorable mention: Minneapolis, MN; Anchorage, AK

I like how they conveniently leave St. Paul out when considering Minneapolis. The two cities border one another and do share trails.

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