# 2009 Bike Friendly State Rankings



## RootDKJ (May 14, 2009)

League of American Bicyclists 2009 Bike Friendly State Rankings
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/bicyclefriendlystate/rankings.php

Discuss.



> 1. Washington - Silver*
> 2.    Wisconsin - Silver*
> *3.    Maine*
> 4.    Oregon
> ...


I'm pretty surprised the New Jersey is that high on the list.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (May 14, 2009)

I would think PA was near the top as apparently the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos are a mecca for M-Bikers..


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## andyzee (May 14, 2009)

For road bikes, I love NJ, Bergen county is my favorite. Not a mountain biker but have found some really nice MTB trails as well up in Sussex.


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## thetrailboss (May 14, 2009)

What constitutes a "bike friendly" state?  Is it that you are able to commute to work on a bike or that you have places to recreational ride?

I guess it's both....seems odd.


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## mlctvt (May 14, 2009)

Florida better than Connecticut? No F**ing way. 
I guess a bicycle death rate off the scales doesn't matter? 
I think this rating system is more about what the state governments actually do for cyclists?

I've ridden in about 30 states and I'd say drivers in all New England states are much better than average. 
The best and most friendly cycling area I’ve ever ridden is Pennsylvania. From just west of Allentown to Harrisburg to Lancaster. I think it might be due to the numerous Amish buggies, drivers are used to taking their time and don’t get upset about slowing down to get around cyclists.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (May 14, 2009)

mlctvt said:


> Florida better than Connecticut? No F**ing way.
> I guess a bicycle death rate off the scales doesn't matter?
> I think this rating system is more about what the state governments actually do for cyclists?
> 
> ...



Plus there's the Velodrome..I took lessons there in middle school and the fixed geared bikes with no brakes are challenging..especially when riding on an inclined wall..


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## Marc (May 15, 2009)

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:


> Plus there's the Velodrome..I took lessons there in middle school and the fixed geared bikes with no brakes are challenging..especially when riding on an inclined wall..



Color me shocked that you would know what a velodrome is.  No offense intended or anything....


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (May 15, 2009)

Marc said:


> Color me shocked that you would know what a velodrome is.  No offense intended or anything....



I live less than 10 miles away..


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## mlctvt (May 15, 2009)

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:


> Plus there's the Velodrome..I took lessons there in middle school and the fixed geared bikes with no brakes are challenging..especially when riding on an inclined wall..



Yes the Trexlertown Velodrome, it's open to the public if there isn't anything scheduled.  I rode my bike on it last summer! I did about 10 laps. I'd say I got about 1/2 way up the incline at about 30 MPH. 
We also went to the tandem races there on a Friday night in July; I think it was called Tandemonium. Amazing watching these guys and girls too, they must be doing 50-60 MPH!  If I lived in the area I'd definitely go to the events there.  Olympians from many different countries come here for months at a time to train. This is the "Mecca" of bicycling in my opinion. The vibe in the area is awesome if you're a cyclist. 
Also the Tuesday? night criterium races in the area attract category 1 and 2 riders; the speeds of these races are just incredible.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (May 15, 2009)

mlctvt said:


> Yes the Trexlertown Velodrome, it's open to the public if there isn't anything scheduled.  I rode my bike on it last summer! I did about 10 laps. I'd say I got about 1/2 way up the incline at about 30 MPH.
> We also went to the tandem races there on a Friday night in July; I think it was called Tandemonium. Amazing watching these guys and girls too, they must be doing 50-60 MPH!  If I lived in the area I'd definitely go to the events there.  Olympians from many different countries come here for months at a time to train. This is the "Mecca" of bicycling in my opinion. The vibe in the area is awesome if you're a cyclist.
> Also the Tuesday? night criterium races in the area attract category 1 and 2 riders; the speeds of these races are just incredible.



They had a crit in downtown Allentown that even went through a parking garage and right through the Allentown Brew-works..


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## RENO (May 15, 2009)

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:


> I live less than 10 miles away..



Was there this past Saturday for the bike flea market and swap. Nice setup they have. Didn't find anything at the swap though as I couldn't get there until around 10:30 and everything I was looking for was picked over already...


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## roark (May 15, 2009)

unless this is mtb I don't see how NH can be ahead of CA in any way. I don't think there is a single bike lane in this state. Curvy two land highways with little to no shoulder, the accumlation of debris on the shoulder, .... I ain't buying it.


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## KevinF (May 16, 2009)

I'm not sure what goes into ranking a state for bike friendliness, but I have ridden in Montana on two separate occasions.  I can't imagine why they are listed as number 49.  _There's nobody there_!  There is no way you could have a problem with Montana traffic, because there isn't any!

And Wyoming is number 11?  I've ridden there too.  The only difference between riding in Montana and Wyoming is that the wind blasts mercilessly in Wyoming, and you occasionally don't have a headwind in Montana.  :smile:


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## bvibert (May 17, 2009)

Looks like the ranking is determined by scoring the answers to their *questionnaire*.  There's some additional criteria mentioned here: http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/bicyclefriendlystate/apply.php.  Looks like they try to get the bicycle coordinator for each state to fill out the questionnaire, if they don't then the League of American Bicyclists will fill it out to the best of their knowledge...


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