10 Responses to “Another “Most Bicycle Friendly Cities” List”

• Adrienne says:
  

  San Francisco is #8!! Not bad! Glad I am a part of it!

  Posted on March 16th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
• Paige says:
  

  I’ve seen this one before and just don’t understand what puts Portland above Copenhagen. I’ve lived both places and sorry Portland, you lose.

  Posted on March 16th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
• Jason says:
  

  Ohio never makes any positive bicycle list. We have a big hole to get out of.

  Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 8:39 am
• Duncan Watson says:
  

  I agree with the Portland vs Copenhagen. I suspect it is US nationalism that put Portland so high on the list. Heck, Munich should be on this list as well. I suspect all non-US choices were downgraded. I dislike lists like this as they are pretty poor.

  Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 9:44 am
• Eddie says:
  

  What the heck is upsetting? I like “Bike-Friendly City” lists like this because they are informative, especially one like this that refers to a subject the cyclist in me empathizes with (the “5E” criteria of the BFC Campaign that attempts to encourage the spread of bicycle use here in U.S. cities) and provides the traveler in me with inspiring examples in other countries where bike usage is some cases has been commonplace for a while now. I don’t view this list at all as competitive ranking of bike-friendly cities. The page even notes “these are merely a sampling of the bike friendly paradises that exist throughout the world.” Four of eleven listed are in the U.S. but does this warrant tainting the effort with accusations of jingoism? Let’s try to stay focused on positive ideas!

  Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 10:40 am
• Dolan Halbrook says:
  

  No offense to my fellow Portlanders but we don’t even come close to somewhere like Copenhagen. There are probably at least 50 European cities of larger population that are more bike friendly than this one. Mind you, we’re headed in the right direction, but this implies that we’re already there, which we really aren’t. I think there should be a US list, since most of western Europe is in a different league altogether.

  Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
• beth h says:
  

  Who published this list? A company that specializes in leisure travel. Who’s their target market? Affluent, educated, and pretty darned homogenous — look again at the list and note that San Francisco is the one city on it that can boast the most truly diverse population. These are also towns and cities with some of the most progressive policies on infrastructure development. By the way, most of these cities also make a nice chunk of change from tourism.

  This is no accident.

  Lists like this are partly a marketing tool to sell products and services. Even Bicycling magazine’s list (in which Portland figured promimently beginning several years ago), was partly a marketing tool, even if no one will come right out and say it. Live in a cool bicycling town and perhaps you’re more likely to buy, well, cool bicycles and bike accessories. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the most bike-friendly towns are also among the most saturated bicycle retail markets.

  I take these things with a whole shaker of salt. No harm, no foul.
  Still, since I can’t afford to travel abroad, I’m really glad I live in Portland.

  ..::giggle::..

  Happy riding –

  Posted on March 17th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
• David Hembrow says:
  

  They list just one city from the Netherlands, and pick Amsterdam ? Hilarious. While Amsterdam’s cycling rate is higher than any city in any other country, there are many cities in the Netherlands with a higher cycling rate than Amsterdam.

  Groningen has the world’s highest cycling rate (57% of all journeys are by bike), but doesn’t get a mention at all. Perhaps that is because Virgin fly to Amsterdam, but not to Groningen…

  Slow news day ?

  Posted on March 18th, 2009 at 1:25 am
• Alan says:
  

  I like these lists, if for no other reason than they spark conversation and bring to light the fact that “bicycle friendly cities” actually exist and are things to aspire to. That said, I’m sure most, if not all of them are biased and highly subjective, and should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s not at all surprising that a list published by Virgin Vacations only includes cities they are promoting to benefit their business.

  Posted on March 18th, 2009 at 4:40 am
• Bike-ability: Cities for zero-emission travel and public health | Sustainable Cities « News Feeds for Echappe Equipment says:
  

  [...] occupying a pathetic number 3 after Amsterdam and Portland, Oregon. In a respons to the list at EcoVelo, blogger Paige has a rather dry remark, ” I’ve seen this one before and just don’t understand [...]

  Posted on January 30th, 2010 at 1:37 pm