Best US Biking Town 50,000 and under

"Green Hill" wrote in message
...
I've been sitting here reading about good biking cities, some that are
bad. But what about towns 50,000 and under. Towns that have pedestrain
and biker friendly infrastructure, a sensible grid system. Just
courious on everyones thought on this.

Hill

Bend, Oregon. Beautiful, mild climate, great road and mt. biking, and a big
ski mountain right outside of town.

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~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.shastasoftware.com
Developers of CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

Not the "best" US biking town in the US, I suppose and not under 50,000, but
Ann Arbor is pretty good--the downtown is compact, lively, and eminently
bikeable. Still plenty of countryside not far out--my daily 20-25 typically
wanders back and forth across the Huron River valley which provides some
decent hills, a some peaceful gravel farm roads (when I'm on the hybrid) and
there are nice river views thrown in as well:

http://www.fototime.com/4B81AD26AA8B5A5/orig.jpg

(notice color co-ordination of old iron bridge and old steel road bike

There's also a smattering of excellent mountain biking nearby -- the
Potawatomi Trail is fairly well known and pops up on the occasional 10 best
list. We do have winter, but typically not a huge amount of snow over here
on the east side of the state, so if you're hardy, you can get a fair bit of
biking in most of the year. One could do a lot worse.

Mark


"Green Hill" wrote in message
...
I've been sitting here reading about good biking cities, some that are
bad. But what about towns 50,000 and under. Towns that have pedestrain
and biker friendly infrastructure, a sensible grid system. Just
courious on everyones thought on this.

Hill

Craig Brossman wrote:

There's certainly none in Western Colorado.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Au contraire. Grand Junction, Colorado has an extensive network of
bikepaths and there's a strong element of both road riding and mountain
biking in the community. There's a 2-year college in town and a very
outdoor-active population.

Steve McDonald

(Green Hill) wrote in message m...
I've been sitting here reading about good biking cities, some that are
bad. But what about towns 50,000 and under. Towns that have pedestrain
and biker friendly infrastructure, a sensible grid system. Just
courious on everyones thought on this.

Hill

It's a little bigger than your maximum population limit (80,000),
but Columbia, MO is a good place for bicyclists, IMHO. Lots of
extra-wide streets that are designated as bike routes, several good
mountain biking trails; Rhett's run, Cosmo Park rec. area, Grindstone
Park (all within the city limits), Rock Bridge state park (my
favorite), Three Creeks, Cedar Creek, and the Berryman trail (less
than 3 hours away and one that consistently makes the 'ten best list'
in the US). One rail trail (MKT)in the city limits, that leads to the
Katy Trail (longest rail trail in the US at 220+ miles). Two great
bike shops (Walt's and Cycle Xtreme). Columbia is a very "green" city,
you will find a lot of concern for the environment and fuel
conservation there. Downsides? The winters can get pretty nasty.
Smokey

Ann Arbor is pretty good

College towns seem to rate high.
B

(remove clothes to reply)

Charlottesville area is nice....