You are here: Home » Lifestyle » Home & Garden » The 4 Best Cities for Bike Commuting

The 4 Best Cities for Bike Commuting

July 29, 2012 9:01 AM4 comments Author: Contributing Authors

Separated Bike Lane

The great thing for bikers is that certain cities are extremely focused on implementing a good biking map or structure. These cities usually have a well organized metro system and the cycling maps are just worked out on top of that. Biking is becoming more and more popular as a means of transportation, whether you prefer beach cruiser bikes or mountain bikes you are helping out the environment and saving money by commuting.

Apart from leisure biking and biking for exercise, commuting refers to using your bicycle to run errands as well as your main form of transport to and from work. In main cities traffic is always a problem, so if you live near enough to your office why not combine your daily exercise with the ride to work. Some offices have shower and bathroom facilities available, so all you have to do is take an extra bag with and shower there.

Apart from cities implementing certain bike commuting maps, Google Maps recently added a ‘biking option when you are searching for directions. Before this you only had the option to select car, public transport and walking as ways of traveling.

Amsterdam

It is no secret that Amsterdam is the bike capital of the world, almost half of the traffic in the city is movement by bicycle. Amsterdam’s creation of a bicycle city is very beneficial for its residents encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle. In this city they have a big network of fast and comfortable bicycle routes. They also focus on the safety of their cyclists and the roads. The Amsterdam Bike Ramp at Central Station is known to hold about 7000 bikes parked by commuters for when they take the train.

Amsterdam is so bicycle friendly that they have their own traffic signals and traffic signals. As a traveler you can quickly join their transportation system by renting a bicycle.

London

Even though London has a lot of cold winter months, they still have a very impressive bicycle program in place. Websites like http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/travel even enables you to get the latest commuting news and interact with other commuters. You can even sign up for a commuting membership. The website also has an extensive list of maps for particular British cities.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is said to be one of the best cities to live in Europe and their successful bicycling program has a lot to do with it. In Denmark it is tremendously popular to make use of a bike as transportation. Almost all residents have bikes and for many years this city was know as ‘The City of Bikes’. A lot of money goes to managing the bike infrastructure in Copenhagen, showing that it is a big priority. The bicycle lanes in Denmark are often separated from the main traffic for safety purposes, almost half of workers in Denmark make use of bike commuting to go to work. Another way that they are encouraging the use of bicycles is by charging $5 for a car to park, a particular town called Christiania is known as being ‘car free’. In Copenhagen you don’t even have to pay for renting a bicycle, public bicycles are free and they have a big bicycle community for you to be a part of.

San Francisco

In the United States the city, San Francisco is populated by just over 800 000 people. This means that San Francisco is the second most densely populated big city in the United States. The implement bicycle system is a must in such an overpopulated area. Using a bike as a form of commuting is rather popular tendency for residents. It is said that San Francisco has more than 63 miles of lanes available for bicycle users and that there are paths available throughout the entire city. This city also has designated traffic signals for cyclists and the amount of bicycle users are growing by the minute.

Numerous cities all over the world are realizing that bike commuting is a growing industry. Not only will people be able to save a lot of money by investing in a bike as a form of transport, but they will also be helping the environment by limiting their usage of cars and other public transport. Let us celebrate the example these great cities are setting, hopefully we will be seeing a lot more cyclists soon.

Citations

Written by Anneke Steenkamp, a guest author for Cruiserbikes. Cruiserbikes is a great source for quality cheap cruiser bikes. Photo by Paul Krueger

Author: Contributing Authors Greener Ideal is an independent environmental news and lifestyle publication that has been curating content since 2008 to further the green movement. The views expressed by contributing authors are their own and may not reflect those of Greener Ideal.

Stefan Mattlage

Great ideas for a better world
http://mjvande.nfshost.com Mike Vandeman

“whether you prefer beach cruiser bikes or mountain bikes you are helping out the environment”

Nonsense! It doesn’t take much reflection to see that mountain biking is very DESTRUCTIVE of the environment.

Bicycles should not be allowed in any natural area. They are inanimate objects and have no rights. There is also no right to mountain bike. That was settled in federal court in 1994: http://mjvande.nfshost.com/mtb10.htm . It’s dishonest of mountain bikers to say that they don’t have access to trails closed to bikes. They have EXACTLY the same access as everyone else — ON FOOT! Why isn’t that good enough for mountain bikers? They are all capable of walking….

A favorite myth of mountain bikers is that mountain biking is no more harmful to wildlife, people, and the environment than hiking, and that science supports that view. Of course, it’s not true. To settle the matter once and for all, I read all of the research they cited, and wrote a review of the research on mountain biking impacts (see http://mjvande.nfshost.com/scb7.htm ). I found that of the seven studies they cited, (1) all were written by mountain bikers, and (2) in every case, the authors misinterpreted their own data, in order to come to the conclusion that they favored. They also studiously avoided mentioning another scientific study (Wisdom et al) which did not favor mountain biking, and came to the opposite conclusions.

Those were all experimental studies. Two other studies (by White et al and by Jeff Marion) used a survey design, which is inherently incapable of answering that question (comparing hiking with mountain biking). I only mention them because mountain bikers often cite them, but scientifically, they are worthless.

Mountain biking accelerates erosion, creates V-shaped ruts, kills small animals and plants on and next to the trail, drives wildlife and other trail users out of the area, and, worst of all, teaches kids that the rough treatment of nature is okay (it’s NOT!). What’s good about THAT?

For more information: http://mjvande.nfshost.com/mtbfaq.htm .
http://solarfolduk.com/ Stephanie Moore

I agree, biking does not only helps save the environment as well as it saves your health.
http://nicklevitan.com Nick Levitan

An interesting article, and an interesting debate sparked by Mike Vandeman.

Though, I would like to take it one step further. Not only are bikes, especially mountain bikes, damaging to our natural landscapes, I would argue also that hiking is detrimental. Careless about their surroundings, hikers commonly step on plants, bending or breaking their stems and leaves. Small bugs have also been the victims of hikers misconduct. Their bulky shoes smash and destroy all that is beautiful. I propose all exploration and enjoyment of our natural surroundings to cease henceforth.

The death of small animals is of far greater importance than the happiness of people!