Totally agree!!!! (I live in the Netherlands and have no idea what the roads in the US are like.)
zingaat on
Lol, Vermont sitting there with 0 infrastructure and maximum safety.
SoggyAlbatross2 on
If California counts as bicycle friendly we need to shift the whole scale down about 50%. We have great weather, that’s about it. “infrastructure” is generally a white line on a road with cars going 60+ mph, which sucks.
bicyclemom on
No way Florida is a top 10 state. Too many of their roads call paint infrastructure and it’s typically a comical 10 lane road with traffic moving at 60-80 mph and one thin bike lane to the right, with no safe accomodation for turning.
MakeItTrizzle on
In the United States, these rankings are generally more of a referendum on how shit bicycle infrastructure is here.
Colonel_Gipper on
Minnesota is very bike friendly, I can get pretty much anywhere in the Twin Cities area on a dedicated path, sidewalk. Too bad it’s a frozen hellscape for 5 or so months a year.
InsertBluescreenHere on
is there an explanation of what the categories mean?
biteableniles on
Moved to Washington from Texas and I think this is accurate.
Why is the Texas Safety “57” a dark green
TryingNot2BLazy on
Rhodie:
-Funding: 45%. meh, ya we have a big comprehensive plan and a STIP and it’s all budgeted for… not exactly on time but there’s money for it… getting them to use the money is a different problem.
-Infrastructure: 73% we have the big Black-Stone River Bike-path… it’s all we have tho LOL. Small state with like 2 or 3 bike paths. We could use a hell of a lot more. this numbers a bit high.
-Laws: 66% no enforcement at all about bikes here. I run redlights like a pro (cuz that’s what you do, controversial or not). They’re not giving us dedicated lanes (or even signage), so I am an anomaly on the road until proven otherwise. I haven’t heard of cops even writing speeding tickets here in over a decade.
-Planning: 80% oh they’ve planned it out. They just aren’t going to follow thru. Mayor Smiley wants to remove them like Dougie Ford, and his skinny stupid face can fuck right the hell off with his broken bridge issue too.
-Capacity & Support: 42% We ride here. SHOUTOUT TO T.S.C.C.! most people just choose not to and that’s the problem. I have no problem riding in traffic but most people say I’m crazy.
-Safety: 56% Just be bright. The highways are the most dangerous here. normal town/city streets can be hazardous, but be road smart and you’ll probably be okay. This number is fair.
-Every Ride Counts: 44% uhh… 1000% it always counts. What even is this metric?
Professional-Eye8981 on
I’d love to see some explanation of the categories and methodologies used to develop this. If Washington tops the list, this ranking is a statement about how poor our situation is.
onlyfreckles on
How the hell is CA #4????
I live in LA and outside of a handful of blocks in DTLA with actual protected/separated bike lanes, the rest of the bike “infrastructure” is just useless white paint to clearly id deadly doorzones and plastic flexposts that are routinely run over and destroyed.
Maybe Santa Monica is doing the heavy lifting for the #4 slot?
enfuego138 on
There were multiple bicycle fatalities in Cambridge, MA this year while elected officials continue to actively push back on bike infrastructure because it is supposedly making harder for cars. If Massachusetts is really #2 on this list then I feel bad for the rest of you.
Former NY resident – Safety. Sorry, no, NY should be lower. Every time I got on my bike I felt like I was painting a bullseye on my back with the label of “HIT ME HERE”. Drivers in large part in upstate NY don’t give a damn about cyclist.
trotsky1947 on
What’s the criteria for this? Illinois makes sense where it’s at, though I don’t think many of the bike lanes they’re bragging about in Chi actually do anything.
ramennoodle on
Local municipalities and counties matter more. In Texas you’ll have dramatically different experiences in Austin vs Lubbock.
This seems like a useless exercise in ranking at a state level. Too much diversity.
thishasntbeeneasy on
The big lie is that anything on that chart is over about 20 out of 100. Sure some places put a bit of bike planning into some of their projects, but the funding, connectivity, safety, etc. always pales in comparison to the effort put into getting people in cars everywhere they need to go with as little delay as possible.
SailingSpark on
NJ is ranked too high. What is “every ride counts”?
jd2300 on
Minnesota over New York seems bizarre. Even accounting for upstate New York it just seems silly to rule out the largest, most urbanist city in the US
fistfulofbottlecaps on
My state’s tricky. We only have two cities with any kind of major population base (Lincoln and Omaha). Omaha’s great in places, bad in others. Lincoln has a robust network of bike paths and even has a separated bike lane downtown and we continue to look into more and better cycling infrastructure. Then you have the many many small towns that dot the rest of Nebraska where, frankly, bike infrastructure isn’t needed.
I would say putting us 3rd from the bottom is maybe a bit much but I don’t think we should be particularly high. We’ll see how things change in the coming years, and eventually our segment of the Great American Rail Trail will probably have to be figured into the math to some extent. Plus the beginning of investments into cross country mountain biking.
Son_of_Liberty88 on
Woohoo my states not last!!! (Sc)
itsmidlifenotacrisis on
I live in a Blue area of a Red state, so I would expect my numbers to be different from the statewide ones.
doodmakert on
This an international sub?
i_like_it_raw_ on
lol @ Texas being in the top 30.
It’s 45-50 no doubt.
OchoZeroCinco on
No, California should be ahead of Oregon (purely for the friendlier bike weather)
2guys1scale on
Missouri has the entire Katy trail. Didn’t expect top 10 or anything but 2nd last is wild
fairway_walker on
I started at the bottom and was not surprised to find my search ended quickly.
yumdumpster on
No state in the US deserves a 100. I dont think any state in the US deserves anything over maybe a 50.
Outside of a few urban areas Cycling in even the best states is straight up dangerous.
Leaxe on
MN funding is 68 but dark green? Is it supposed to be 86?
Razorbacksoccer1984 on
Northwest Arkansas would be top 5 on this list. The rest of Arkansas is bottom 5, although there are plenty of rural areas to ride.
Competitive-Tax-9800 on
South Carolina was the worst state that I biked in and I biked both sides of the state. Narrow roads and even the back country roads have those rumble strips dug into the shoulders, forcing bikes farther into the traffic lanes. Posting a share the road traffic sign is of little help..
I biked across North Carolina and while the roads have no shoulders, it was a positive biking experience.
I’ve encountered a far amount of jerks on Florida roads, but the new rail trail systems are quite nice.
The Finger Lakes region of New York is becoming very bike friendly. As roads are being rebuilt, wide, very bikable shoulders are being added.
defiantcross on
I’m thinking there is a divide within California. NorCal is probably much more deserving of a high ranking than SoCal.
36 Comments
Totally agree!!!! (I live in the Netherlands and have no idea what the roads in the US are like.)
Lol, Vermont sitting there with 0 infrastructure and maximum safety.
If California counts as bicycle friendly we need to shift the whole scale down about 50%. We have great weather, that’s about it. “infrastructure” is generally a white line on a road with cars going 60+ mph, which sucks.
No way Florida is a top 10 state. Too many of their roads call paint infrastructure and it’s typically a comical 10 lane road with traffic moving at 60-80 mph and one thin bike lane to the right, with no safe accomodation for turning.
In the United States, these rankings are generally more of a referendum on how shit bicycle infrastructure is here.
Minnesota is very bike friendly, I can get pretty much anywhere in the Twin Cities area on a dedicated path, sidewalk. Too bad it’s a frozen hellscape for 5 or so months a year.
is there an explanation of what the categories mean?
Moved to Washington from Texas and I think this is accurate.
Why is the Texas Safety “57” a dark green
Rhodie:
-Funding: 45%. meh, ya we have a big comprehensive plan and a STIP and it’s all budgeted for… not exactly on time but there’s money for it… getting them to use the money is a different problem.
-Infrastructure: 73% we have the big Black-Stone River Bike-path… it’s all we have tho LOL. Small state with like 2 or 3 bike paths. We could use a hell of a lot more. this numbers a bit high.
-Laws: 66% no enforcement at all about bikes here. I run redlights like a pro (cuz that’s what you do, controversial or not). They’re not giving us dedicated lanes (or even signage), so I am an anomaly on the road until proven otherwise. I haven’t heard of cops even writing speeding tickets here in over a decade.
-Planning: 80% oh they’ve planned it out. They just aren’t going to follow thru. Mayor Smiley wants to remove them like Dougie Ford, and his skinny stupid face can fuck right the hell off with his broken bridge issue too.
-Capacity & Support: 42% We ride here. SHOUTOUT TO T.S.C.C.! most people just choose not to and that’s the problem. I have no problem riding in traffic but most people say I’m crazy.
-Safety: 56% Just be bright. The highways are the most dangerous here. normal town/city streets can be hazardous, but be road smart and you’ll probably be okay. This number is fair.
-Every Ride Counts: 44% uhh… 1000% it always counts. What even is this metric?
I’d love to see some explanation of the categories and methodologies used to develop this. If Washington tops the list, this ranking is a statement about how poor our situation is.
How the hell is CA #4????
I live in LA and outside of a handful of blocks in DTLA with actual protected/separated bike lanes, the rest of the bike “infrastructure” is just useless white paint to clearly id deadly doorzones and plastic flexposts that are routinely run over and destroyed.
Maybe Santa Monica is doing the heavy lifting for the #4 slot?
There were multiple bicycle fatalities in Cambridge, MA this year while elected officials continue to actively push back on bike infrastructure because it is supposedly making harder for cars. If Massachusetts is really #2 on this list then I feel bad for the rest of you.
There’s more info about each category here:
[https://bikeleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BFS_Report_2024-1.pdf](https://bikeleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BFS_Report_2024-1.pdf)
Former NY resident – Safety. Sorry, no, NY should be lower. Every time I got on my bike I felt like I was painting a bullseye on my back with the label of “HIT ME HERE”. Drivers in large part in upstate NY don’t give a damn about cyclist.
What’s the criteria for this? Illinois makes sense where it’s at, though I don’t think many of the bike lanes they’re bragging about in Chi actually do anything.
Local municipalities and counties matter more. In Texas you’ll have dramatically different experiences in Austin vs Lubbock.
[https://bikeleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BFS_ReportCardGuide_2024-1.pdf](https://bikeleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/BFS_ReportCardGuide_2024-1.pdf)
If anyone wants to read how the rankings are calculated instead of just pretending that the local experience they have had should be taken as gospel.
[https://data.bikeleague.org/explore-data-page/](https://data.bikeleague.org/explore-data-page/) too
This seems like a useless exercise in ranking at a state level. Too much diversity.
The big lie is that anything on that chart is over about 20 out of 100. Sure some places put a bit of bike planning into some of their projects, but the funding, connectivity, safety, etc. always pales in comparison to the effort put into getting people in cars everywhere they need to go with as little delay as possible.
NJ is ranked too high. What is “every ride counts”?
Minnesota over New York seems bizarre. Even accounting for upstate New York it just seems silly to rule out the largest, most urbanist city in the US
My state’s tricky. We only have two cities with any kind of major population base (Lincoln and Omaha). Omaha’s great in places, bad in others. Lincoln has a robust network of bike paths and even has a separated bike lane downtown and we continue to look into more and better cycling infrastructure. Then you have the many many small towns that dot the rest of Nebraska where, frankly, bike infrastructure isn’t needed.
I would say putting us 3rd from the bottom is maybe a bit much but I don’t think we should be particularly high. We’ll see how things change in the coming years, and eventually our segment of the Great American Rail Trail will probably have to be figured into the math to some extent. Plus the beginning of investments into cross country mountain biking.
Woohoo my states not last!!! (Sc)
I live in a Blue area of a Red state, so I would expect my numbers to be different from the statewide ones.
This an international sub?
lol @ Texas being in the top 30.
It’s 45-50 no doubt.
No, California should be ahead of Oregon (purely for the friendlier bike weather)
Missouri has the entire Katy trail. Didn’t expect top 10 or anything but 2nd last is wild
I started at the bottom and was not surprised to find my search ended quickly.
No state in the US deserves a 100. I dont think any state in the US deserves anything over maybe a 50.
Outside of a few urban areas Cycling in even the best states is straight up dangerous.
MN funding is 68 but dark green? Is it supposed to be 86?
Northwest Arkansas would be top 5 on this list. The rest of Arkansas is bottom 5, although there are plenty of rural areas to ride.
South Carolina was the worst state that I biked in and I biked both sides of the state. Narrow roads and even the back country roads have those rumble strips dug into the shoulders, forcing bikes farther into the traffic lanes. Posting a share the road traffic sign is of little help..
I biked across North Carolina and while the roads have no shoulders, it was a positive biking experience.
I’ve encountered a far amount of jerks on Florida roads, but the new rail trail systems are quite nice.
The Finger Lakes region of New York is becoming very bike friendly. As roads are being rebuilt, wide, very bikable shoulders are being added.
I’m thinking there is a divide within California. NorCal is probably much more deserving of a high ranking than SoCal.
Louisiana capacity and support: 2
Yep, that’s about right.
I’m afraid so