20 Best Biking Cities

Boulder, Colo. is best for biking, according to the latest national rankings in the PlacesForBikes City Rating. Boulder residents are 20 times more likely to commute to work on a bicycle than the average American.

Fort Collins, Colo. came in second on the nonprofit PeopleForBikes' list. Kyle Wagenschutz, director of local innovation, tells Fast Company, “Boulder’s history of investment in a safe, comfortable bike network is central to their success,” adding, “It’s not just that they are using designs that attract the biggest potential pool of riders, but that the network actually connects to places people want to travel to, including grocery stores, parks, and public transportation.”

The city has spent decades building a network of bike lanes–including multiple overpasses and underpasses that avoid intersections, and off-street bike paths–to make it easier to get anywhere on two wheels.

The rating is designed to help cities benchmark their progress and prioritize where to make new investments. The nonprofit also gives cities specific recommendations for improvement on each scorecard. In addition to the overall rankings, it also ranks cities based on how many people ride, how safe it is to ride, how easy it is for people to get where they need to go, how quickly the bike network is growing, and how well the bike network serves all neighborhoods in a city.

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