bkrownd

Anywhere you consider will have both good and bad bike routes. Boulder was one of the worst bike towns I ever lived in, due to the high levels of commuter traffic, occasional helllish winds, and the huge swath of open "green space" separating it from the surrounding communities. Fancy bike trails are only useful if they go where you want to go.

bkrownd

It doesn't even enter the conversation. You don't want to bike commute here unless you live pretty close to your job. Terrible infrastructure and nuts drivers.

ericcc65

Except centennial, where I work. It's got to be the most unfriendly bike area I've seen. You can count the bike lanes in the whole city on one hand. There was one road I used to take with a bike lane that was great, very little traffic, two lane residential road that connected two major roads and a bike trail. Well, all of the sudden they up and REMOVED the bike lane. Why? Because enough local residents complained about it to the city. Let's be clear, there was no valid reason. Never any traffic, bikes were out of the way and didn't impede traffic. When they removed the lanes they didn't add in extra vehicle lanes. It's just the attitude that exists in this wealthy suburb. Makes me kind of upset actually.

Aurora, on the other hand, has a pretty decent set of trails. To be fair Centennial has some nice trails, but also some idiotic things like two trails that are less than a mile apart from each other across a field that they won't connect. I work in maybe the most bike unfriendly area of all of the Denver Metro area.

But there are some GREAT mountain rides and climbs around here, I love living here for that reason.

mel2012

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Sacramento. Unless you live in the far eastern suburbs, we have no hills to speak of. You can ride all winter long--while there are an average of 60 "days" of rain, there were maybe 10 days last winter where it was actually raining during the morning or evening commute. The heat can occasionally be brutal in the summer, but on the upside we have extremely low humidity. Infrastructure is unfortunately very mixed depending on where you live and work. If you live and work along the American River Parkway you can commute on an exclusive use trail with no stop signs, lights, cars etc. Other bike routes are more spotty.

Badger6

Gotta come in on this! I live in Falls Church (on Lake Barcroft) and commute through Arlington to the Pentagon rain/shine (no winter yet). Weekends I do a long ride or two, using the well developed paved trail system and sometimes jaunt over into the city. DC is a great urban area for cycling and commuting on a bicycle.

kevmk81

Anyone know if St Louis is any good for bike commuting?

tarwheel 

I think you can make commuting work in just about any city. Although cycling infrastructure is nice, there are other more important factors -- such as job availability in your field, cost of housing (and living), cultural amenities, climate, scenery -- thank make a place livable. My city (Raleigh, NC) has virtually no bike paths or lanes that are usable for commuting and the urban sprawl typical of large metro areas. Yet I have been able to work out a decent commute route that is reasonably safe and free of traffic. I am able to commute year-round, and summer is actually the most difficult season for riding due to heat, humidity and frequent thunderstorms. We have a large network of MUTs but they aren't very convenient for commuting because they are designed for recreation and follow streams, so they don't go where the jobs are unless you get lucky. It's no biggie for me because I am used to riding in traffic and take precautions that make it safe -- such as good lighting, bright clothes.

My observation is that many if not all of the most "livable" cities are very hard to find employment in and/or affordable housing. I have visited many cities where I was tempted to move to because they were so scenic, pleasant and vibrant -- until I checked out the cost of homes and the availability of jobs. Some examples that come to mind are Boulder, CO; Santa Fe, NM; San Diego and San Francisco, CA. There are also cities that are very desirable in many respects but have one or more glaring problems -- such as the winters in Minneapolis, MN; Boston, MA; and Madison, WI and summers in the Southwest and Southeast.

ericcc65

I kind of agree and disagree all at once. Let's face it, compared to some European nations our cycling infrastructure sucks, even in the best cities. After you move presumably you want to settle down. What happens if you need to change jobs? It could be you are in the best cycling place in the country but you only find a job in the middle of a terribly dangerous and hard to get to office. That definitely exists in the US, by the way. Or even in the worst cities if you find the right home and office location you could have a great commute. I would say it's hard to just pick a city for a good commute without knowing where you'd live and where your office is. If you're really into cycling you might pick a city with great infrastructure or rides for the weekends or evening but just know that commuting is kind of a crapshoot.

I speak from experience, after changing jobs here my office is in one of the most cycling unfriendly places in the area. Having said that, I still commute. I "break the rules" and travel along a wide sidewalk to pass under an interstate along a very busy and fast road. I had to get very creative and increase my commute time in other ways, but I mostly make it work. But I love the weekend climbs in the mountains near Denver.

softreset

I'll second this. I recently started commuting from Sacramento to Davis and both places are different "pro-bike commuters" especially Davis. On my 13 mile (each way) commute, I'm always in a clearly defined bike lane or bike path and on any given weekday morning will see anywhere from 10-12 other commuters on their way to and from work.

bkrownd

Denver is very hit-and-miss, but not a surprise in such a large city. I loved living in Park Hill, which was an extremely easy neighborhood to bike and walk in.