#8

The 11 best cycling cities has just been released and SF is #8. That's great and all, but what about the worst trail access in an area. I bet SF Bay Area, would be ranked #1. It's just plain sad the amount of trails that are closed in the Bay Area. I don't know of any place in the country that claims themselves to be the first at something, but not allow it. Most places make a museum and a sign showing off there pioneering town. The whole bay area could have something like "Bay Area : Home of Mountainbiking, where you can only ride firetrails and run into nazi hikers that sabotage the trails with piano wire and metal stakes." It kind of has a ring to it. In an era of overweight people, high gas prices and lots of violence, you would think opening trail accesss to people would be a no brainer. Now if you live here and you want to tell me there is plenty of trails, I'm not talking about the vast poaching that every mountain biker in the bay does, but the truly open access trails. There are few good ones, but it sure is far from the closed ones.

Back to SF and the other top 10's, good work. At least there are a few towns looking out for those people out there on 2 wheels, doing something good for themselves and the environment.

8. San Francisco, California
San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the U.S, so a core bicycle system is key here and it also is consistently ranked by Bicycling Magazine as a top city for cycling. Bicycling is a popular mode of transportation in San Francisco, with about 40,000 residents commuting to work regularly by bicycle. There are 63 miles of bicycle lanes and paths throughout the city.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition endorsed eight candidates for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and all were elected. The board, which is the transportation authority for the city and county, puts highest priority on pedestrian and cycling needs, followed by mass transit.

With the number of commuters growing, all public transportation has been equipped to carry bicycles, and driving lanes are being converted into bike lanes.

Highlights: Designated street lanes and traffic signals. Biking is core to its transportation infrastructure. Large bicycle culture with some political influence.

Here's a link to the other's on the list. Bike Friendly Cities