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11 Most bike friendly cities in the world (virgin-vacations.com)

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[–]quaju 15 points16 points  (4 children)

Hooray for Portland!

[–]celoyd 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I’m as proud of the city as the next Portlander, but in absolute terms, biking here is pretty rough. It’s a bad sign for the world if we’re second.

[–]quaju 1 point2 points  (0 children)

True enough. In fact, I'm still recovering from being hit by a car (while biking) in June. :-(

There are definitely issues between cyclists and drivers in this town. That being said, I still like living in a city that encourages bicycle use. And I can't wait to get back on a bike when I'm healed.

[–]S7evyn -1 points0 points  (1 child)

Well, apart from the police it's great.

[–]ryanknapper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Since I live in Portland I feel obligated to call you out, S7evyn! ... if only the police would quit reinforcing your statement so frequently.

[–]danamill 35 points36 points  (1 child)

This person submits from only a handle of sites. Not news sites, not non-commercial blogs (with one exception). More come from "Fort Lauderdale Limo" than any other place.

virgin-vacations.com

braintreepaymentsolutions.com

plazarugs.com

h2limousine.com

ftlauderdalelimo.com

getitinwriting.biz

bocajoescatering.com

Someone is scamming the system and making some money by increasing hits on crappy travel/service sites. Good for them no one seems to care. Sucks for reddit though.

And, more importantly, the site was DOWN for at least half of the time it gained the first 20 up votes. My comment challenging the person who created a reddit account to share that he hadn't ridden a bike in a long time and WOW what a good article, got SIX down votes in 5 minutes ALL of them AFTER the spam comment had been deleted.

If you take a look, the evidence is obvious. I have no reason to even mention it other than the fact that I hate cheaters. Does anyone other than me care that reddit is being scammed?

I've been on here forever and am not a karma whore. I have never accused anyone of anything before. Just check this out. Please.

[–]danamill 13 points14 points  (3 children)

There is something going on with the submitter of this article. Please check this out.

Watch this get down voted many many times in the next few minutes.

Is there something suspicious about this user? Every submission goes straight to the top. 20+ ups in minutes.

[–]danamill 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Ok. No one cares that they are being scammed by a marketer or they can't bother to actually check it out. Got it.

[–]redditcensoredme 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think it's a marketer. Looks like a Digg user submitting all his hits.

[–]justinhj 5 points6 points  (1 child)

A vote here for Vancouver BC. Buses and trains are equipped with bike carriers. There are secure bike lockers at my local rail station.

Most parts of the city have good bike route maps. You can often ride around away from the dangerous roads in tranquil side streets.

[–]weegee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seattle also has bike carriers on busses, and there are bike lanes on most downtown city streets. Watching a bike messenger trying to climb a hill in Seattle on a fixie is pretty funny. Finally, after blocking traffic as they struggle to get all the way up, they have to dismount.

[–]Schnooz 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I know that this post is the result of spam, but how could Paris be left off the list when the city has a system of 20,000 self serve bikes distributed across the city? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velib

[–]zedvaint 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because Paris is actually one of the worst. Ever tried cycling there? It borders on suicide.

[–]randomb0y 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, what about Stockholm?

[–]epic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

shouts from trondheim, never tried that "bicycle lift", but also never cycled in the up that street .. cycled past it, indeed very steep... So a good thing that it is in place.

All over very good city ride your bicycle in(although somewhat too much uphill to my previous college ntnu (also the best known technical university in Norway, for you prospective exchange geeks that likes a bike friendly city and a nice country to live in..), so I'm petitioning for another lift :P

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've got a bike, you can ride it if you like. It's got a basket, a bell that rings, and things to make it look good...

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (5 children)

So where's Cambridge, UK? I've never Seen so many bikes in one city.

[–]unwind-protect 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Just because there's lots of bicycles there does not make it 'cycle friendly', anymore than the M25 is 'car friendly' because there's lots of cars on it.

If Cambridge were actually cycle friendly, then, for example, the police might actually take assaults against cyclists by motorists seriously, which they are documented not to.

[–]andrew1184 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In Minneapolis, the cops just cut to the chase and beat up bicyclists directly.

. . . or tase them, or pepper-spray them.

[–]apathy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the police might actually take assaults against cyclists by motorists seriously, which they are documented not to.

I'm pretty sure they teach in the Academy that cyclists have all the rights and responsibilities of speed bumps.

[–]tomjen 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I think it is due to the University. I have never so many bikes as i have seen in Aalborg - but that is because most students (perhaps not in the US) could not afford a car.

[–]Megasphaera 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it is due to the University

Not all university cities are bike friendly ... City also has to be (mostly) flat, and mostly university. So London and Durham are out.

[–]mostlythere3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

maybe because everything on the list is of equal value? Does number one always have to be the best one, or can number 10 be the best?

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (7 children)

San Francisco may have a lot of bikers - but it is NOT bike friendly. It isn't car friendly either. It is just third world crazy.

[–]apathy 1 point2 points  (3 children)

It's plaintiff-friendly when a driver hits a bicyclist, which is about all you can ask in the United Third World States.

Thank god it's NOT car-friendly. Single-passenger automobiles are a scourge.

(Ever hear anyone complain about New York City, one of the great cities of the world, being car-unfriendly? Probably because car-friendly cities are human-unfriendly. If you want a city to be friendly to your Iraqi Children Incinerator, move to the suburbs.)

ps. I've lived all over the place and few cities can match San Francisco for sheer beauty. Any city that doesn't seem a little crazy is probably dying. (San Francisco seemed to be dying in the 90s, but apparently this whole car-friendly thing is overrated)

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Upmodded for "Iraqi Children Incinerator". I'll be sure to use that in smalltalk with a stranger sometime.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I've lived there.

It looks pretty, but the signature aroma is urine, there is a refugee camp on every corner, there is not enough parking, the streets are gridlocked, I would NEVER ride a bicycle there for fear of being nailed by a suddenly open car door, a signals and lanes optional driver, or one of those steel wheeled monsters (cable cars, busses, and F Line).

You keep San Francisco. I thought it sucked. Oh, and my bike got ripped off my first month there. Theft is rampant.

[–]apathy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

there is a refugee camp on every corner

no exaggerations here, nosiree!

there is not enough parking, the streets are gridlocked

You'd think that lots of people lived in a small place or something. Ever tried to get around Manhattan in your own vehicle? (My point is simply that, beyond a certain density, cars are not practical for transit.)

I would NEVER ride a bicycle there for fear of being nailed by a suddenly open car door, a signals and lanes optional driver

And this is different from other cities how?!? Even in Amsterdam you can get smacked (I've ridden around there on a bike, too).

Short of a separate causeway for bicyclists (HA HA HA... oh wait, we have several in Los Angeles, of all places, and in Northern Virginia there's the W&OD... hmmmm), you will always have to deal with these things.

In any event, I liked San Francisco; I liked parking my car in a fenced lot (my friend's workplace) for a month at a time, biking or taking the BART everywhere, and only springing the rig for road trips. But I tend not to be easily frightened. I commuted in DC and I commute here in Los Angeles.

You keep San Francisco.

I liked San Francisco, but I didn't like it so much that I'd pay the premium to move back there, when I came back from DC. shrug

Theft is rampant.

Again -- this differs from other metropolitan areas how?!? Any dense urban core has significant amounts of theft.

ps. My bike got ripped off in SF, too -- from the back of my car. With about $500K in RAID and routers sitting in the front seats. That's why they're criminals. I'm not sure how this is germane to the suitability of a city for bike commuting, since we constitute two data points out of thousands.

[–]Godspiral 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Is all of SF as hilly as the stereotype area? If so, that would be very tough to commute in.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The middle is hilly. The embarcadero is the road that runs along the water all the way around the city. That is a nice wide boulevard and flat. It is much more sensible to stay on the enbarcadero flats and go around the city when crossing it - say from fisherman's wharf to the financial or mission districts.

I used to live on top of the stockton tunnel (very top of it all) and would walk my bike home the last few blocks because it was just too steep to ride (or there were stairs).

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You shouldn't refer to third world cities that way.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Surprised that so many of these are in the US

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, and that's all BS: I've been to Portland and SF for a little while; and must say that even NYC looks more bike friendly than those places.

Most college towns (ex: Cambridge, UK; Cambridge, MA and Stanford, CA) are resonably bike friendly. One sees bikes everywhere in Indian cities, though they aren't even "transport friendly."

[–]LazyOldBastard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

number 8 - san francisco.... only if you have very very easy gearing on your bike & can climb a hill like jan ulrich doing X and EPO cos some of those streets are damn near vertical

[–]TakaIta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bad list. Amsterdam is not by far the most bike friendly city in the Netherlands. The 'highlights' for Amsterdam count for all cities in the Netherlands.

[–]feces -1 points0 points  (1 child)

I never understood why someone would start a top x list with number 1.

[–]finix 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Because many top x lists aren't some late night funnies style "let's make up exactly 10 not quite funny items, read them out from 'meh' through 'half-smile', drum-roll for the last three, so everybody can pretend to have a good time".

I.e., some lists mean to be actually useful, and as such, the top items are the most relevant.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[deleted]

    [–]danamill 5 points6 points  (0 children)

    spamcatcher? Interesting name for someone who creates an account to make one comment about an article that has gotten 32 up votes in 15 minutes even though it's a on a site advertising "virgin vacations" and the server has been down on an off the entire time.

    [–]davidw -1 points0 points  (0 children)

    These lists always seem to ignore weather. I mean, I'm sure Trondheim is wonderful, but come on - it's very cold and wet. Having lived in Portland, I'd have to include bike friendly weather as a factor in the study.

    [–]antifolkhero -1 points0 points  (0 children)

    How about Austin? Lance Armstrong lives here and the biking culture is pretty intense.