The League of American Bicyclists has a Bicycle Friendly America Program to help businesses and communities promote safe cycling, and toward that end, they rank the most friendly states and cities in America. The state of Arizona ranks 3rd in the nation:
Arizona is one of the few to promote protection of cyclists through a 3-foot minimum passing law, and was one of the early adopters of a bike-friendly rumble strip policy. The state has also taken a leading role by including increasing bicycle trips in their statewide carbon emission reduction plan.
The cities of Scottsdale and Tempe each earned a Silver star for being particularly bicycle friendly thanks to the vast bicycle lane/path networks and promoting the use of cycling as an alternative to commuting. As many of my readers know, I’m an avid cyclist, and while I personally favor the mountain bike, this time of year is road bike season for me, as I train for the annual El Tour de Tucson (scheduled for November 22, 2008 this year). This 109 mile ride (not race) is such a great event to be a part of, that I leave the safety of the dirt and mix it up with the cars for a couple of months each year. This year my personal goal is to be a gold finisher, and finish in under 6 hours.
Of course, I should note that Tucson garners a Gold star as an exceptionally bicycle friendly city. Honestly, Tucson really does rock for cycling. As many know, Lance Armstrong called the city home for a while each year to train by riding the 30 mile climb up Mount Lemmon. He didn’t ignore Scottsdale, either, spending a day or two here at the Scottsdale Princess resort, and riding to Bartlett Lake and back.
FYI, Dru Bloomfield and I were chatting recently about showing property while riding a bicycle. I have never had a client suggest a cycling tour to look at homes, but I would absolutely love the day, morning, afternoon, hour, whatever, spent riding from home to home.
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Time will tell if any home buyers ask us to show homes on our bikes. I do think it\’s a possibility, at least, I hope so.
Good luck making your goal on your ride to Tucson. Sounds like fun!
Just a few days ago I rode my bike along the Hayden Corridor down to Tempe Town Lake taking the very extensive bike trails. I was amazed at how busy the parks along the way were: filled with people and other cyclists: a true community feeling.