As an ex-courier and promoter of alleycat courier races (please refer to www.demoncats.com), I would have to take offense to the term "kooks" in reference to messengers, with the exception of Mike Dee in NYC! HA! Love ya, Mike Dee!

last summer.

I did it in Philly, which is probably one of the more bike-friendly cities around, during the good weather part of the year, on a route that utilized dedicated bike paths (& some bike lanes).

My overall impression was that the biggest enemies to bike commuting are road construction and the bicycle itself.  Cars were a distant fifth, behind trolleytracks and definitely behind municipal buses.  I eventually just started pulling over when I heard buses coming.

In my opinion, though, cyclists need off-street paths, wider right lanes on roads, better paving, and better street cleaning.  Bike lanes are at best a mixed blessing.  They tend to have lots of slippery paint and run along parked cars or get overgrown with brush.  Philly also tends to paint parts of their bike lanes solid blue---apparently to kill cyclists in the rain.  In one interesting bit of planning, a road was widened, a bike lane was put in, and then the city ran a rumble strip down the middle of the bike lane.  (O what a fun descent that is now!)  

I have no idea how to define Arlington.  We're the Lost Corner of DC.  At least as urbanized as 90% of DC, with %2 of the problems.  Strange place.

That said, I think things are working pretty damn well, here.  We have well maintained multi-use paths  not only in great recreational areas, but alongside major commuting corridors.  The County has a dedicated pedestrian/cycling coordinator (they're hiring!).  They just broke ground last weekend on a major connector path ($3 mil, including some sewer rerouting).  The paths are full, without being overcrowded (except for the Mt. Vernon Trail, which runs along the Potomac.  That's a lost cause, unless you're out for a Sunday stroll.).

Not all rosy, to be sure.  Maintenance, while generally good, falls down in some places (okay, I'm just annoyed at the condition of the route that runs behind my house).  Arlington subsidizes a "kiosk" in Rosslyn that supposedly rents bikes to tourists, but I'll be damned if I've ever seen it open.  And they occasionally pull some boneheaded road design moves (see, e.g., the recent narrowing of Wilson Boulevard, which I am willing to bet money will come to be seen as a mistake).

All in all, I think that bike culture, while far from dominant, has a solid and respected place here in Arlington.  It's one of the dozens of reasons I love this place.

(Then again, I've talked about Arlington because it gives the best take on the matter.  If we extend it to the city I really live in - DC - it's less encouraging.  I know there are people in DC gov't and planning that are dedicated to improving the lot of the District Cyclist.  But as a city priority, it's pretty far down the list.  Honestly, though, that's okay by me.)

overall metro area. They are also hampered by infighting over who pays for what with the city straddling the state line. There are bright spots, The Johnson County side has over 50 miles of paved multi use trails (most are park and stream way oriented and so pose little or no use for commuting). There is a thriving cycling community here as evidenced by the Cross Nationals and the 7 Different MTB trail systems within an hour of my house. Cycling as commuting is WAY down the city priority list though. We are still trying to figure out how to implement a light rail system voted in last year.

As a contrast I like to mention the time I spent in Germany where you are able to traverse almost all major cities by paved paths and in particular I will mention that they use feeder paths from outlying areas to go all the way into downtown areas. In my time over there we used these all the time. As a day trip a friend of mine and I traveled  from Schweinfurt to Nuremburg almost exclusively by paved trail (small detours to local breuhaus's). A trip of over 100 miles along the Main river. I always enjoyed the paths in Wurzburg especially as they started in the hills outside of the city and then ran pretty much unhindered all the way down to the river and the city center. A downhill slope of about 5-8 miles without getting too crazy. Made enjoying the scenery along the way fantastic. An important note is that all trains in Germany have cycling cars for people with bikes. It made it very easy to make longer trips one way and then ride the train back.

As a side note if anyone ever is going to that region of Germany I have a complete trail map for the region that you are welcome to. It is this one

From this sampling I'm guessing most cities have a smattering of bike facilities, but few approaching a real, city- or region-wide plan.

Finally, the Bicycle Commuter and Parking Expansion Act of 2007 was passed by the DC Council.  A few amendments were offered by CM Mendelson that changed some of the provisions, but they were deemed minor enough to be accepted as friendly by CM Wells.  I'll have more details later.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in to support the bill.

Eric

WABA

is PEOPLE!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/09/beverly_hills_bicyclist.php

...to just tell the horror stories.

I commute in DC 16 miles each way everyday except for the rare occasions when there is ice on the roads.

I realized a few months ago that my friends and co-workers had this terrible impression of cycling on the streets because all they ever heard were the bad things. So on days like today when the commute was uneventful, I like to point out that sometimes it's easy.