Is it me, or is everyone suddenly coming up with lists of 'best bike cities'? We've had four in the last month.
First it was Virgin holidays in the US with their list of the world's 11 best cities (Amsterdam, Portland, Copenhagen...).
Next it was British magazine Cycling Plus with their Top 20 British Bike Cities (Bristol, Nottingham, Leicester...).
Then it was EasyRoommate.com's UK best-of list (er, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol... with London and Cambridge the two worst).
Now it's US website Bicycling.com, which rates the world top five. No surprises here (Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Bogota, Barcelona, Berlin), though they're presumably limiting themselves to capitals, as lesser cities might be off the US radar.
Of course, they're all wrong. Here's the Definitive Real Cycling List of the Top Five Places to Cycle in Britain:
1. Downhill, north of Perth
2. Carfrae, East Lothian
3. Beer, Devon
4. Sunnyside, West Sussex
5. Sloley, Norfolk
Why do they always go on about Barcelona? I was there this week and it's basically a moped/motorbike city - yes, there's the Vélib-style rental system, but there are next to no stands to park the bikes elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to nominate Lost in Aberdeenshire. It's a state of mind as well as a place, you know.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you're doing 'worsts' I've just been to Heck in Dumfries and Galloway. Although actually, it's lovely.
ReplyDeleteNow form an orderly queue, all those who've been to Hell and back.
ReplyDeleteBarcelona is not a capital city and as Tim said is a motorbike city.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, Mikael C-A seems to think Barca's going in the right direction:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/search/label/barcelona