Friday, May 2, 2008

Bainbridge Island makes Bicycle Friendly list

Two outstanding communities for bicycling on the Olympic Peninsula -- Bainbridge Island and Port Townsend -- have been named among the 11 new Bicycle Friendly communities by the League of American Bicyclists.

The others are Colorado Springs and Durango, Colorado, and Minneapolis, Minnesota (all silver level), and Arcata, California, Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlottesville, Virginia, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Oxford, Mississippi, and Sitka, Alaska (bronze).

Meanwhile, Bellingham, Washington, renewed its silver level designation.

Seattle cyclists are familiar with Bainbridge Island for hosting February's Chilly Hilly bike ride, above, when more than 4,000 bicycle riders take the ferry and jam up a 33-mile loop around the island.

Port Townsend, also a ferry stop on the Olympic Peninsula, is a destination for bike touring enthusiasts who enjoy stress-free rural roads. The Port Townsend Bicycle Association, among other activities, publishes a set of maps that is ideal for getting the most out of area bike rides.

You can support the bike club by riding in the 16th Annual Rhody Bike Tour this Sunday. See Biking Bis for details.

In announcing the new cities, the League said it also renewed the designations of 11 other communities, elevating some in the process. That made news earlier when it was announced the Portland, Oregon, had joined Davis, California as the only other platinum level city. The cities are:

Platinum
Portland, Ore.

Gold
Madison, Wis.
Tucson/East Pima Region, Ariz.

Silver
Bellingham, Wash.
Missoula, Mont.

Bronze
Albuquerque, N.M.
Ashland, Ore.
Gilbert, Ariz.
Longmont, Colo.
South Sioux City, Neb.
Sunnyvale, Calif.

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