The Commuter: Portland, OR
If a city could be decorated like an Olympic athlete, Portland would easily win the most gold medals. Eight percent of Portland’s commuters (that’s 566,000 people) bike to work. This puts Portland at No. 1 for bike commuting per capita among the 30 largest cities in the country—10 times the national average. Portland has one of the most extensive networks of bike routes in the U.S. and has won the League of American Bicyclists award for “Best Overall City for Bicycling in North America” four times. And Portland’s not slowing down. A $613 million citywide initiative will expand the bicycle infrastructure to cover nearly 1,000 miles of bikeway by 2030.
Bikeable Miles: 318 miles including bike lanes, greenways, paved paths, and cycle tracks.
Recommended Route: For scenic view of Portland, bike the short 1.5-mile Eastbank Esplanade trailing the east shore of the Willamette River. The trail runs through three neighborhoods and started as an urban renewal project.
