Fresh off the inaugural Chattanooga Ironman, the second year as host of the USA Cycling Professional Road and Time Trial Championships and a full year with the Bike Share program, Chattanooga is really rolling when it comes to cycling.
The growth in cycling in the Scenic City is gaining notice on a national scale as well with at least two publications recognizing Chattanooga as one of the top cities for bicycling in the United States.
Earlier this year, USA Today ranked the top 10 cycling cities in the country, with Chattanooga being the No. 6 city based on votes by readers among 20 finalists chosen by former professional cyclist George Hincapie.
Chattanooga beat out such notable outdoor meccas as Boulder, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; and Asheville, North Carolina, in the USA Today readers’ choice selections. Following up on that honor Bicycling magazine has also recognized Chattanooga as the 34th most bike-friendly city in the country in its Top 50 Best Bike Cities feature in the October edition.
The ranking actually is a small step back from the 2012 rankings when the city was ranked No. 27, but Chattanooga was still the highestranked city in the Deep South.
The magazine praised the city for its multimodal-minded department of transportation, the work of Main Street Bicycle Co-op and another successful year as the host city of the USA Cycling Pro Championships.
Although we still have a lot of room to grow, Chattanooga’s cycling community is getting noticed – a great first step in maintaining our progress as a cycle-centric city.