There’s little question— the bicycle, and its trappings, have come full-circle and are now, seriously hipster. You get more street cred and props for riding a bike these days, than you would just driving any car (with the exception, perhaps, of a Tesla). What does riding a bike say about you? A bike rider is healthier, which, in turn, means they’re more fit, with better reflexes and more lung capacity. And for those to whom this is a deal breaker – riding a bike is aces for the environment.
But what if you need to get somewhere quickly? You just hop on your cycle – the electric kind, that is. When the average cycling speed is 18 mph, that is directly competitive to driving in heavy traffic.
Sydney, Australia
Electric bicycles in Sydney are exponentially growing in popularity. Moreover, Sydney’s hilly nature is no competition for the deft and manoeuvreability of an electric bike. City runners are encouraging this burgeoning business, too. The popular Sydney Rides Festival offers locals and visitors the chance to improve cycling skills, “lessons are also included,†and there’s an emphasis on increasing bicycle awareness.
Look for group rides and cycling workshops, each with the “singleton†(i.e. unattached) in mind – this means, the festival can be whatever you want/need it to be – great for a group or family, and easy and welcoming to singles. Electric bicycle Sydney area is prevalent with electric bike shops, including Sydney Electric Bikes, Electric Velocity, Sydney Bikes, Glowworm Bicycles, Newcastle Electric Bikes and more.
Montreal, Canada
Sure, the dead of winter may offer up a little bit of a resistance, when it comes to electric cycling, but consider this: Montreal earmarked $134 million dollars to revamp the city’s bike trails, create more bike friendly trails and environment – for a total of 2,400 miles to explore.
Barcelona, Spain
Bueno, bueno – life for bike enthusiasts’ is sweet in this beautiful, historic European city. Barcelona features a circular path, a “green ring,†which surrounds the urban core of the city and has 100 different bike stations, part of Barcelona’s bike-sharing programing. At those stations, cyclists can rent and drop off bikes at other locations. Like most European cities, Barcelona offers electric and regular cyclists bike lanes, signals and maps.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Oh Amsterdam, you big show-off. First you are great for shopping, offer free walking tours from Dam Square, and free ferries behind Central Station. Second, you have a bunch of museums (yes, including the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum). Third, you have a quaint tradition of brown cafes (so named for all the cigarettes which have been smoked there).
Finally, you have more than 160 canals and 1,250 bridges to travel on and admire (and there are even canal bikes, available at four locations). In fact, cyclists make up 50% of Amsterdam’s traffic and it’s the easiest way to get around the Dutch capital. Best tip: choose a bike rental which peddles (get it?) bikes without the logos/advertising, so you look more like a local.
Trondheim, Norway
Norwegians are seriously innovative. As one might expect, Trondheim encourages residents and tourists to cycle throughout the city, but realized that hilly terrain is daunting. To make life easier for cyclists (and to cement the city’s uniqueness), Trondheim featured the Trampe bicycle lift, which functioned like ski tows and lets the rider “glide†up a hill, pedal-free, parallel to the curb. Built in 1993, it was renovated 20 years later with even better technology, CycloCable.
Cyclists ride up to the starting point, at the base of the hill, place their right foot on the cable path, and a pedal-like base pops-up and guides you up the hill. As the rider, you simply guide your bike. It’s also used by scooter-riders and stroller-pushers. And it is, literally, the only one in the world. We call that a must-see/must-experience adventure.
For the adventuresome cyclist and electric-bike enthusiast, this is only a small sampling of cities designed with you in mind.
