DearJames,

We are pleased to announce 55 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC).Eighteen communities received their first BFC award, seventeen at Bronze and Hennepin County, MN, at Silver. Nine communities moved up to higher award levels, and the remainder renewed at their previous level.

​”As biking has become more and more popular, more and more communities are committed to creating safer places to bike,” said Alex Doty, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “Winning a Bicycle Friendly Community designation shows a community’s dedication to creating safer and better places to ride your bike.”

This latest round saw strong growth in the top tiers of the program, as Madison, WI, became the 5th Platinum BFC, and four communities moved into the Gold tier: Austin, TX, San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz, CA, and Tempe, AZ.

“What this says is that any city can be a great cycling city as long as there’s commitment from a broad range of city leaders and the population as a whole. This didn’t come about overnight, it was a decade-long effort. We had support from city leaders, the business community and the thousands of cyclists in the Madison area. The lesson we learned is that it has to be a broad-based effort, it can’t just come from the top.” — Dave Cieslewicz, executive director of the Wisconsin Bike Fed and former mayor of Madison

Explore the Bicycle Friendly Communities (and businesses and universities) in your state using our online award database. To apply or learn more about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community. If you own, work at, or do business with a bicycle friendly business, the next deadline for that program is December 15. Learn how to apply.

The League thanks the Trek Bicycle Corporation, and all our members, partners, and local reviewers for their support of our work.

​1612 K Street NW, Suite 308, Washington, D.C. 20006 202-822-1333