Bicycle Travel On the Rise Say Statistics, NileGuide Editors

A recent story on the Orlando Sentinel blog, “Postcards from Florida” says that bicycle travel is on the rise as a means of transportation “according to research and anecdotal evidence from tour operators and tourism promoters in the United States.” Us travelin’ folk here at NileGuide say– no kidding! An informal Friday afternoon survey showed that over half of the NileGuide office rides to work. Some of us like our writer-extraordinaire Rachel Greenberg have an easy-breezy cruise from the sunny Mission District; others like our fearless editor Amy Widdowson have a winding tour from San Francisco’s famous North Beach District; and yet others (such as yours truly) have a grueling  5.5 mile ride from the windblown, foggy Sunset District. Sure, our conference room is happily crowded with bikes of all shapes and sizes in the morning, but we do love all the trails and bike paths the City by the Bay has to offer.

Ok, so San Francisco has a bike-friendly culture. But what about other places in the US? Check out the following for a sampling of stats from the article:

• Wisconsin researchers believe a half-billion (yes, that’s billion) dollars of economic activity was generated because of the state’s amazing biking opportunities.
• While Portland already has an excellent biking scene, Oregon has invested in a web guide to travel tourism.
• Tour operators have seen an increase in business across the board, and the outlook looks bright for 2011.
• Communities such as Twin Bridges, MT; Farmington, MO; Dalbo, MN, and Ordway, CO have devoted themselves to attracting adventure cyclists by building bike-only camps and bike-friendly hostels.

So what’s this all mean? Just that more and more communities are jumping on the idea that healthy, green, and economically affordable ways to get around and travel can actually bring in the bucks. If you’ve always wanted to get into biking, this weekend is a perfect time to check out stores for sales on last year’s models, practice during the brisk fall weather and be in-the-know for spring!

Image: Slow Cyclist/Flickr

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