After Being Ranked One of the Worst, Miami Named 44th Best City for Biking

​Former Mayor Manny Diaz made bicycling a key part of his agenda (so much so that he's now under a weird ethics investigation for accepting a bicycle from his staff as his going-away gift), and now Bicycling magazine has named Miami one of the best cities for bicyclists in America.

In 2008, the magazine singled out Miami as one of the three worst cities for two-wheelers, but now the magazine has named it a rising star and placed it as the 44th best city for bikers. The rankings take into account "number of bike lanes, municipal bike racks, bike boulevards, government interest in cycling improvements, bike culture, etc." as well as interviews with local bike shop owners and activists.

"Former mayor Manny Diaz hired the city's first bike-ped coordinator, and the city has hosted a number of ciclovia events. New bike lanes, sharrows, and trails are in the works," writes Bicycling.

Minneapolis took top honors. Interestingly, many other large cities in the South didn't make the cut, which makes Miami the most biker-friendly international city in the region. Gainesville, which was number 16, was the only other Florida city to make the list.