Nicknamed the Bicycle Capital of America, Davis, CA has a powerful reputation for its bike-friendly community and infrastructure. As you walk through town, the stark contrast between Davis and other cities is apparent. While roads in the Bay Area often lack bike paths and bicycle-friendly roads, roads in Davis exemplify them. Not to mention, for multiple years in a row, the League of American Bicyclists awarded Davis with a platinum ranking as a Bike Friendly Community—an esteemed honor. Truly, the college town just out of Sacramento sets the example for sustainable, Earth-friendly transportation.
With neither the elevation nor temperature changing too frequently, the streets make for an always-comfortable environment to cruise down on two wheels. Additionally, apart from the cozy downtown, the perimeter of Davis doubles as a 12-mile bike loop—an ideal length for an afternoon ride.
However, one cannot solely credit Davis’s bike-friendliness with its natural terrain. Even though flat roads and California weather certainly don’t inhibit biking, the local bike advocacy organization has made momentous strides in improving street design for those on two wheels. Bike Davis, the nonprofit group, encourages Davis citizens to “reconnect with nature and their neighbors in pursuit of better health, kindred community, and the pure joy of riding a bike.” Since its formation in 2007, Bike Davis has led the charge in implementing new bike lanes and an overall expansion of bike culture.
Making up a large percentage of the town’s bicyclist population, UC Davis students choose cycling over driving any day. The campus itself houses a sea of bikes at each main building—Peter J. Shields Library, Scrub Oak Hall. If you travel around campus on foot, you’re in the minority! Bicyclists fill the tree-lined streets.
This September, I will mount my white beach cruiser on the back of my car, pack up my room, and drive two hours north—the Bicycle Capital of America awaits!
