Before 2005, Louisville was marginal, at best, from a city bike rider’s perspective. The city had no bike lanes and a measly two shared-use paths. It did have a number of halfhearted-but-never-implemented plans for bike-friendly facilities. But all of that has thankfully changed. Mayor Jerry Abramson realized the many positive impacts that bikes could have when he visited bike-friendly Vail, Colorado. It must have been a powerful revelation.
Upon returning to the Blue Grass state, he called a citywide bike summit in February '05, and Louisville hasn't looked back since. At the summit, Mayor Abramson called upon the assistance of many local business leaders, who are also avid cyclists. The group came up with an idea that launched a new bike-friendly spirit in town: the 100-mile Louisville Loop, a biking and walking trail that will circle the entire county. Today, Bicycling Magazine has named Louisville one of the best new cities to ride a bicycle.
Click here for bicycle rides in the Louisville area: http://bicycling.allsportgps.com/Bicycling/LousivilleRides.aspx. Maybe Mayor Abramson can talk to the mayors of Covington, Newport, Ludlow, Fort Thomas, and Bellevue about how to make Northern Kentucky more bike friendly.
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