Virginia Beach, USA

por Peter Tempest, Virgina Beach

The only people who bike to work here are a very few hard core cyclists or persons who have lost their ability to drive for one reason or another.

 

There are some bike paths in Virginia Beach for casual as opposed to serious cyclists. So it is possible to traverse the city on your bike but cars (lots of them!) definitely have priority. For example, there are no pedestrian crossings so intersections are potentially hazardous for anybody not in a car. People ride Beach Cruisers, which are single speed bikes with a rear coaster brake, and are commonly seen on the boardwalk at the oceanfront and on the bike paths.

Some roads in the city are suitable for bicycling and a mere ten miles south of Virginia Beach there are some really nice countryside with decent roads and light traffic. Some people have quality mountain bikes and will use them for round about town use and there is a gravel bike path in a nearby state park. Serious mountain bikers would have to drive about 35 miles to Newport News for hard core riding.

 

It is also very flat here and the biggest hill rises no more than 75 feet above sea level. This may sound a bit negative but the plus is that this is a fine place to live with plenty of quality bike shops, nice friendly cyclists, and a climate that enables you to ride year round and snow, (if any!), usually lasts for only a couple of days.