Located along a magnificently hilly and scenic stretch of the Mississippi River is the charming city of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Once largely known for being the home of G. Heileman Brewing (and the world’s largest six-pack – see below) and of Trane Corporation, the La Crosse metropolitan area deserves special recognition and this writer’s kudos as one of the most bicycle friendly places in America, when measured by the number of bicycle friendly organizations identified by the League of American Bicyclists on a per capita basis.

Fourteen organizations, including public, non-profit, and private entities in metropolitan La Crosse have earned bicycle friendly or honorable mention status from the League of American Bicyclists. That is the equivalent to roughly one bicycle friendly organization for every 9,600 people in the community (134,000/14). By comparison, the Twin Cities, which has the most bicycle friendly organizations in the Midwest has a ratio of 1:114,000. San Francisco, CA; Portland, OR; and Washington, DC; Sacramento-Davis, CA; Ann Arbor, MI; and even nearby in-state rival Madison, all well-known bicycling enclaves, do not even come close to La Crosse’s ratio of 1:9,600. Granted this is just one measure of the extent of bike friendliness, but it sure is an impressive figure to tout.

One only need to briefly visit La Crosse area websites to see the attention that is being given toward promoting bicycling. Here are some examples:

Needless to say, metropolitan La Crosse has a lot going for it when it comes cycling, including a fabulous setting. While it is certain that there is room for improvement, no one can deny the community-wide success that has occurred to date. Congratulations to everyone who has helped the La Crosse area become an important bicycling focal point and best wishes for continued growth and success in the future.