Cape Cod Town Named Best Small City For Biking In U.S.

PROVINCETOWN, MA — Provincetown took the top spot on PeopleForBikes' list of the top 10 small cities for biking in the United States.

The group gave the Cape Cod community its top spot in previous years, but for 2021, PeopleForBikes expanded its evaluation globally, rating more than 750 cities and towns around the world. Provincetown came in at No. 4 on the list with just three cities in the Netherlands ranked above it. Alma, Michigan, was the only other U.S. city to make the global top 10.

PeopleForBikes' rankings were based on two factors: the quality of the community's biking network and the community's perception of biking. Provincetown finished with an overall score of 81, after earning an 87 for its network score and a 55 for its community score.

Provincetown allows bicycles on all Provincetown roads. It also has more than 7 miles of bike trails within the Cape Cod National Seashore.

According to the Provincetown Biking Committee, Provincetown has the most bicycle commuters in Barnstable County. According to the committee's website, 12.8 percent of Provincetown residents are bike commuters, as of 2015 data, but that number is likely higher,

"Commuting stats are based on the town’s very small year-round population, so they don’t even begin to take into account the number of people riding bicycles for errands and daily tasks or the huge number of riders in the summer season,” the committee's website reads.