Nothing beats a bicycle for physical exercise, and it's a great way for commuters, athletes and entire families to get around in their communities. Biking is economical, efficient, non-polluting, and often faster than traveling by car.

Here are some links to help make your town "bike friendly."

Resources:

The undisputed champion of good, practical ideas for making your town more bicycle-friendly is the League of Illinois Bicyclists. Their easy-to-read Municipal Bicycle Resource Guide is a goldmine of information, with color pictures and great ideas for creating bike paths.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has a Bicycle and Pedestrian program with an exhaustively complete listing of resources and organizations to help develop and maintain walking and biking paths.

Every state has a Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator in its Department of Transportation whose function is to "promote and facilitate the increased use of non motorized transportation, including developing facilities for the use of pedestrians and bicyclists and public educational, promotional, and safety programs for using such facilities." For a list of state coordinators, click here.