Environment Transportation This Is the Most Bike-Friendly State By Ilana Strauss Yale University University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ilana Strauss is a journalist who began writing for the Treehugger family in 2015. Her work has been featured in The Atlantic, The Cut, New York Magazine, and other publications. our editorial process Ilana Strauss Updated December 03, 2018 ©. lassedesignen/Shutterstock Share Twitter Pinterest Email Transportation Active Automotive Aviation Public Transportation The League of American Bicyclists takes biking seriously. These guys have been around since the 1800s, and they've been paying close attention to the state of cycling around the country the whole time. They recently published their 2018 progress report on how well (or poorly) each state is doing when it comes to cycling. Before I tell you how the states stacked up, go ahead and guess: What's the best state for biking? © Anan Kaewkhammul/Shutterstock According to the report, the most bike-friendly state in the U.S. in 2018 was ... Washington. I got this one wrong. I guessed California. Alas, California only came in third. But Washington has been in first place for the last 10 years. The Department of Transportation in Washington just built a trail across the SR 520 Floating Bridge. Apparently Washington has a floating bridge. Who knew? And not just a floating bringe. The world's longest floating bridge. The bike trail will let cyclists ride between Seattle and its surrounding neighborhoods. It's not all roses in Washington though. "While the state’s federal data indicators are consistently above the national average and each one is in the top 10 over the last decade, both the rate of bicycling to work and the rate of bicyclist traffic fatalities are headed in the wrong direction," writes the League. People are biking to work less this year. Alas. Alright, now guess which state is the worst for biking. © Anan Kaewkhammul/Shutterstock And the winner (loser?) is ... Nebraska. "Nebraska has some mixed data over the last decade, but unfortunately its more recent data paints a troubling picture for the state," writes the League. Among other factors, way more people are dying on bikes in Nebraska than before — 4.5 people for every 10,000 commuters. And fewer people are biking to work. Although that's happening in Washington too, so eh. So there you go. Do any of you live in Washington or Nebraska? Do you agree with these ratings?