Ankeny, Ames listed among the nation's best bike cities

Ankeny and Ames are among the country's best mid-sized cities to bike in, according to one bike policy organization.

Driving the news: PeopleForBikes recently released its seventh annual "Best Places to Bike" report, providing ratings for 1,484 U.S. cities based on the quality of their bike network, writes Axios' Jeff Tracy.

How it works: Cities are rated 0-100 based on factors like protected bike lanes, safe crossings, speed limits and connections throughout the city, with a score of 50 and up representing "a great place to bike."

State of play: Ankeny ranked 13th and Ames landed at 38th among the 499 medium cities with populations between 50,000-300,000 that were rated.

• Both cities are on this year's RAGBRAI route, where tens of thousands of cyclists are expected to travel through.

Zoom in: Ames is working on a comprehensive cycling and pedestrian plan that will add more sidewalks, crossings and bikeways. City officials will start work on the plan in the fall.

• Ankeny is also working on becoming a bicycling tourism destination and expects even more visitors after the iconic High Trestle Trail connects with the Racoon River Valley Trail, scheduled for next year.