Road Cycling - What are the distinct features of riding where you live?

Since forum members are located all around the world, I thought it might be interesting to share what we consider to be the distinctive features (positive or negative) of riding in the places where we live. Comparing notes might even generate some good ideas. I live in Japan. Here goes:

1. Lots of hills, some with very steep grades.
2. Vending machines everywhere (usually selling sports drinks, “Pocari Sweat” being the most famous). When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere, even remote mountain roads.
3. Public urination widely practiced; there are public facilities, and every convenience store makes its toilets available. But in a pinch it’s good to know that this practice is not only not a crime, it is custom.
4. Mirrors: roads here are often too narrow to allow two-way traffic. Mirrors are placed at most curves so that you can see on-coming vehicles.
5. Banners and flags: There are dozens of banners outside nearly every store, gas station, pachinko parlor, etc., making it easy to gauge wind direction and intensity.
6. Metric system: Sometimes it sounds better to say you rode for 40 km as opposed to 25 miles. (But then 800 meters climb doesn’t sound as impressive as 2,600 feet when describing a climb.)
7. No one ever gives the finger: First of all, if someone were to flip the bird, you really couldn’t be sure that he knew what it meant. But drivers are generally less hostile toward cyclists, probably because more people ride bikes to go to school, work, grocery shopping…
8. Cable channel shows repeats of major races
9. Poseurs galore. If you’re into dressing the part, you’ll have lots of company. USPostal was extremely popular; now it’s Discovery (Beppu Fumi effect?)
10. Dogs don’t chase. While this happens regularly to me back home, I’ve never been chased by a Japanese dog (running or cycling). They just don’t do it.

Washington, DC - Former Swamp Land and US Capital ...

1) Planned streets - mostly logical, several with dedicated bike lanes for commutes
2) Lots of MUPs (multiuse paths) for joggers, stollers, cyclists
3) Several great rides - touring the monuments, training at the 3.2mile Haines Point loop (traffic always light), or hitting the MUPs for some rides into the suburbs.
4) 15 miles away (drivable or subway accessible) are many great 40 mile+ routes of all types (rollers, hills, flats)
5) In the city limits, a bike shop at least every 10 miles.
6) Large bike owning population - but not much unity ... critical mass rides doesn't generate a big number compared to other cities.
7) Mostly concisenous drivers, though every day at least one seems to pull into the bike lane cutting me off.
8) Potomac Pedalers put on a ton of great rides
9) Related to once being a swamp, severe allergens, which have even affected those who've never had the before in their lives - take your pill before the day starts
10) Bikes are allowed in the pedestrian only area behind the White House

Upstate New York.
Roads that seem to go on forever with rolling hills
Drivers are laid back and for the most part give plenty of space when passing.
In the fall you get the best scenery for an epic ride.
Charming backroad diners and veggie stands in the summer.
The few bike shops around are top notch.
Saratoga race track, whats better then riding to the track then off for a beerbq
Friendly riders, almost always get a nice day hows it going from people.
Programs like recycle a bike.
And its just a nice place to live and ride

Ewing New Jersey:

Positives:

1) Surprisingly courteous drivers
2) Fairly wide main roads
3) Close to scenic rural roads, both here in NJ and across the river in PA.
4) When I don't feel like going out on the roads, the local college is a perfect 1 1/2 mile loop...plus this
time of year all of the girls are out and scantily clad....woo hoooo!!!
5) The Delaware/Raritan Canal Towpath
6) The NJ Transit RiverLine train had bike racks in each car.
7) Three nice LBSs nearby (but I dont really care for one of them)
8) Hills if you like them, plenty of flat roads if you don't (hills are not my friend yet)
9) Faherty's on Rte 29 southbound, next to the Wash-Xing bridge on the Delaware
10) My local (Firkin Tavern) lets me bring my bike inside when I am there. (Big Kudos here!!!)
11) Bike racks on NJ Transit buses (great for skipping some of the bad neighbourhoods when I ride home
at night during the winter).

Negatives:

1) Well of course since it is New Jersey....crowded roads
2) Not many other roadies to hook up with
3) Not alot of local clubs
4) Trucks allowed on country roads
5) Some bad neighbourhoods that I commute through
6) Cops that question me when I am on my bike...like the bike is stolen (I started a thread about this last
season).
7) Too many yahoos riding the wrong way, against traffic
8) Even more on the sidewalks
9) Wachovia dropped its sponsorship of the Pro cycling series, so no more Trenton Race (Huge bummer!!)
10) Very few bike commuters.
11) Very few bike-friendly businesses

Cheers,

Brian

New York City

The bad:

1. Taxi cab drivers shout friendly reminders such as "up yours!" and "get on the sidewalk!" - of course it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk...
2. Car traffic is bumper-to-bumper, although it only moves at 5mph during rush hours
3. Can take your bike on subway 24/7, assuming you can actually negotiate your bike through the turnstiles...
4. Plenty 'o broken glass on the roads
5. Potholes galore!
6. During the winter salt on the roads can be used to replenish the salt you lose through sweating, of course it also eats away the metal and paint on your frame...
7. Local bike shops have conveniently added the "New York City Premium" to the full retail price of every item they sell
8. No place to work on your bike when you live in a 300 sq ft studio apartment
9. Paying frighteningly-high rent for your 300 sq ft studio apartment eliminates having to spend extra cash on bike stuff

The good:
1. Central Park is closed to car traffic in the morning and evenings, making it an excellent place to ride before and/or after work
2. Can easily cross to New Jersey from Manhattan via GW Bridge and (almost) instantly have access to hundreds of miles of surrounding nearly-rural roads
3. Lots of nice hills
4. Beautiful scenery in the fall/spring/summer
5. Big cycling community with lots of clubs for racing and training
6. If you can negotiate NYC traffic, you can ride anywhere - nothing else will scare you
7. Can take bikes on Metro North and LIRR trains for far-reaching epic rides
8. Can commute to just about anywhere in the city by bicycle
9. Don't need to own a car

Tallahassee, FL and South Georgia

The bad:
It's hot
It's humid

The good:
Canopy roads where the live oaks on both sides of the road create a canopy over the road.
Wide variety of riding. Dead flat south of town with rolling hills to the north.
Generally well-paved roads
Polite, courteous drivers
Country roads within a few miles of downtown

Hills
Wind in the River Valleys
Hills

Low traffic (mostly)
Great Scenery (Hills and River Valleys)
Great Local Cycling Community
Great LBS
Historic Small Town Architecture and "charm"
I can easily ride 75 miles (maybe 100?) and not see a stop light

Nebraska. Howling wind.

Good:
Gentle rolling terrain with the occasional short, steep pitch.
Easy to find quiet roads tucked away in the countryside.
Lots of trees and shade.

Bad:
In the summr it gets hot and very humid.
The road surface can be of varying quality.
Unpredictable weather.

Marquette, Mi

The Bad:
Snow from October to April (sometimes longer)

The Good:
Awesome rolling hills (great training)
Located right on Lake Superior for beatiful views
Many quiet highways
Curteous drivers
Bike shops that know who you are
A dedicated community to biking
Nice roads
Cool races in the summer and early fall
Other very strong riders willing to help anytime
An old car track that can be used for track games

Piedmont region of North Carolina
Pros:
Good rollers.
Decent climbs.
Light traffic on the outskirts of the county.
Group rides always available.

Cons:
Hot and humid.

Northern California (okay, damn near Oregon):

Good and bad (your call):

Windy (20 to 70 mph at times)
4 seasons (meaning freezing cold in the winter and hot as hell in the summer)
Lots and lots of roads, all in good shape and most with out any traffic
Ranch dogs
lots and lots of hills
No having to drive to rides.

About 30 miles west of Boston

The good:
1) Every type of terrain imaginable is somewhere nearby. Central New England is non-stop rolling hills and usually isn't very windy. I can be at the ocean in about an hour for dead flat (and wind). I can be in the mountains in about two hours for lung busting / leg breaking climbs

2) So long as you don't head inside Rt. 128 (or onto Cape Cod...), car traffic really isn't all that heavy. Not necessarily very corteous, but I really don't have a problem. There really are a lot of quiet windy country roads that most drivers don't seem to realize exist.

3) Lots of local clubs = lots of rides.

4) The weather. There's only a handful of days that get over 90 degrees each summer. It's usually pretty pleasant. If it's too hot, the mountains or the ocean are usually cooler.

5) Autumn. Leaf-peeping season was invented by New Englanders.

The bad:
1) Winter. I've seen it snow every month from October to May. There's usually a LOT of road salt around until they get around to clearing it off (usually sometime in August). The sun rises late and sets early. Frost heaves are a way of life. It's usually not as epically cold as it's made out to be, but when it gets cold, it is very very cold.

But then again, I put the bike away in the winter and go skiing. :) Take the good and leave the bad for somebody else.

Another thing about NYC is that due to the way the subways/bus lines were built, and due to the horrendous car traffic, riding your bike is often the fastest way to get around (period!)

East-central Illinois (Mahomet):

It's flat. Really flat. The largest hills occur where the road goes over a highway. Did I mention that it's flat?

Strong winds are not uncommon, particularly in the afternoons.

Very high humidity in the summer, and the winters can be extremely cold. Riding on summer afternoons is not a lot of fun, but summer mornings and any time in the spring or autumn is very enjoyable.

There are country roads that are largely untraveled. They form a grid of one-mile squares, except where some natural barrier such as a river or a lake disrupts the grid. The quality of the roads aren't great, but some aren't too bad, either. You can ride for hours and hours and not see more than five cars the whole time. I've never had a problem with an unfriendly driver.

There are small towns every so often, mostly along railroad lines, with populations of 500 to 5000. The usually have a few gas stations, a few restaurants, a few bars, a few churches, a large park in the middle of town, and any number of houses with tree-lined streets. The smallest towns only have a gas station and a church.

The land is all corn or beans. You can see for miles and miles. The blue sky above you is immense. On summer afternoons, there are archipelagos of cumulus clouds that stretch over the horizon. In late summer and autumn, you will see wild morning glories that have grown up and twisted their way around the corn stalks so that you can ride for miles and see violet, blue, and purple flowers for yards into the corn field. It has a kind of austere beauty the I really enjoy, but I think some people would get tired of it quickly.

The University of Illinois is quite close to where I live, so there are lots of things close by that you wouldn't normally see in the Midwest, such as lots of ethnic shops and restaurants. There are also two local bike clubs - one for racers and one for more casual cyclists.

If I want, I can put my bike in the back of our car when we drive down to my father-in-law's farm, and all the hills I could want are a twenty-minute ride from there.

Virginia Beach:
-Totally flat
-Cars travel ~ 35 mph in residential areas and 50+ mph everywhere else
-Rednecks in monster trucks with racist bumper stickers
-navy recruits who think they are street racers
-most roads are well maintained and well lit

Since forum members are located all around the world, I thought it might be interesting to share what we consider to be the distinctive features (positive or negative) of riding in the places where we live. Comparing notes might even generate some good ideas. I live in Japan. Here goes:

1. Lots of hills, some with very steep grades.
2. Vending machines everywhere (usually selling sports drinks, “Pocari Sweat” being the most famous). When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere, even remote mountain roads.
3. Public urination widely practiced; there are public facilities, and every convenience store makes its toilets available. But in a pinch it’s good to know that this practice is not only not a crime, it is custom.
4. Mirrors: roads here are often too narrow to allow two-way traffic. Mirrors are placed at most curves so that you can see on-coming vehicles.
5. Banners and flags: There are dozens of banners outside nearly every store, gas station, pachinko parlor, etc., making it easy to gauge wind direction and intensity.
6. Metric system: Sometimes it sounds better to say you rode for 40 km as opposed to 25 miles. (But then 800 meters climb doesn’t sound as impressive as 2,600 feet when describing a climb.)
7. No one ever gives the finger: First of all, if someone were to flip the bird, you really couldn’t be sure that he knew what it meant. But drivers are generally less hostile toward cyclists, probably because more people ride bikes to go to school, work, grocery shopping…
8. Cable channel shows repeats of major races
9. Poseurs galore. If you’re into dressing the part, you’ll have lots of company. USPostal was extremely popular; now it’s Discovery (Beppu Fumi effect?)
10. Dogs don’t chase. While this happens regularly to me back home, I’ve never been chased by a Japanese dog (running or cycling). They just don’t do it.

You must be somewhere near me.:D

Dallas area texas.

Mostly flat with wind (always).

rednecks in trucks more myth than fact, sure
we have em but not as bad as others would have
you believe.
The true hazard are the soccer mom's in 3 ton SUVs

marty

SLC, Utah

Positives:
-Wide variety of terrain, from fairly flat to 5000+ foot climbs.
-Fairly reasonable drivers, where I live anyway. Haven't had things thrown at me from cars, and few nasty remarks.
-Beautiful scenery.
-Attempts have been made to create bike lanes.
-Quite a few cyclists around, especially when the weather turns nice. Mostly friendly, even OCPers!
-C-stores somewhat available for longer, unsupported rides, unless you're in the canyons or out in the sticks.
-Good variety of LBSs.
-Good routes available if you (or someone you ride with) know where you're going.
-Sometimes you can ride through most of the winter.
-Other cyclists tend to stop and ask if you need help if it looks like something's wrong, especially if you're kitted out. I think they may think it's Dave Z. again with a double flat.;)

Negatives:
-5000+ foot climbs.
-A lot of the bike lanes are kind of an afterthought, and tend to just end at a busy intersection.
-Riding in the canyons is pretty risky, with narrow-to-non-existent bike lanes. Owing to a couple of recent accidents involving cyclists, driver awareness seems to have increased, along with "Share The Road" signs, etc.
-Sometimes winter weather makes riding difficult or impossible.

Northeastern CT

The Good:

- Lots of rolling hills, which can be relentless at times.....not to mention steep.
- Courteous drivers
- Easy to find main routes with little traffic only a few miles from my house
- Bike shop is under 3 miles from my house

The Bad:

- Lots of rolling hills, which can be relentless at times.....not to mention steep.
- Don't really have much in the way of flat roads
- No real bike lanes on the roads, and the white line on the edges can be very narrow in parts
- Quality of road pavement varies; typically not the nice, really fast and smooth blacktop anywhere
- Amount of sand they lay down in the wintertime is insane, and makes riding around here nearly impossible during that period
- The wind can (and will) come at you from any direction due to the neverending small hills and valleys
- This spring seems to be particularly windy - would give anything for a day with no wind
- Lots of road patching leads to some heavy hits on the frame/wheels
- Winter

Houston:
suckage
suckage
suckage
suckage
more suckage
most suckage
and oh yeah suckage








Did i mention suckage?

Location: Southeastern Lower Michigan, USA.

Mostly flat with some rolling terrain here and there, narrow sholders on the roads (gotta ride the white line), potholes and cracked, rough pavement everywhere, tons of debris on the roadside, impatient drivers, not at all biker friendly. Gotta be really committed to cycle here :p . But we are the warriors of the north.

Best time of year to ride is Autumn. The colors are beautiful and the weather cooler. Lets me forget what a crappy cycling area I live in. I visited my sister just outside of Seattle a couple years ago and THAT was a terrific place to ride!

Toledo/Sylvania OH

The Bad:
1. Flat. Very flat.
2. It's always windy. Once I get into the country it's all fields and there's nothing to block the wind.
3. I hate winter. I'd love to be somewhere warm and hilly.

The Good:
1. Bike trails and bike lanes are good enough to get you out of town and into the empty country roads.
2. The roads are suprisingly smooth for country roads.
3. There's not much traffic on those roads, either.
4. Dogs are almost always chained up or fenced in.
5. There's a pretty good group of guys around here with a nice ride schedule.

It looks like the good outweighs the bad, but I put more weight on the flat terrain and crappy winter weather than anything else. Once I get my MA (next year) I'm going to the Peace Corps, and after that I'll be moving south somewhere.

amsterdam/noord holland

good

1. roads are flat
2. 10 kms and you're in the countryside
3. bike paths
4. winters are generally mild (at least not insanely cold, only 20-30°F)
5. drivers are courteous
6. lots of other cyclists out there
7. summer time means that there's light until 10-11PM

bad

1. flat roads
2. bike paths (hate them actually, the crowd you in, you have to share them with scooters, and cars like to park in them)
3. spring starts in june. summer last about a week. fall starts in august.
4. too much street furniture, which has caused a few too many crashes when riders are maxing out,and someone doesn't call it out.
5. too many Freds wanting to wheel suck
6. winter days mean sunrise at 9AM and sunset around 4PM
7. the wind, the wind, and the wind
8. no trees to hide from the wind
9. the rain, forgot to mention the rain.

Echo Park:

hills
cholos
art galleries
$6 hair cuts
taco trucks
$50 hair cuts
potholes
coffee joints
mango vendors
bike messengers

Upstate New York.
Roads that seem to go on forever with rolling hills
Drivers are laid back and for the most part give plenty of space when passing.
In the fall you get the best scenery for an epic ride.
Charming backroad diners and veggie stands in the summer.
The few bike shops around are top notch.
Saratoga race track, whats better then riding to the track then off for a beerbq
Friendly riders, almost always get a nice day hows it going from people.
Programs like recycle a bike.
And its just a nice place to live and ride
Pretty much sums it up, except the terrain here is slightly different in New Paltz. Go North or South for 10 miles and the roads are pancake flat. Go 2 miles West and you're climbing a mountain. Go North East and there are rollers. Go South East and you're riding through apple orchids.

DALLAS-FORT WORTH TEXAS
fall, winter,spring,summer. Wind, and more wind.
summer time ,heat+wind.
rolling terrain depending on where you live

Dayton Ohio area:

Extensive Rails-to-Trails system
Lots of varied terrain.. Want hills? We got em. Flats? Rollers? Yep, got plenty of those too.
You can pretty much design your ride around what you feel like doing.
I work on Wright-Patterson AFB and can ride all over the base on the weekends/after duty hours, with next to no traffic and the roads are smooth as glass.
My LBS has 3 locations. If he doesnt have it at one shop, one of the others surely will.
The weather is funny. There is almost always a wind, it can get up to 60 in January and you gan get rained/snowed on without warning almost anytime of the year.

Upstate New York.
Roads that seem to go on forever with rolling hills
Drivers are laid back and for the most part give plenty of space when passing.
In the fall you get the best scenery for an epic ride.
Charming backroad diners and veggie stands in the summer.
The few bike shops around are top notch.
Saratoga race track, whats better then riding to the track then off for a beerbq
Friendly riders, almost always get a nice day hows it going from people.
Programs like recycle a bike.
And its just a nice place to live and ride

I used to live in the Finger Lakes region WNY (Canadaigua / Geneva / Keuka)
Rolling Hills and steep river valleys. Beautiful. Similar to the above.

- Hills
- Roadkill (porcupines are worst)
- Fresh air
- Some less traveled roads

I live in greater boston, city of malden which is half suburban, half urban. It's piece of **** and I hate riding here. I have to ride for at least 8 miles before I get to decent suburbs in western ma, 5 miles to get to a bike path I like.

It sucks.

Bozeman, MT:

Almost completely enclosed by mountains
Plains to the west
Chip sealed roads
Mountain passes aplenty
Rollers in betwixt passes
WIND
Sunny
Coniferous forrests
College town - ton's o' bikers
College chicks that race
Lions, rednecks and bears oh my

Phoenix, AZ

Year round riding.
Scorching Summers force early morning rides.
Constant growth creates a lot of construction.
Constant growth creates a lof of new bike lanes.
Lots of group rides to choose from.
Dry weather keeps your drivetrain fairly clean.
Don't have to own a lot of cold riding gear.
I don't think drivers are any better or worse than anywhere else.
You kinda have to seek out hills if that's your thing.

Alot more positives than negatives. Tucson is an even better cycling community IMO.

Sacramento, Calif.

Year round riding, BUT: windy springs, scorching summers, and wet or foggy winters (fall is really nice, though)
American River Bike Trail (a bike highway from Folsom to Downtown)
Grid street layout makes downtown very easy to navigate.
Sprawl to the east and south.
Lots of clubs and teams.
Tons of climbing within an hour drive.
Superfast training rides (Tues/Thurs/Saturday)
If you fall off and destroy your knee, there's a chance your orthopod will be Eric Heiden, M.D.
Lots of good LBSs.

Lafayette, La

Flat roads, mainly. There are some small rolling hills to the north.
Road quality varies wildly, from smooth asphalt to roads that are mainly patches & potholes. Just about all are narrow.
Many lightly used country roads.
Suprisingly friendly drivers, but we do have enough idiots to keep things intersting.
College town, with a race team.
Good riding club, with lots of group rides in the area.
Hot, which is being polite. Summertime means temp & humidity both in the 90's.
Ride year round.
State wide leash law. Sheriff will come deal with bad dogs, if you call it in.
State rarely cleans road shoulders.
Mosquitoes.
Hurricanes.

San Fernando Valley California

La Tuna Canyon Road
Angeles Crest Hwy
The Montrose Ride
Barry Wolfe Memorial Ride
Rose Bowl Weeknight Crits
The Simi Ride
San Gabriel River Trail (not realy in the valley)
PCH(not realy in the valley either)
93 races on this years schedule

Bicycle John's
World Cycles
H&S Bikes
socalcycling.com

Thurs. Night Sationary Training at Bicycle John's with Sandra Kolb

Ride every day ,even the rain is warm.

San Diego Ca

The Good:
1. Year round cycling weather. Never too cold or too hot and only average about 10-20 rainy days per year.
2. Good mix of flats, hills and mountains. I can ride from the ocean out to some good hills all in one ride. Great scenery.
3. Many dedicated cycling lanes.
4. Tons of other cyclists on the road.
5. Rides up to Palomar Mt and Julian are just great climbs.

The Bad:
1. I am convinced that Southern California drivers are the worst - too many distracted drives on the road.

London, UK

The Good:
1. Good sites to see. Houses of Parliament, London Eye, etc.
2. Lots of cyclists around. If you've ever used our public transport this will not come as a shock
4. Once you get outside Central London there's some good scenery and lots of good routes around
3. Plenty of parks to ride.
4. Great place to live.

The Bad
1. Traffic, lots and lots of traffic
2. Narrow, potholed roads
3. It rains, a lot
4. Pollution
5. Did I mention traffic?
6. The price of beer

Parker, CO and surrounding areas, contiguous with the SE Denver area.

Lots and lots of well-maintained bike paths with underpasses so you can go miles and miles without crossing a street.

Lots of bicyclers

Well-trained dogs - I have been chased only once.

Well-trained peds who know that bicycles RULE and generally get the heck out of the way.

Great LBS

Fitness is IN, not only bicycling, but lots of other outside (and inside) activities.

4 seasons, like it or not.

All the revenue from the Colorado lotteries goes into open space, trails and the like.

Flat. The hills don't start much until you hit the mountains, 20 miles west.

This year has been the year of the WIND! So much, that it has limited my outside activities.

They plow the bike paths - 1st thing, right along with the roads.

Lots and lots of SUV's with ladies talking continuously on their cell phones (to whom are they talking and what are they saying - I want to know!) However, besides the SUV's and CP's, the drivers are bicycle aware.

Columbus Ohio
mostly flat, small steep hills typically when crossing rivers
downtown is mostly 5 lane one ways
no bike lanes(glad of this)
fairly bike friendly
ride year round, temp is usually tween 15F - 95F
suburbs are typical american fare so best riding is either downtown area or out of town
lots of colleges
this city is like a big cowtown, a city that just refuses to grow up and act like a city

South PA,

The Good:
-Pretty quite roads
-A lot of friendly cyclist
-Beautiful country side
-Nice rolling hills

The Bad
POT HOLES (PA roads suck!)
Stupid hicks in their trucks
Deer!
TAR AND CHIP on the roads

Central Texas -- Austin and vicinity.

1. Widely varying terrain. Short of mountains, we've got everything: flats, rollers, nice and challenging hills, some severe climbs, streams and river valleys.
2. Scenery -- both flora and fauna. Big skies. Live oaks. Lost pines. Wildflowers. Interesting wildlife. Bucolic pasturage.
3. Wind, pretty much all the time, sometimes not too bad, often punishing and relentless.
4. HEAT. Upside is that winters from Austin south are extremely mild. Seldom if ever have to ride with many layers -- maybe a long-sleeved jersey and an underlayer or two. Not even much need for tights.
5. An avid, knowledgeable, supportive, politically active, and visible cycling culture. Austin has been a cycling town for decades, and whatever your feelings about Lance, his success has only increased interest in the sport around here.
5b. Bicycle racers introduced at the 50-yard-line in 100-degree heat during a national championship college football season to a standing ovation by 90,000 fans.
5c. The only seven-time winner of the Tour de France.
6. Bike shops -- lots of 'em. And good ones.
7. Barton Springs. See http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonsprings.htm
8. Krause Springs. See http://www.texasoutside.com/kraussprings.htm
9. Lots of Mexican restaurants.
10. BBQ.
11. Whole Foods (the mother church).
12. Shiner.

A buddy of mine is in montana he said the riding is awesome you just have to watch out for the drunk indians.

Oh, and hey, Castaway, how can we order up some of them polite Japanese dogs? Maybe we can arrange some sort of non-native species introduction program...

Austin Texas

The good:
Lots of cyclists
Lots of female cyclists, serious, cute and fast
Hills, lots of short steep ones
Heat
Humidity
Friendly cyclists
Good bike shops (Especially 360 Cycleworks)
Lot's of races
Good BBQ
Good Music
Beautiful women

The Bad
Chip seal
No shoulders
Just enough Pickum up Trucks to make it a bit sketchy
No real climbs
No flat roads (you gotta travel up north to find them)
The never ending head wind

Toronto ON.
North of Scarborough
I'm lucky 7km of wild 2 lane quite suburbia to open country roads. After that it's take your pick of what you want except mountain climbing. Flat slight up hill with little rollers I go north nice and fast on the way home. Big rollers I go east. There is also a couple of steep climbs not the longest but give a great workout and easily avoided if you don't. Very little traffic and the roads are in fairly good shape.

Dayton Ohio area:

Extensive Rails-to-Trails system
Lots of varied terrain.. Want hills? We got em. Flats? Rollers? Yep, got plenty of those too.
You can pretty much design your ride around what you feel like doing.
I work on Wright-Patterson AFB and can ride all over the base on the weekends/after duty hours, with next to no traffic and the roads are smooth as glass.
My LBS has 3 locations. If he doesnt have it at one shop, one of the others surely will.
The weather is funny. There is almost always a wind, it can get up to 60 in January and you gan get rained/snowed on without warning almost anytime of the year.

I spent 10 weeks at WPAFB back in the summer of 1988 and rented a room in a house in Yellow Springs. I had my bike there all summer (and it was a HOT one, even for this Florida guy) and rode it all over the place with memorable round trips to Port Washington and Cinti I went on a century ride out of Oxford, OH called the Ft. Hamilton 100 that was pretty nice. The first 62 miles looped north of Oxford and was close to flat, but the last 38 went south of Oxford and had some short but steep hills. There were lots of people to ride with for the metric century part, but I was pretty much solo for the balance of the ride.

It wasn't too hilly around Yellow Springs, but the were a few short pitches up from the Little Miami River. Bicycle commuting from Yellow Springs to WPAFB would have been suicide back then. I have no idea if it is feasible now. I was up at WPAFB not too long ago, but I didn't have time to poke around as it was a business trip.

The bike trail stuff was just being built when I was there. I think the one up the Little Miami River went as far north as Morrow at the time and I don't remember exactly where it started further south. I know it didn't go as far south as Milford because I had to ride there and then up through Indian Hill to get to my in-law's house.

West-Central NJ: Hunterdon County and surrounds may be one of the nicest places to ride in the US. Good: Rolling to hilly small, wind-sheltered, country roads, few dogs, generally courteous drivers, four season riding - any bad weather usually moves out quickly in this coastal area, scenic, lots of riders of all ages and abilities, numerous bike shops, neat places to stop, flat areas if you need them, hills to test your skills - and it's all right out my drive! Bad: High cost of living, esp taxes, congested areas to the south and east, lots of chip & seal (but generally in good shape). More good - Wegmans AND Whole Foods. Oh, and Liquor Locker in Edison.

Re Houston: Yea, probably the suckyist place that ever sucked.
Re Denver: Beautiful, but too many long stretches of exposed road - makes it seem like a grind.
Re Columbus: Drive a bit to the east. I just rode around the Gambier area last weekend. Beautiful, rolling countryside. Lots of dogs, but they obviously havn't seen too many cyclists - by the time they doped out what was going on, I was well down the road.:) In general, OH isn't the best, due to condition of roads and weather.
Re London: I'm afraid to walk there, let alone bike. Zillions of cyclists, but mostly due to high cost of motorized transportation in the City. Would love to ride in the countryside, though.

In Kentucky, yes, we wear shoes. The roads are excellent unlike say Illinois, where their farm land roads are chip and tar. Very few rides are flat. Can be challenged with the hills. Good shops and friendly personnel. Can be very scenic, have to watch out for the occassional crazed horse, just kidding. Local club is excellent with rides everyday and well organized. No, the bluegrass is not blue. Most of the time motorist are courteous.

Toronto, GTA EAST:

THEGOOD:

Cars normally respectful and courteous of cyclists. Head three to five kilometres north of city and enter immediately into bucolic rural country side. Farms, horses, cattle'n, corn.....lots'n, lots of corn. Follow numerous criss-cross of RR# concessions to avoid significant traffic on main roadways. Generally very quiet traffic-wise out here, with long, very flat, to gradual rollers, primarily from natural brook fed ravines. Roads generally fair to middily conditions. Best route is to stay rural on city fringes north of Ajax to Whitby to Oshawa and then head further north some more .............................. don't stop........

THENOTSOGOOD:

The frighteningly rapid decimating encroachment of urban sprawl into these pastoral country roadways. Very narrow to non-existing bike lanes on roadways.

THEREALLYNOTSOVERYGOODATALL:

Winter, ....much too long,........... leaves the cycling season, ... way too short.