[Tapeworm21]

My wife is looking at a job in Flagstaff, AZ. Anyone have some insight of the road riding around there? Even some mountain biking trails would be nice to know about. How are the winters there? I'm originally from Montana and would love to continue through life without seeing another snow flake. I'm thinking that might be impossible to do in Flagstaff, but I guess I could always buy a trainer for the off season. Anything you might find helpful to me is appreciated.

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[Tapeworm21]

That good, huh?

[ACH57]

I live near Sedona, about an hour south of Flag. Winters in Flag can be mild, like last year with very little snow, or like this year (and '06) with quite a bit of snow. The ski resort opened early and stayed open into April which is a long season for them. There is a lot of mtb riding in and around Flag. And if you combine it with Sedona, it will keep you busy for awhile. As for the road riding, I can say the Ride from Clints Well to Lake Mary is nice and I've heard that Hwy 180 between Flag and the Grand Canyon is too. There is also a loop around the meteor crater that they use for the yearly century (in July I think) that's nice.

The biggest change from the bay area will be the super DRY weather and the altitude. Flag is a small college town. It has one mall, a WalMart(not a super), Kmart, Kohl's etc. but it's pretty much a small town. Hope that helps.

[kbabin]

I would love to be in your shoe. IMHO Flagstaff is great.

Here is a link to the rides listed on mapmyride.com

http://www.mapmyride.com/search?txtPageNumber=1&txtSortBy=&txtLocation=flagstaff%2C+az&txtKeyword=&lstRouteTypeID=2&btnSearch=SEARCH+%3E

For mountain biking, check out Comsic Ray's book

http://www.amazon.com/Arizona-Mountain-Bike-Trail-Guide/dp/0966476905

Hope that helps,

Kev

[zonatandem]

Can't avoid snow in Flagstaff, but does not have 100+ degree temps in summer either!
Great road riding. You'll be around the 7,000' elevation level and some serious/long hillwork if you are interested.
Downtown can get a little busy, but it's a typical college scene town with 4 seasons. Some good bike shops.
Yes, have ridden Flag to the south rim of Grand Canyon several times. Some nice highway riding and also many scenic/historical/Indian places.
It'll be a huge change from SoCal . . . for the better!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

[jcrouse]

I live in Flagstaff and get out on my road bike every day the weather allows. Late spring, summer, and fall are incredible times to ride here. It is often nice enough in December to ride. Even during the winter months there will be surprisingly warm days when riding is possible but ice on the roads tends to be a problem on some of the popular routes. Early spring tends to be quite breezy. I've lived in N. Az most of my life, my wife and two of our kids were born here, and we love it.

[jzamor]

I live in Flag. In my opinion the riding out here is great. I think the community is more MTB oriented, but then that might just be my biased perspective (I also own a road bike, mostly for commuting). I'm originally from the Chicago area, and I'd say that on average the winters are similar. It's pretty variable though, some winters we get almost no snow, others (like this past one) are long, snowy, and cold. Still probably nowhere near what you saw in Montana though. Unlike Chicago though, one of the nicest bits about Flagstaff is that in the middle of winter you can always drive down (30mins) to Sedona and warm up a good 10-20 degrees F.

Couldn't tell you much about the road riding out here (still getting into it myself), though I expect it's pretty good. Bike commuting is really good. Lots of bike lanes, urban trail system, multi-use pathway along 66 into downtown. Buses have bike racks, etc... MTB riding out here is about the best I've ever had anywhere. Almost endless XC ranging from roller-coaster type single and double track, to long and steep climbs / descents. Moab is about 8hrs away by car, though I prefer Sedona for that type of riding. Most of Colorado is a day or less away.

Some local area links you might be interested in:

http://flagstaffbiking.org/

http://www.summitvelo.com/ (http://www.summitvelo.com/)