Road Cycling - Best place to ride

hi all, I was just wondering where the best place to road ride in the country is? My wife is starting Nursing tomorrow and will graduate in 2 yrs. She say's that I can Quit my job when she Graduates and stay home and take care of the house while she makes the money. I wanna move to the perfect place for road riding. I'm IN Southern IL. and was thinking about Texas. Maybe the Corpus Christi area. I first thought about the northwest but, she wants to go where its warmer. Maybe Pheonix Arizona?

There was a recent thread on this very issue - what is the best city. You might check it out. I believe San Diego was near the top.

Originally posted by heybulldog
Maybe Pheonix Arizona?

Unless you're a lot more heat-oriented than me, stay far away from Phoenix for physical activities. From June through August, you probably won't see a day below 100 degrees (F). Add a couple months before and after that are solidly in the 90's. Phoenix might make a good winter training area, although I don't know anything about the roads/trails around there.

Does your wife have any sisters with the same philosophy as she does?:D

Well, I don't think there is any best place to cycle.

I used to live in Michigan. It has a tremendous rural road net. There are all sorts of nice rural roads to ride through. And the cycling is great from say May-Oct. November-April is tough though.

I currently live in Central Florida. The road net is not that great. The weather allows year round cycling. Oddly enough, many people seem to take off Nov-March because it is "winter". I have always associated winter with snow which doesn't happen down here. Summer is hot and very humid.

I suspect it is a matter of trade offs. I do know this couple who lives in Central Florida in Nov-April and in Ohio in May-Oct. So maybe they have figured out the way to live in the best cycling terrain in the country.

If your thinking about Arizona - consider Payson, Flagstaff, or Showlow...will get warm in the summer months, but nothing like the Phoenix area. Phoenix is cursed with smog and urban sprawl.
The Salt River Canyon, Mogollon Rim country and other areas are incredable

Take a look at Brevard, or Asheville, North Carolina. Awesome cycling area. And the cost of living is half that of San Diego.

In Oregon, maybe around Medford, the ride along the Rouge River to Carter Lake is outstanding, plus the Three Sisters Wilderness Area is not far away for great bike trips.

Vermont and New Hampshire have some great back roads for touring....

Colorado, if you don't mind a lot of climbing and high passes, the Rockies will knock your socks off. I love the ride from Silverton to Durango (not the other way).......

about all that I can say is....en roulant :beer:

Spain's Costa Blanca. Get a villa in Alicante, ride along the coast and into the mountains... Or maybe in the hills of Flanders and Wallonia, where they really respect bikes...

Okay. I've never been to either place. But a boy can dream, can't he?

I'll take Manhattan......

ok, so maybe not Pheonix.

How bout Texas? any thoughts on Texas? The wife like Texas.

I've thought about Flagstaff. hows the riding in and around Flagstaff Lost Marble? I was through Flagstaff back in 90' or 91'.

Oh yea captain crunch, The wife does have a sister. As a matter of fact her Boyfriend just broke up with her over the weekend.lol
Dont think that her philosophy is the same though. My wife is one of a kind!:)

I have heard the Michigan has some really nice scenery but the wife wouldnt like the winters.

Manhattan? sounds interesting

Texas is pretty nice, if you don't mind the rednecks who support a bill requiring riders to wear "slow moving vehicle" signs, and fight organized rides like Lance's Ride for the Roses, not to mention trying to run you off the road.
Other than that its not bad. Not many hills, lots of wind (its always headwind), and it gets hot.
yeah, I'll stick with Texas....

Marty in the big D

Originally posted by heybulldog
...........

I've thought about Flagstaff. hows the riding in and around Flagstaff Lost Marble?


If you move to Flagstaff, place a post on this forum and I'll give you a ride that will just blow your socks off..........as a heads up, start learning the UTM co ordinate system (GPS), you'll be needing it for this one!

You might dismiss the northwest because it is wet in the winter, but probably not because of the cold. West of the mountains the temperature is cool most of the year. In January it is often in the 40s to 50s and this is an ideal temperature for road riding.

The winter rains can be a problem, but they are mostly drizzles. The annual rainfall in the Willamette Valley (south of Portland) is about 40 inches a year--less than the midwest, New York, etc. Once you have rain gear that is good for a drizzle, you don't need to cancle many rides because of the rain.

The Northwest is great for bicycling because so many people ride bicycles here. We have great terrain and great variety. You can make the ride as challenging as you want--or as relaxed as you want.

Originally posted by heybulldog
How bout Texas? any thoughts on Texas? The wife like Texas.


I've lived out on the Island near Corpus. It's flat and windy, but , if you stay in sight of the water, pretty scenic. Be prepared for hurricanes.

The larger cities in Texas are where most of the unfriendly drivers congregate. One of my favorite places in Texas to ride is out around the Davis Mountains. There is a hospital in Alpine(<---for your wife).
You can ride miles and miles and see very few cars. AND the area boasts some of the best climbs(yes climbs) in Texas.
Try the ride from Balmorhea(nice pool) at ~2,700 ft to the McDonald Observatory at ~7,000 ft. The last pitch is 17% grade :)

If you try to live around 5,000 feet you should have tolerable temperatures year-round.

Good luck!

San Diego County is generally great for cycling, but housing is getting expensive.

Originally posted by Old Dan
Colorado, if you don't mind a lot of climbing and high passes, the Rockies will knock your socks off. I love the ride from Silverton to Durango (not the other way).......

about all that I can say is....en roulant :beer:
Cool, I did the Iron Horse Classic last year and that ride was epic! What a beautiful part of the country.
Salem is a lot quiter than where I'm at (which is outside Chicago) so you actually could have it worse! Hey make sure you give your wife a big hug/kiss cuz you are one lucky guy!!

Originally posted by heybulldog
I've thought about Flagstaff. hows the riding in and around Flagstaff Lost Marble? I was through Flagstaff back in 90' or 91'.

Flagstaff is up in the mountains, so you have lots of hills to deal with. If you're OK with that, then it's really easy to get away from civilization and onto the back roads. Most people around here mountain bike - ironically, I just started biking on the roads when I moved here, so I don't have a great sense of how it compares to other places for roadies.

It's definitely hilly, and it *feels* like I don't have a lot of road choices, but like I said, I don't really have a good comparison.

The other nice thing is that when the snow piles up, you can hop in the car and quickly get down the mountain and go for a ride in the desert. (I haven't actually done this yet since the weather's been pretty good, but it sounds like a good option.)