Road Cycling - Why is it great to ride in your town?

Hey guys,
What makes riding in your town so great? Why do you like it so much? (take out the aspect of riding in and of itself). I'll start :)

San Diego/La Jolla
I commute to and from work by bike as much as I can. I usually get out around 6-7pm or so. On my home commute, I ride down N. Torrey Pines Road to the intersection of Genessee and N. Torrey Pines Road and cut into UCSD. As I'm riding up the path to RIMAC (UCSD's gym), when I look to the right, I see the sun setting into the ocean, which I can see between the trees and buildings and what not. Something I can't see at all while driving home.

Many miles of great views and great/challenging (for a newbie i guess) hills as SD has many valleys and hills back to back. up and down up and down. Makes for a great way to benchmark yourself. Also has a very cycling friendly community with an LBS on (what seems like) almost every other corner.

What makes your city so great? :)

MelloBoy

in san francisco, we have great places to ride...golden gate park, the presidio, twin peaks, and then we ride across the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather always gets warmer across the bridge and then the real riding starts! So many great rides: Stinson Beach, Alpine Dam, or some speed work out to Tiburon. :)

Southwick MA....isn't so great. It's a very small town and the roads are getting more potholes every year. It also seems that the shoulders keep getting narrower.

The area around here is nice though. Mainly north-western Connecticut. Lots of beautiful country roads with awesome views atop some pretty big hills. Not too much auto traffic which is the best part. All the winding roads and great hills are what I love most about this area. One of the coolest things is when autumn hits and you get all these leaves changing colors.

Dover DE - well it may be great for some and not for others. We lack hills. But the lack of hills is made up for by a fair amount of wind. What I like about the area that I ride is the fact that it doesn't take long to get out in the country where the simple life is exhibited every day by our Amish population. Rides also take me through wildlife preserves and by scenic ponds.

Portland Oregon and the Northwest in general. Incredible scenery, endless options as far as routes and terrain and not a lot of people or traffic to contend with. And the city is considered very "bike friendly" in comparison to most other cities.

55/Rad

Madison, WI.

-Miles and miles and miles of lightly traveled, paved roads. It has something to do with getting milk to market from without shaking it up.

-We don’t have the ocean to look at, but the views from the hills can be pretty spectacular.

-Organized public group rides every night of the week.

-Lot’s of people to ride with; 130 people regularly show up for our Wednesday night rides that start out of town that you pretty much have to drive to.

-They actually consider bike paths in major building projects.

-Plenty of hills if that’s what you want.

-Citizen class ROAD racing, not just crits.

-Not much snobbery that was discussed earlier.

-The weather isn’t so great, but who wants to ride all year round anyway?

-murray

Toronto Ontario - the donut ride. The best public group ride to my knowledge.

Having just moved from an area that may have the best road cycling in the US I find I enjoy riding here in Austin more. The reason? It's the people. Everyone is just really friendly and in the 3 months I've lived here I've met some great people on the bike. There are some very strong riders here but they lack the arrogance that I ran accross in So.Cal.

It doesn't hurt that a certian someone call Austin home but this really is a very bike-centric town. The Sat morning ATC ride get 80-90 riders and it's just one of several dozen group rides in and around Austin.

Having just moved from an area that may have the best road cycling in the US I find I enjoy riding here in Austin more. The reason? It's the people. Everyone is just really friendly and in the 3 months I've lived here I've met some great people on the bike. There are some very strong riders here but they lack the arrogance that I ran accross in So.Cal.

It doesn't hurt that a certian someone call Austin home but this really is a very bike-centric town. The Sat morning ATC ride get 80-90 riders and it's just one of several dozen group rides in and around Austin.

austin has some decent hills doesn't it?

austin has some decent hills doesn't it?

It has hills but I'm used to Mountains. This is something else that has changed my body and my riding. Back home our group rides were all climbing. Sometimes we were climbing for hours. Here it's hammer the flats and sprint the climbs. It's like doing intervels the whole ride. Honestly I think I'm a stronger rider because of hit. Also the humidity has dropped about 6# off my weight.

Sacramento is flat and warm. The American River Bike Trail is a 30-mile bike highway from Folsom to Downtown. The city is laid out in a grid, making it easy to get around by bike. We have several different clubs with different personalities but welcoming to all. There are a number of informal group rides that range from super laid-back to hammerfests led by local pros. It's an easy ride up to Gold Country for hills or down to the Delta for wind.

The Santa Clara Valley (aka Bay Area, aka Silicon Valley), is an amazing place for biking. It is hilly, it has good mountains climbs, the weather is great, bike lanes almost everywhere, the populations is generally supportive of bike riding and drivers respect cyclists..

Where to begin. The San Francisco peninsula is flush with great rides, most including rollers or long climbs. The coast is about 30 miles from my house making for some good 70+ mile rides with 5k or more feet of climbing.

I rode to work this morning, taking a route with 2800 feet of climbing in 29 miles that gave me a great view of the sun coming up through the trees on the climb and the ocean as I rode the ridge line north. Flatter routes to work travel along a scenic reservoir with a nice bike lane. Oh yeah if I do not want to ride home I can just jump on the commuter train which has a bikes only car.

Now if I could just afford to buy a house here. Lots of people like living here but getting away from traffic and people is pretty easy.

The race scene is amazing as well. The SF grand prix in September is just one example.

North Bay Area is awesome. The Prince Greenway from Santa Rosa to Sebastopol is a great "city" bike path for daily quick rides without traffic. I personally like Petaluma to Tomales(on the Pacific Coast) and perhaps South on Rte 1 into Marshal on weekdays. San Francisco was great rides as well...and the views are awesome.
I'm starting commuting 30Miles from SR to Petaluma next week...so I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Easton: MD. The people are nice. They are friendly.

They yield .

Indianapolis can be great or horrible. If you're travelling north/south, there are plenty of great routes, both streets and paths, to take to wherever you're going. If you're in the mood for more of a touring ride, then you can drive out to the country and ride for hundreds of miles in any direction on farm roads, on all which cars are a rarity. That said, the car drivers can be awful... absolutely awful. No hills around here to speak of, but we have more than our fair share of wind to contend with. All in all, a decent place to ride.

Signature:
July 17, 2003- 340 lb. couch potato
July 17, 2004- First Century: 108.8 miles- 5 hrs. 39 minutes avg. speed 19.26(160lbs.)
August 21, 2004- Second Century: 102.4 miles- 5 hrs. 12 minutes avg. speed 19.66

Wow! I read your Siggy!!! very very cool! congratulations! Good job!

Melbourne Aus. Beach Road has lightly rolling hills for about 20k's (12m's) followed by dead flat roads for 40k's (24m's). On any weekend, thousands of riders get out each day, with several large packs to ease your load. We are also now starting to get spring weather with some beautiful sunny skies.

Others around Melbourne might suggest the Sunbury to Macedon run as a better option, but they are misguided individuals. :D

Melbourne Aus. Beach Road has lightly rolling hills for about 20k's (12m's) followed by dead flat roads for 40k's (24m's). On any weekend, thousands of riders get out each day, with several large packs to ease your load. We are also now starting to get spring weather with some beautiful sunny skies.

Others around Melbourne might suggest the Sunbury to Macedon run as a better option, but they are misguided individuals. :D


G'day,

then there are those whose views are tainted by far to many hours climbing "alpe d' magtrainer"

cheers,

Hitchy

I'll have to agree with what john ford and sorebutt posted. I used to live in the D.C. area (Falls Church, VA) and had to put the bike in the car and drive at least 30-45 minutes to get to a good starting point. Here in the Bay Area and can ride directly from my house and be in good riding country within just a few miles. Of course, if you don't like hills your options can be a bit limited. And it's pretty hard to beat the weather!

I live in the NH, great area for riding. If you go up farther north into the White Mountains you can find some great rides. Drivers are generally nice and don't often find any hostile drivers towards bikers. Weather is usally generally nice for biking, you can get your hot, hazy, and humid days, and then you can get your cool days but overall its beautifual biking terrain.

North Bay Area is awesome. The Prince Greenway from Santa Rosa to Sebastopol is a great "city" bike path for daily quick rides without traffic. I personally like Petaluma to Tomales(on the Pacific Coast) and perhaps South on Rte 1 into Marshal on weekdays. San Francisco was great rides as well...and the views are awesome.
I'm starting commuting 30Miles from SR to Petaluma next week...so I'll have to get back to you on that one.

oh man...i was up there a few weeks ago to goto Hog Island Oyster Company (marshall) and there are just some very very nice scenic routes...rolling hills, out in the middle of ranches, farmland, and some forests (from SF to Tomales bay). i envy you :) i saw someone with a trek 5200 riding around and i got so jealous. i'd like to ride in that area one day. also, out to sir francis drake bay seems very scenic :)

melloboy

I live in the Almaden Valley in San Jose, CA. Some great hills, some rolling and some extreme. Great warm weather for almost 9 mos. of the year - 25-50 miles+- makes a big difference around here, as there are many "micro-climates" that make the weather very different (we're about 50 miles from San Francisco). Wide, scenic open roads often with wide roadways and bike lanes. Area is near Los Gatos and, on the other side of the hill, Santa Cruz (Pacific Coast). Lots of scenic rides, although you have to pick your ride times carefully to avoid stressed-out commuters and kamikaze motorcyclists.

Seattle, WA...

The town is very bike-friendly. There are always cyclists everywhere. There are plenty of nice places to ride and interesting things to see by bike. You can get in all types of riding... flat scenic rides, hilly scenic rides, short rides, long rides are all scenic. Did I happen to mention the scenery? I participate in a weekly Weds ride put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club in conjunction with the Seattle Bicycle Club. The CBC ride is the liesurely ride and the SBC ride is the faster paced ride. They both start at the same place and meet up at the midpoint. Each week's a different route and they strive to find new places to see. Recent ride pictures can be found at:

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/gallery/early_evening_escapade

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/20040818-cbc-wed_night_ride/pict0120.jpg

And when you want to get away from the city, there are also plenty of close-by cycling areas... again with scenery. There's also some pretty great mountain biking.

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/rattlesnake_lake/PICT0042.jpg


My favourite ride from last year was on the Kitsap Penninsula. It's just a 20 min ferry hop across the sound. Pictures and narrative can be found in one of my blog entries (http://journals.neebu.net/khuon/archives/000154.html).

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/kitsap_penn-20030824/PICT0013.jpg

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/kitsap_penn-20030824/PICT0099.jpg

I like riding to get the hell up out of this urban sprawl hellhole. Once I get north, west or south east of Chicago into Indiana, then it's pretty good.

I love living in downtown Chicago, I just hate riding in it sometimes.

One time I do like it is when I get to do slow rides through neighborhoods. If I'm not at all doing a training thing, and I'm just riding for the enjoyment of seeing lots of different people and cultures, then it's definitely worthwhile. But those times are few and far between.

Koffee

Hey guys,

What makes your city so great? :)

MelloBoy

Ride out my door. Roads with no trafic lights for hundreds of miles. 40 miles of single track starts 2 blocks away. All the other city stuff is here, if I need it.

I live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon (South of Portland) I can go in any direction, and pretty much get different terrain

http://www.oregonlink.com/postcards/images/irisweather.gif

I live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon (South of Portland) I can go in any direction, and pretty much get different terrain

Awesome picture!

I live in the Willamette Valley of Oregon (South of Portland) I can go in any direction, and pretty much get different terrain

http://www.oregonlink.com/postcards/images/irisweather.gif

That is so purtty!!!

Woodland, CA, 15 miles northwest of Sacramento.

I live two blocks from the country, surrounded by farms. 8 miles to rolling hills, 20 miles to Lake Berryessa and some decent climbs, all by untravelled country lanes. When the wind's not howling, and it's under 100, great weather. Drivers that actually notice bicyclists and try not to hit them. A decent bike shop in town, and three more just down the road in Davis.

And an easy drive to all of the other great NorCal places mentioned by others above.

oh man...i was up there a few weeks ago to goto Hog Island Oyster Company (marshall) and there are just some very very nice scenic routes...rolling hills, out in the middle of ranches, farmland, and some forests (from SF to Tomales bay). i envy you :) i saw someone with a trek 5200 riding around and i got so jealous. i'd like to ride in that area one day. also, out to sir francis drake bay seems very scenic :)

melloboy


:D Right on man! Hog Island Oyster Co. is sweet...but not as good as the Marshal General Store! You HAVE to stop in there for lunch if you are riding Rte 1...I haven't made Drakes Bay yet... I'll make it a point to try that run...plus I think Pt. Reyes Station would be a awesome ride as well. If anyone has time, give Sonoma/Marin County CA a try...it's beautiful, and the roads are nice...actually it reminds me alot of the South of France, Provance reigon..boy I'd like to ride there sometime! :D

:D Right on man! Hog Island Oyster Co. is sweet...but not as good as the Marshal General Store! You HAVE to stop in there for lunch if you are riding Rte 1...I haven't made Drakes Bay yet... I'll make it a point to try that run...plus I think Pt. Reyes Station would be a awesome ride as well. If anyone has time, give Sonoma/Marin County CA a try...it's beautiful, and the roads are nice...actually it reminds me alot of the South of France, Provance reigon..boy I'd like to ride there sometime! :D

Actually, Pt Reyes Station is about...1 mile from the marshall/petaluma intersection isn't it?

Maybe someone should organize a Tour de Faux France :P. How far past Marshall have you gone? I didn't go north past Hog Island so I have no clue what it's like after that :)

melloboy

We have such variety here..Desert, sea coast, hills, flatland, and mountains....I really like the hills over some really nifty valleys with citrus below. Can choose hills with mild or extreme grades. It is even possible still to travel to remote areas and not see lots of cars...
In my town, bike lanes are adequate..But the overall environment..Smelling orange blossoms as descending the grades. Stopping at the bottom and eating a juicy navel..
It is what makes life sweet...

Actually, Pt Reyes Station is about...1 mile from the marshall/petaluma intersection isn't it?

Maybe someone should organize a Tour de Faux France :P. How far past Marshall have you gone? I didn't go north past Hog Island so I have no clue what it's like after that :)

melloboy

Opps...errr you got me there...I meant Pt. Reyes out to the light house, around Tomales Bay. I've just stoped at Marshal and swilled beer/ate Rockefeller oysters ;)

LOL! Tour de Faux! Man...that would be a fun theme ride!

Just drove out there two weeks ago. Two guys were riding while we drove by, and it looked miserable. Rough roads, gale force winds, cow grates to cross, yuck.

But the scenery was spectacular.

Anyone recommend a website w/ Sonoma & Marin rides? Looked pretty tempting (was out to Dillon's Beach with the Cub Scouts, so no chance for me to ride). Also, any suggestions on shower facilities? Dillon's Beach Campground didn't have any.

Madison, WI.

-Organized public group rides every night of the week.

-Lot’s of people to ride with; 130 people regularly show up for our Wednesday night rides that start out of town that you pretty much have to drive to.

Murray, is that Bombay? I just joined, when I registered for the Wright Stuff Century? You riding it?

To add (Madison, WI):

You can start downtown, bike for 20-ish minutes, and be out in the country on rustic roads.

You can ride thru oxygen-rich greenspace without even leaving the city limits (Arboretum, Cap City Trail, etc.)

Well-stocked, sometimes competititve LBSes. One is, in effect, a classic bike museum with free admission. Another is run by a bunch of anarcho-hippies. They're all quite generous to the local bike advocacy group.

Some of those same hippies have started a free bike / repair collective. Struggling to keep it together though.

A VERY effective, organized, powerful local bike advocacy group.

Several bike-advocacy-friendly people on the city council and county board. And you can actually MEET and TALK to your elected officials here. You might even bump into one on the bike path on your way to work.

Cracking local beer. For after the ride, of course.

Students occasionally throw away perfectly good bikes.

You can "rent" bikes for free. Put down a deposit, get it back when you return it.

City gov't has bikes for its employees to use for short trips, akin to a "company car".

Bike racks on the buses. Newest ones hold three.

The University has a free DIY bike repair shop.

They sometimes plow the bike paths BEFORE they plow the streets. You can bike thru winter here, and people don't look at you like you're from Neptune.

i'm from portland, oregon...i think our city rocks because we have the zoobombers!!!!! www.zoobomb.org

I can leave from my back door and ride in any direction. The advantage is you can always plan a ride starting into the wind and have it at your back on the way home! :)
The roads here are not crouded by other cyclist. Matter of fact some times I ride for months and don't see another bike on the road! Now fat guys on Harleys are another story! ;)
Good mix of flat and rolling hills, the Missippi river is only 13 miles away and the Missippi river trail bike route splits the country from north to south. :D

Lancaster, PA. I rode 50 miles on the back roads this past Sunday. I probably saw 5 cars and 20 Amish buggies. It was great.

Murray, is that Bombay? I just joined, when I registered for the Wright Stuff Century? You riding it?

Yeah, there’s Bombay, the Wednesday Night Rides (WNBR.org), practice crits, etc. I’m planning on doing Wright Stuff and Door County. Good way to get in lots of miles at the end of the year!



Well-stocked, sometimes competititve LBSes. One is, in effect, a classic bike museum with free admission. Another is run by a bunch of anarcho-hippies. They're all quite generous to the local bike advocacy group.

Jees, how could I forget the bike shops :rolleyes: We have the best shops in the country, IMHO. From high end custom dealers to stores that specialize in recumbents and tandems to a completely used bike store.



You can ride thru oxygen-rich greenspace without even leaving the city limits (Arboretum, Cap City Trail, etc.)

Speaking of the arb, here’s a picture I took the night before my daughter was born. This is in the MIDDLE of Madison!

-murray

Outside Boston, MA. Small town, little traffic and decent roads. Beautiful scenery and lots of historic rides (Old North Bridge, Battle Road) and the Minuteman Bikeway (http://www.minutemanbikeway.org/) makes commuting into the city pleasant and quick.

Not a darn thing. I can't stand riding anywhere in my town. Roads are too heavily traveled. No good paths that don't have kids, pets, etc. on them. It's depressing.

We live in the Conejo Valley, about 30 miles north of L.A. It's the backside of Malibu and out beyond the San Fernando Valley. Lots of open areas right outside our front door, semi-rural with great hills if you want 'em. The sky is bright blue most days. On my commute to work, I pass horses and ranches. One of our classic rides is through Hidden Valley, big ole ranch lands, a lake and more. For a pounding ride, you could go all the way to the beach through the hills, about 15 miles. Plenty of other bikers if you want the company and some good LBS's. It does get pretty hot in the summer, with days into the 90's and above.
Oh yeah, Conejo is spanish for bunny....tons of rabbits out here!


Sheldon
OCR2

We live in the Conejo Valley, about 30 miles north of L.A. It's the backside of Malibu and out beyond the San Fernando Valley. Lots of open areas right outside our front door, semi-rural with great hills if you want 'em. The sky is bright blue most days. On my commute to work, I pass horses and ranches. One of our classic rides is through Hidden Valley, big ole ranch lands, a lake and more. For a pounding ride, you could go all the way to the beach through the hills, about 15 miles. Plenty of other bikers if you want the company and some good LBS's. It does get pretty hot in the summer, with days into the 90's and above.
Oh yeah, Conejo is spanish for bunny....tons of rabbits out here!


Sheldon
OCR2

We just moved from Thousand Oaks and it is roadie heven. Really great climbs excellent weather. Sheldon it does get hot but Austin is hot try the hottest day in TO and add 50-60% humidity!

Just outside of Lexington, Kentucky are the horse farms. Roads lined with Irish drystone fences from the early 1800's. Very easy to focus on the ride with roads like that. Nice variety of rolling and bending roads.

"and add 50-60% humidity!"

Oh man, we are lucky that way, as you know. Rarely much in the way of humid days although it can get foggy. I did the Cool Breeze Century (the metric) last Saturday from Ventura Harbor and it never cleared up the entire day. At least it was comfortable!

Sheldon

I would not pay to move. Nothing like being 17 miles from the training grounds and headquarters for the Atlanta Falcons in Flowery Branch, GA.

killer taxis, insane pedestrians, crappy roads, lousy wea... er.. wait. great. hmm... let me think.

... and add 50-60% humidity! We would call 50-60% humidity "pleasant". In August it rarely goes BELOW 60-70%. Both temps (F) and humidity in the 90's aren't unusual. Temps and humidity in the 80's are a "typical" August afternoon. Humidity is such a factor here, that they come up with a number (kind of a counterpart to wind chill) for how hot it really feels, when you factor in the humidity. They euphemistically call it the "comfort index".

I live just south of Rochester, NY. The area has lots of quiet country roads, it's lush, green and you can easily find flat routes, rolling hills, or nasty climbs - whatever you like. There's also tours through the Finger Lakes region which is NY states primary wine producing region and this September 11th is the 10th annual Highlander cycle tour (http://www.highlandercycletour.com/) which to my knowledge contains the most difficult century on the East Cost.