General Cycling Discussion - Worth leaving Houston for Boise?

My wife and I (with two kids) want to leave Houston, and Boise is the most realistic choice as my employer has a significant presence there. Basically, we want to get out of this smog-filled, car-worshipping, no-easy-access-to-outodoors suburban craphole of a place. My question is, will Boise be any better? I've read a lot about how Boise is growing (too fast), and sprawling, and in my mind I'm wondering is Boise just a smaller version of Houston? I've never been there, but I'm considering taking a week or two this summer and flying up there, bringing the bike, and checking the place out.

How is access to the outdoors? Is it possible to get out of the city by bike without getting killed on a freeway? And what about longer touring, are there any good routes between Boise and places like Missoula, MT?

Don't know much about the sprawl in Boise, but I know that no matter what, the air quality there will be about 1400% better than in Houston. Been to Houston twice, and despite being warned about the air quality, I was just amazed at how bad it was. In March no less.

Good luck either way.

Houston is a car town.... I spent some time there as my Bro lives there. Boise is a nice place and you are close to Montana.. that makes it perfect. Boise, like many areas in the NW, is growing very fast and property is kinda spendy.
D

Leaving Houston for anywhere is worth it.

You'll love Boise, great climate, skiiing close to town (30-40 minutes), great road riding, superb mountain biking and hot springs. Best of all, nice size town. You could do worse!

Houston is a flat, hot, humid, polluted hell...tell it "hasta la vista, baby", and don't look back.

Leaving Houston for anywhere is worth it.

Anywhere but Dallas, That's a step down.

Doesn't Boise have mountains? Anywhere with mountains is better than not having mountains.

I bet it's more than nice enough to warrant taking a trip up there to check things out.

Anywhere but Dallas, That's a step down.
When was the last time you lived in Dallas? It's great here.

The local weekly in my home city (Spokane) ran a series of articles a couple of months ago comparing Spokane to Boise. Here's one called The Boise Mystique. (http://archive.inlander.com/archive_detail.php?archiveFile=./pubfiles/pni/archive/2004/December/16/Neighbors/40362.xml&start=0&numPer=30&keyword=is+boise+better&sectionSearch=&begindate=1%2F1%2F2000&enddate=12%2F31%2F2010&authorSearch=&IncludeStories=1&pubsection=&page=&IncludePages=1&IncludeImages=1&mode=allwords&archive_pubname=Pacific+Northwest+Inlander%0A%09%09%09) I've never been to Boise myself, but it looks like there may be air quality and sprawl issues. On the upside, the article claims that it's bike-friendly, and of course you will have great access to outdoorsy activities.

Say what you will about Houston . . . at least I can ride all winter long.

Say what you will about Houston . . . at least I can ride all winter long.

And I have. However, being Norwegian by birth and upbringing, cold winters don't scare me. In fact, moving to a place that offers skiing in winter far outweights the pleasant Houston "winters".

I've pretty much decided on taking a trip to Boise this summer to check out the place.

Well, today in Houston, I rode my bike through the Museum District to the Japanese Culture Festival at Hermann Park. About 80 degrees. Blue sky and breezes off the small lake near the Zoo. Thousands of people. Dozens of people on every sort of bike...bike riders from age eight to eighty. Interesting music, good food, and "Japanese beer" made by Molson in Canada.

Then a bike ride through the Rice University campus...watched a young lady riding VERY fast on the Rice bike track...so I stayed OFF the track...then over to Rice Village to look at vintage books...finished with a ride past the wonderful old homes of Southampton.

Houston, on a sunny April day, is not a bad place for a bike rider "inside the Loop"...just don't wander out to the "Hell on Earth" known as the "Suburbs of Houston"...where Suburbans reign, by the thousands.

Samundsen,
I tried to send you a private message with my contact info on it but you are not set up to recieve them. Send me a private message with your email or phone and I will contact you regarding one of the greatest places I have ever been. I would send you my email on the open forum but I fear miners. I would also love to meet/ride with you when you come here this summer. Cycling in Boise is outstanding if you like to climb hills, but technical MTB riding is limited close to town. Rock climbing, mountaineering, skiing/snowboarding, world class kayaking, hiking, paragliding; it is all here or within a couple of hours drive! Mountains all the way to Canada to the north; dessert all the way to the Sierra Nevadas to the South. 4 VERY distinct seasons (although Boise is always 10 degrees warmer than the rest of Idaho). Housing pricing is decent (new build roughly $90-120/sqft), but traffic is horrible (two-lane farm roads turned two-lane commuter roads as farms have become subdivisions); seems worse than phoenix or even L.A. if you are headed west in rush hour (45 minutes to get 6-9 miles). Growth is stifled by mountains on the North and East so traffic is destined to get worse on the West and South. You will have no problem finding stuff to do and buddies to do it with here!

Anywhere but Dallas, That's a step down.
hey, I resemble that remark.

Kokoro you in the area?

Marty

Samundsen,
I tried to send you a private message with my contact info on it but you are not set up to recieve them. Send me a private message with your email or phone and I will contact you regarding one of the greatest places I have ever been. I would send you my email on the open forum but I fear miners. I would also love to meet/ride with you when you come here this summer. Cycling in Boise is outstanding if you like to climb hills, but technical MTB riding is limited close to town. Rock climbing, mountaineering, skiing/snowboarding, world class kayaking, hiking, paragliding; it is all here or within a couple of hours drive! Mountains all the way to Canada to the north; dessert all the way to the Sierra Nevadas to the South. 4 VERY distinct seasons (although Boise is always 10 degrees warmer than the rest of Idaho). Housing pricing is decent (new build roughly $90-120/sqft), but traffic is horrible (two-lane farm roads turned two-lane commuter roads as farms have become subdivisions); seems worse than phoenix or even L.A. if you are headed west in rush hour (45 minutes to get 6-9 miles). Growth is stifled by mountains on the North and East so traffic is destined to get worse on the West and South. You will have no problem finding stuff to do and buddies to do it with here!

Thanks, I've turned on PMs and sent you a note.

but traffic is horrible (two-lane farm roads turned two-lane commuter roads as farms have become subdivisions); seems worse than phoenix or even L.A. if you are headed west in rush hour (45 minutes to get 6-9 miles).

that's discouraging to hear, but i'm not surprised. are they widening any of those old farm roads? i've found when that happens the speeds pick up quite a bit.

Samundsen,
I would send you my email on the open forum but I fear miners.
Using the format name[AT]isp[DOT]com will tend to foil miners.

And I have. However, being Norwegian by birth and upbringing, cold winters don't scare me. In fact, moving to a place that offers skiing in winter far outweights the pleasant Houston "winters".

I've pretty much decided on taking a trip to Boise this summer to check out the place.

Boise is cold in the winter, but rather dry. You will not see huge snow's or rains.

Great local ski hill, Bogus Basin, and Sun Valley or Brundige couple of hours away.

Bikes in Idaho are allowed to treat a stop sign as a yield.

I lived in Idaho from 1991 to 1997, in southeast Boise from 1994 to 1997. I have a love/hate relationship with the city myself.
Weather- Boise has moderate temperatures in winter for the region and while it snows, it doesn't usually stay long and is not a problem on the streets or bike trails for over a few hours except on rare occasion. The city of Boise did not own snowplows when I lived there so that tells you something. Boise is at the edge of the desert with annual rainfall totals at around 15 inches. Isn't much by Houston standards I'm sure, but Boise can get days on end of cold drizzly crap that is miserable (NorCal does too...). Temperatures can be very erratic in spring, one day it's in the 70s, the next it's in the 40s which can be frustrating when your mind wants to put winter behind. Summers are beautiful. Highs can and do hit 100 on occasion, but it is dry and very tolerable, compared to Houston, it will be delightful. Boise can appear pretty brown to people from more eastern locales. Though the city is well irrigated, with plenty of mature trees and green grass and the local irrigated farmland is pretty, the desert and mountains visible from Boise, gets lime green in the average spring for a few weeks and then it's brown till it snows. As a native mid-westerner, while I thoroughly enjoy the desert, it weighs on me after extended times, especially in winter. Just too stark for me.
Not really weather, but for me, the most wonderful environmental factor about Boise is it is at the extreme edge of Mountain Time Zone, actually west of Palm Springs, Ca. What does this have to do with anything? Combined with it's northern lattitude it means long days in summer. I will always miss this about Boise. I did a quick check and in late June the daylight hours in Boise are 15:27, Houston 14:04, almost an hour and a half more daylight. With the location previously mentioned in Mountain Time, the sunset in late June is at 9:29pm vs 8:25 in Houston. As an outdoors person having visible light till 10pm is wonderful .
Location. Boise is wonderfully situated for the outdoorsman, cycle, sky (both water and snow), fish, hunt, inline skate, kayak, hike, mountaineer, on and on, Boise is in pretty good company as a premier Western location. Culturally, Boise's location sucks (ducks quickly). Boise is at least 7 hours by car from either Salt Lake or Portland, so if Boise doesn't have what you want, your out of luck unless you plan a big trip. If cowboys and indians and a few miners history is all the culture you need, you won't mind. Boise has come a long way though in this area in the last 20 years. A thriving college campus, lots of immigration from Ca (though looked at as a huge negative by natives, for transplants lots of good has come about, Boise got it's first regional mall in the late 80's :rolleyes: ), and a growing artistic community has helped Boise take large steps culturally above anything else in Idaho. I don't know how it will compare to Houston, I've heard good and bad stories, I do know that it sucks compared to any of the major coastal cities in CA, OR, or WA.
People/City Life. If you choose to live in Boise you will find a fairly active city life, with generally friendly people, at a mild pace. As a transplant from Texas, you won't find ill will, if you have California transplant friends, it will be obvious how they are despised in places. Family life is generally good, the city gears events towards families, there are aquatic centers, plenty of regional parks, skate parks, good schools, fairly good medical facilities, though most serious medical issues will take you to Salt Lake City for very competent treatment. The city is full of good coffee shops, an oasis amidst a 500 mile radius of coffee boredom, the nightlife however is very pedestrian and the city generally goes to sleep just after sundown.
Dining quality is dependent what you demand of dining, comparable to Houston, probably yes, comparable to San Francisco, no. My one complaint about Boise is it sometimes has an air that it is cooler and more chic than it is, sometimes Boiseans can get a little stufffy about Boise, I've known other ex-Boiseans who've felt the same way, it's not a big deal, it's just irritating. One thing that always cracks me up is the comments about the traffic. Boise can have heavy traffic just like anyplace, it has grown faster than the infrastructure the last twenty years, but what cities haven't? Boise's traffic is as comparable to Los Angeles as it's skyline is to NYC's. If you live in the City you'll never know it exists. If you live in the suburbs, you'll get the typical suburban commute. While I didn't live in the outlands, they are typical, sprawling suburbs, though at Boise size, you don't have to live 50 miles out of city center to afford any land, just 10 to 20.
Cycling Boise has a great bike trail that is 30? miles long running from northwest Boise to Lucky Peak Reservoir along the Boise river, it is pretty darn flat however and can be pretty crowded at times. Probably more known for its inline skate population than its biker community, biking does thrive. City traffic is reasonably calm for riding in and city street speed limits are very low (major arterials at 35mph...arghhhh). While I've never done it, the climb to Bogus Basin seems to be popular and challenging. I would imagine rural Idaho not being terribly friendly to road cyclist, lots-o-rednecks. One serious drawback on Idaho mountain cycling, especially as compared to California. Most rural mountain roads in Idaho that are not major highways are gravel. No single lane paved climbs to 8000 feet without seeing a single car, unless your on a mountain bike.
Intangibles . Electricity costs, very low, among the lowest in the country thanks to the mighty Snake River. Gas cost, higher than Texas for sure, always suprising to me, comparable to California. Above quoted houseing costs are correct. Housing prices boomed in the '90s, but from my viewpoint, and I still watch the Boise housing market on occasion, have lost steam the last 5 years. Taxes are moderate. State sales tax is 5%? I think still??? Politics in Idaho is decidedly Republican, there are only 4 Democrats in the Idaho Senate, two from Boise, one from Pocatello, and one from Sun Valley. If you are a Democrat in Idaho, the best way to get elected is to run as a Republican and many eastern Idaho legislators are just that. If you consider the NY or LA Times Liberal, Boise media would be considered moderate, if you consider those papers moderate Boise media would be considered just left of Limbaugh :D . Air quality in Boise is good most of the year. It can absolutely suck in winter though. Boise is a valley on the west side of a mountain range that goes to ~9000 feet and is subject to temperature inversions in the winter that trap pollutants (lots of woodsmoke) in the valley makeing for just terrible air at times. Often in early spring it will be 30 and cloudy in Boise and 55 and sunny at Bogus Basin, the ski resort above Boise. Air quality in the rest of Idaho can be like you have never seen before however. In Eastern Idaho it is not uncommon to be able to see the Grand Teton in Wyoming at ground level from over 120 miles away. The clarity can be spectacular.
Hope this helps in some way. While I prefer my current location, Boise is certainly an enjoyable place and a wonderful place to raise a family. Definately worth checking out, let us know how what you think.

Have fun cycling on the ice :D.

Why do you have to stay with your current employer?

When I think of Idaho I think of Napoleon Dynamite.

When was the last time you lived in Dallas? It's great here.


Seems like most of the people with comments don't spend a lot of time in [city]. I live in Houston, love visiting DFW and Austin/San Antonio/hill country.

Have fun cycling on the ice :D.

Why do you have to stay with your current employer?

When I think of Idaho I think of Napoleon Dynamite.

Sweet....

I'm 50+, but I enjoyed the hell out of that quirky little movie, as does my teenage son (who owns a T-shirt that says something about his "mad tetherball skills").

It was one of my favorite movies from last year, and I recently bought it on DVD (after much searching).

Have fun cycling on the ice :D.

Why do you have to stay with your current employer?


Why not? I like my current employer, make good money, have been with them for almost 12 years, have good benefits and 4 weeks of vacation. I'm not a job hopper..... I'm just terribly sick of Houston.

I lived in Idaho from 1991 to 1997, in southeast Boise from 1994 to 1997. I have a love/hate relationship with the city myself. [...]

Great comments, thanks a lot!

I lived in Idaho from 1991 to 1997, in southeast Boise from 1994 to 1997. I have a love/hate relationship with the city myself. ...


Wow, nice post. I think I want to move to Boise.

Samudsun - The one thing no one has mentioned yet is that when that Yellowstone caldera goes Boise will probably catch a big chunk of it, of course no one really knows when it's going to go but with all the earth quakes recently....... :lol:

Monogodo - Once was enough. :rolleyes:

Alanbikehouston - You mean you didn't stop at Cyclone Cycles? Do they still have Yao Ming's bike? That sucker was HUGE! One of the better bike shops in Houston right there in The Village (as in M. Night Shamalans). :D

Lotek - I live in Alanbikehouston's Hell. Out there near the intersecting bike paths of Kirkwood and Briarforest. :eek:

Alanbikehouston - You mean you didn't stop at Cyclone Cycles? Do they still have Yao Ming's bike? That sucker was HUGE! One of the better bike shops in Houston right there in The Village (as in M. Night Shamalans). :D


West U. Cycles had it a few months ago when I was there...

A couple quickies I forgot. If you dirt bike or would like to snowmobile, Idaho really is a paradise for both sports. About the only miles my dirt bike ever sees anymore are in Idaho, truly endless posibilities. While they do close trails to dirt bikes and four wheelers, they generally only close them from the beginning of hunting season through the calving season in spring. Idaho, seems to me, to be much more accessible than Montana, Oregon, or Washington for off road fun. I still elk hunt there every year, it ain't bad either, though they don't have the trophy class elk some of the Southwestern states do, of course since the state is 90% public land you don't need guides either...

I live in Boise. It's nice. Good place to ride a bike, mountains close by. excellent skiing in the winter, excellent hiking in the summer, friendly pepople, clean air, easy to get a good cup of coffee. You'll like it.

If you leave, do one favor for me, please! Write to this man and tell him that one reason you left Harris County was because of the bicycle-unfriendly road infrastructure and attitudes of the local drivers.

Harris County Judge
Honorable Robert Eckels
1001 Preston, Suite 911
Houston, TX 77002

One of my best friends from grad school took off for Boise right after graduation. Granted, it's where his family is from originally, but he's never had a bad thing to say about the place. From what I know, it's definitely good for the outdoors type and it's very family friendly. Contrast that to Houston which absolutely sucks for the outdoors unless you get a good ways out of town. I have to say that it annoys me to have to drive over an hour to find anything that even vaguely resembles a hill.

Also, as one of the other posters noted, the air quality can't possibly be worse than it is in Houston, and I'll add that, whatever sprawl Boise may have or be developing, I can't imagine that's worse either.

If you leave, do one favor for me, please! Write to this man and tell him that one reason you left Harris County was because of the bicycle-unfriendly road infrastructure and attitudes of the local drivers.

Harris County Judge
Honorable Robert Eckels
1001 Preston, Suite 911
Houston, TX 77002


AMEN, brother! AMEN!

It's getting closer to my Boise trip. The dates aren't really set yet, but I am looking at leaving the last week of June and staying for 9-10 days. It's too short a trip and too much hassle to bring my own bike, so I am looking at renting one. I found one place that has bikes for rent, Bikes2Boards. Anyone has any experience with them? Are the bikes any good? According to their web site they charge $15/day for a road bike.

Any reason is a good reason to leave Houston.

Robert Eckels has no soul. He sold it years ago and having nothing further to offer accepted Satans offer of a time-share deal wherein Hell will be made slightly more comfortable for him if he will help industry make Houston more like Hell at the cost of the little people.

But do write him anyway.

Leave Houston, I did and it's been great so far checking out the rest of the world. Go to Boise and become part of the solution by living near your job thereby helping check sprawl and making it a pleasant daily ritual to ride to work.

I admire the people who stay in Houston and try to change things for the better but I spent all my life there and now it's me time.

Any reason is a good reason to leave Houston.

A quick derailment:

Awwww....come on people. I grew up in Houston and have recently returned after 6 years away, and after the other places I've lived, it's my opinion that you could definitely do a lot worse. Sure, Houston has its issues just like any other rapidly growing city (traffic, air/water quality, lack of public transportation, etc.), but let's look at the other 3 cities larger than it; Chicago (I could never deal with the cold, and let’s not forget their sprawl), L.A. (has its own pollution issues, housing is outrageous, has much worse traffic), and NYC (again the cold, ungodly real estate prices). I live inside the loop in Houston and I love it. Sure the sprawl, just like in any other city is a nightmare, but I almost never venture "out there" unless it's to visit family. It gets hot during the summer, but I can do outdoor activities in not much more than jeans and a t-shirt 12 months a year, plenty of sunshine, great real estate prices (especially for investment), and the market here is just booming. But I digress... ;)

Leave Houston, I did and it's been great so far checking out the rest of the world. Go to Boise and become part of the solution by living near your job thereby helping check sprawl and making it a pleasant daily ritual to ride to work.


Actually, I do live close to work (7 miles), and I do ride to work every day. That's the ONLY reason I live where I live. I still want to leave, and I am going to check out Boise within the next few weeks. I ordered a Crateworks bikebox (decided to take my bike after all instead of renting one). I will stay with a friend for a couple of days, then go camping. Decided that if I am going to check out the outdoor "facilities" I'd just as well go all the way.

Leaving Houston for anywhere is worth it.

Hear, hear!! Or anywhere in TX for anywhere, for that matter!

I lived in Houston for a year, and I'd say it's worth leaving to go just about ANYWHERE else.

A quick derailment:

Awwww....come on people. I grew up in Houston and have recently returned after 6 years away, and after the other places I've lived, it's my opinion that you could definitely do a lot worse. Sure, Houston has its issues just like any other rapidly growing city (traffic, air/water quality, lack of public transportation, etc.), but let's look at the other 3 cities larger than it; Chicago (I could never deal with the cold, and let’s not forget their sprawl), L.A. (has its own pollution issues, housing is outrageous, has much worse traffic), and NYC (again the cold, ungodly real estate prices). I live inside the loop in Houston and I love it. Sure the sprawl, just like in any other city is a nightmare, but I almost never venture "out there" unless it's to visit family. It gets hot during the summer, but I can do outdoor activities in not much more than jeans and a t-shirt 12 months a year, plenty of sunshine, great real estate prices (especially for investment), and the market here is just booming. But I digress... ;)

Let's see... Houston recently came in as #2 on the list of America's fattest cities. That's after reigning supreme for the last 3 years.

As for housing, perhaps it's a good place to make investment purchases (one article said housing prices are undervalue by 11%) but in the past year, values only rose ~2%, so you're not going to see any quick profits in this department.

Heat and cold are, more or less personal. For instance, when I lived in TX, I couldn't bear the heat. Basically, I didn't ride from May-Oct. So, for some, that would counter balance the snow. And, if you dress warmly, you can still get outside and do phyiscal activity in the cold, like skiing. In the heat... well, you can only get so naked.

For an outdoor oriented person, I don't think any of the major metropolitan areas are the best choice, really, let alone INSIDE any city's loop or beltway.

What about crime? TX doesn't have a very good reputation in its major cities for violent crime. According to the FBI website, Houston has a violent crime rate of 738.5/100,000 while Boise has a rate of 287.3/100K.

Just some thoughts. If someone's looking at a city like Boise seriously, I really don't think there's any comparison to Houston... or any of the southern metro areas. They're about as diametrically opposed as you can get!

Whether Houston is the fattest city or not, makes little difference to me, because I'm not fat, and no one in my family is, so none of us struggle with this issue.

I like that real estate here appreciates slowly, because my property taxes also are going up at the same rate. If my values jumped 25% in one year, as has happened on some of the real estate "bubble" markets... I'm not sure where I'd get the extra tax money from.

Also, people in bubble markets who are counting on their appreciating house to become their retirement nest-egg are going to have to sell it someday and move somewhere cheap... like Houston... if they ever want to actually cash-out their paper profit, unless they just want to give their house to their kids or something.

Violent crime in Houston is lots lower than Chicago, where I am from originally. I've had a bike stolen out from under me in Chicago, I've only been threatened once by a gang of youths here, and I think they were just messing with me (though it was a bit scary... I took off on a sprint away from them).

Places like Boise and such are not that welcoming from a diversity point of view for me. I find Houston quite stimulating in that way. Everyone's here, and they mostly get along. Not being white, I'd have trouble living in a really mostly white place. I'd feel like I was stepping back into the 1950s, and I'd have problems getting ethnic groceries, etc.

You could do better than Houston, but you could do worse. I think the cycling in Honolulu, where my Mom lives, is terrible. The roads are narrow and jam-packed with cars, it gets very dangerous for cyclists, even in what some consider "paradise".




Let's see... Houston recently came in as #2 on the list of America's fattest cities. That's after reigning supreme for the last 3 years.

As for housing, perhaps it's a good place to make investment purchases (one article said housing prices are undervalue by 11%) but in the past year, values only rose ~2%, so you're not going to see any quick profits in this department.

Heat and cold are, more or less personal. For instance, when I lived in TX, I couldn't bear the heat. Basically, I didn't ride from May-Oct. So, for some, that would counter balance the snow. And, if you dress warmly, you can still get outside and do phyiscal activity in the cold, like skiing. In the heat... well, you can only get so naked.

For an outdoor oriented person, I don't think any of the major metropolitan areas are the best choice, really, let alone INSIDE any city's loop or beltway.

What about crime? TX doesn't have a very good reputation in its major cities for violent crime. According to the FBI website, Houston has a violent crime rate of 738.5/100,000 while Boise has a rate of 287.3/100K.

Just some thoughts. If someone's looking at a city like Boise seriously, I really don't think there's any comparison to Houston... or any of the southern metro areas. They're about as diametrically opposed as you can get!

Whether Houston is the fattest city or not, makes little difference to me, because I'm not fat, and no one in my family is, so none of us struggle with this issue.

I like that real estate here appreciates slowly, because my property taxes also are going up at the same rate. If my values jumped 25% in one year, as has happened on some of the real estate "bubble" markets... I'm not sure where I'd get the extra tax money from.

Also, people in bubble markets who are counting on their appreciating house to become their retirement nest-egg are going to have to sell it someday and move somewhere cheap... like Houston... if they ever want to actually cash-out their paper profit, unless they just want to give their house to their kids or something.

Violent crime in Houston is lots lower than Chicago, where I am from originally. I've had a bike stolen out from under me in Chicago, I've only been threatened once by a gang of youths here, and I think they were just messing with me (though it was a bit scary... I took off on a sprint away from them).

Places like Boise and such are not that welcoming from a diversity point of view for me. I find Houston quite stimulating in that way. Everyone's here, and they mostly get along. Not being white, I'd have trouble living in a really mostly white place. I'd feel like I was stepping back into the 1950s, and I'd have problems getting ethnic groceries, etc.

You could do better than Houston, but you could do worse. I think the cycling in Honolulu, where my Mom lives, is terrible. The roads are narrow and jam-packed with cars, it gets very dangerous for cyclists, even in what some consider "paradise".

Well said.

Depending on the part of Houston you live, real estate appreciation varies widely. Inside most of the loop for instance, land value has gone up five-fold in the past 10 years, and continues to increase rapidly as we speak.

Even though cycling inside the loop is easy and enjoyable for me, if I want to get out of the city for some longer rides, I drive 30 minutes and am essentially in the middle of farm land. I get the best of both worlds, while still being far less expensive than any other city of comparable size.

I'm white, and I'd have a problem living in a homoginized city as well.

All in all, Houston may not be everyone's "cup of tea", but Houston is the 5th fastest growing city in the country, so it must be doing something right. ;) http://www.citymayors.com/gratis/uscities_growth.html

Enjoy Boise! :)

Hear, hear!! Or anywhere in TX for anywhere, for that matter!
Not all of Texas is bad.

For me, getting out of H-town has got to wait on my wife getting her degree. I have been living in the (not so) Greater Houston Area for years...Pasadena for the last 20plus years. I will miss my the guys at Bay Area Schwinn for sure. I know that a lot things I deal with on my commute will probably crop up in anytown. I know there are cities/towns out there that are more respective of cyclist than Houston. Now San Marcos, that would be nice... I miss Hurbert's Taco Hut and 7-11.

Well, it's confirmed now. I'll be in Boise from 6/24 to 7/3. I hope Continental won't give me too much trouble with bringing the bike. Chose Continental because they have a direct flight, should be less chance of any screwups with the bike that way.

Well, it's confirmed now. I'll be in Boise from 6/24 to 7/3. I hope Continental won't give me too much trouble with bringing the bike. Chose Continental because they have a direct flight, should be less chance of any screwups with the bike that way.

Well congratulations. Almost like we (Houston BikeForum guys/girls) should organize a memorial ride for you.

Well congratulations. Almost like we (Houston BikeForum guys/girls) should organize a memorial ride for you.

Heh... maybe when I actually move.... for now it's only to check out the place.

I rode through Houston on my tour on Good Friday of this year. I was surprised at how easy it was to get into downtown Houston coming from the East via US 90 and Navigation Blvd. I did notice some smog while approaching the city. Downtown was nice, and it being a holiday was kind of dead for a city of that size. Man those buildings are huge! Leaving Houston via US 290 was another story. I took the frontage road and it seemed to be nothing but strip malls and endless traffic for mile upon mile w/o much of a riding area. I noticed some marked bike routes in Houston. It was just one pass through town but I found Houston to be rather easy for bikes compared to NYC, Baltimore, or Chicago.

Cheers,

http://poorguyonabike.crazyguyonabike.com

AWESOME TRIP YOU MADE, DUDE!!! You passed right near my house. I live near Highway 290 and Highway 6.



http://poorguyonabike.crazyguyonabike.com

I've now spent 2 days in Boise, and ridden 100 miles in those two days.

Right now I am staying with a friend in Eagle. Yesterday I rode with two incredibly strong riders (much, much stronger than I am) from Eagle all the way up to Bogus Basin. The ride was 60 miles total round trip. About 16 of those were climbing up the mountain to Bogus Basin. Hardest ride I've ever been on in my life (first real climb I've ever done!). Those two guys helped me out a lot, and probably went much slower than they usually would, but man, was that climb tough!

Today I rode the Boise greenbelt, a very scenic multi-use path winding its way along the Boise river. Total round trip, 40 miles.

So far my impression is Boise is fantastic for recreational bike riding. There are lots of bike lanes and paths. However, those bike lanes aren't always the most well planned, sometimes they are nothing more than a tiny shoulder with a white line and a bike painted on the ground. However, many places they are wide and very nice.

Don't know how well the place works for transportational riding yet. Traffic is heavier than I'd expected. I'll get to do some more exploring during the coming week.