rwwff

Conroe, TX. Smallish town 50 miles North of Houston. A few people commute to Houston from here, but mostly not. No bike paths at all, but pretty much all the roads are somewhere between good to great for cycling. There's no mass transit to speak of, but there is regular Greyhound service. The nearest megamall is about 10 miles south of here, I've biked there and its a pretty comfortable ride. Other stuff is much closer; you'd be hard pressed to be more than a couple miles from a large grocery and a large warehouse store (walmart, target, lowes, home depot, etc). A lake within 10 miles has marinas, rental boats, relatively good fishing and recreation. One could easily replace a car in the driveway with a boat in a slip.

Summers are brutally hot. Its hard to describe 100F with 95% humidity to someone who's never felt it. Those days are not the exception, they are the RULE in July and August. On the other hand, there is no snow, and most winter days are 50F, dry, 10 kt wind out of the North or South East depending on frontal passages.

Very rarely teenagers will do something stupid like throw a paper cup at a cyclist, but for the most part, drivers handle bicycles pretty well.

Speed limits in the center of town are 30'ish, but elsewhere folks drive much faster; 70mph. They aren't being agressive, thats just the smooth traffic flow rate.

NB: I'm not car free, but I don't have a commute either. I use them in my work. I think I'll likely always own a half-ton pickup. I max it out about a dozen times a year, so cost wise, its about the same as renting a truck, and they last forever as long as your expectations are reasonable. Also real handy when you break your leg, (lesson learned last year).