That is some good advice you are getting ex. I knew the other RVAers would show themselves. I live on the South side of the river in Chesterfield County. A lot of Chesterfield's main cycling arteries have bike lanes and are 4/going to 4 lanes with median separation. From there it is 10 minutes out into the rural riding in the county of Chesterfield and the surrounding counties. It really comes down to your lifestyle. Richmond has it all. Industrial, hipster, old and quiet, etc. I'm on one of the Marathon training teams. Every weekend, we start at Sportbackers stadium and take a run through the city. So many pretty neighborhoods. Last weekend our run went through Ginter Park on Seminary Ave/Road. That was a pretty neighborhood with some beautiful homes. A better idea might be areas to avoid. One negative about RVA is that good and bad places back up to each other. Sometimes opposite sides of the street. This creates some pockets of questionable areas in the middle of otherwise good areas.