lala

So my employer is opening an office in colorado springs. What it like from the biking standpoint? Is it a conservative place? Are dogs welcome? Can one buy or rent a place with a yard without going broke? Please give me whatever info or links you can. THX.

rykoala

You should call a couple of LBS there and see what they say. They'd know, and would probably be happy to answer your questions about their area. I visited there last year, and its BEAUTIFUL there.

DnvrFox

Conservative? Does Carter have Little Liver Pills? Is the Pope Catholic? Are you military?

Dogs are welcome if they are Christian.

Biking should be great. https://www.bikesprings.org/

There is a neat mtn bike type trail (i.e. gravel) which will eventually go the entire front range, but now starts at Palmer Lake (n of the springs) and goes south through the AF Academy and through the city, which is a long and narrow city. I have only ridden the northern part of this trail.

Colorado Springs -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Springs,_Colorado

Quote:

In recent years, Colorado Springs has attracted a large influx of Evangelical Christians. Evangelical groups with headquarters at Colorado Springs include Focus on the Family (a Christian organization active on many social and political issues), Compassion International, The Navigators, Youth with a Mission, Young Life and the International Bible Society

https://www.springsgov.com/Page.asp?NavID=987

lala

Perhaps I could frighten them.
My dog's pretty down with the mormans, etc, but i'm not. They do sell liquor in town, don't they? Boy, that gives me pause, but I gotta get put of Ohio. Perhaps there's a need for ******* for abortion clininc.
Geez...

DnvrFox

It is not really not too bad!

It is beautiful, lots of places to hike and bike, and some really nice folks.

You should enjoy it.

lala

Thanks, DnvrFox. That's good to hear. I'm going to go for it and hope for the best. The weather sounds wonderful. This winter I was out in below zero weather, should be a breeze compared with Cleveland.

bkrownd

There are major conserv clusters in the area, and the mood of the town generally leans towards suburban "family values" garbage. (However they haven't quite rooted all of the "weirdos" out yet.) This is somewhat due to all of the military stuff that surrounds the Springs. WRT dogs, I think most people in Colorado are "dog people". WRT bikes, the streets are VERY wide in many places, but don't expect all drivers to be looking for us "weirdos".

My only comment on the Springs is, be prepared for the most boring sterile city you can imagine.
If you're an outdoors person who doesn't care about city living that may not matter to you. (I'm a city/town person, and expect a certain level of "town life") If you want slightly more interesting surroundings you can live in Manitou Springs or the older area of town between Manitou and the city. Most of the Springs is a well-manicured suburban wasteland.

bkr

Brennan

I spent a couple weeks in Colorado Springs last year. The scenery and outdoor pursuits are fantastic. You will have access to plenty of places to go riding, hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, etc. And don't forget the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak! (If you ever get lost, all you have to do is look for Pikes Peak to reorient yourself.)

There is a conservative element there. It's a big military town with a mysterious, top-secret installation buried under some mountain, and there is also the Air Force Academy. (You will see military jets flying overhead all the time). Nevertheless, there are also many folks that tend to be more liberal and environmentally conscious.

While the outlying areas can be a bit boring, the old town section is really cool. There are plenty of good restaurants from stick-to-your-ribs American to Italian, Korean, Greek, etc. Also, there are many cool shops and, of course, bike shops. While I was there, they had a street market down the main street one weekend with all kinds of food and interesting things for sale. This town is not a cultural wasteland.

I saw a lot of really nice homes while I was there, especially in said old town area and the foothills. I have no idea what the real estate market is like though.

Don't forget you can easily explore all of Colorado, as well as Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. You won't run out of places to explore.

Good luck!

Oak Park Biker

I would think that Colorado Springs would be fine after living in Cleveland. At least the winters won't kill you like they do in Cleveland. If you need a real city, Denver is very cool and not that far away and the night life downtown (Denver) is like the flats in Cleveland. Have fun.

lala

Cool, cool, good to know. Basically, I want to rent a place with a yard for the dog and be able to commute to work and have a neighborhood around me for all my needs. This may be a challange in sterile land...but I'm not totally discouraged. I don't mind traveling a bit for some nitelife. I am more of an urban person, but I have no choice-->I live in cleveland.

I'm going to do it, if I'm fortunate enough to be transfered by the job. Thanks for all yer helps!

LordOpie

You'll love it here. Do you like winter sports (eg. skiing?)

lala

I'm not sure. Ohio isn't the best place for downhill skiing and even our snow fall has not been condusive to cross-country skiing over the past few years... I do like the idea of skijorring.

gruppo

Start with a visit to "Old Town Bike Shop" (One of the country's best!). For road riding go to the Air Force Academy (Site of the '86 Road World Championship), for mountain biking head to Palmer Park and North Cheyenne Canyon (Be sure & bring your oxygen mask), and for track riding hit the velodrome. The climate is dry (Almost drought-like), sunshine & blue skies. Affordable rentals allowing dogs will be tough and the last I heard the medium price for houses is about $220,000. Read "Fast Food Nation" for insight into the city's make-up. If you can get there, the downtown is a vibrant place, although the best thing about it - the Chinook Bookstore - is closing up this Friday. Regardless, there's a good chance you'll enjoy being in Colorado Springs, if you like to hike, rock and ice climb, enjoy any kind of bicycling, ski, backpack, participate in whitewater sports, run, etc. Good luck!

ltspd

You don't want to live here! It sucks.....mean Republicans who hate dogs, it snows all year long, there's no place to ride. I'm telling ya', this place is the pits....it's hell on earth....don't move here.....please, for your own good, move to Oregon....stay away.....I'm begging you!

hollow

I just saw this thread and I hate to resurrect it, but I used to live in Colorado Springs. The biking there is great. At the time I did only moutain biking (although I ride primarily on the road now) and gruppo is correct, Palmer Park and Cheyenne Canyon are great and Old Town Bike Shop is great. That was my old LBS. I'm not as sure about the road cycling, but I used to work in the same building as USA Triathlon and saw alot of people from there out on the road.

It is a pretty conservative place and it is the headquarters to a number of religious groups (Focus on the Family, Young Life, Compassion International, plus a bunch more I can't think of) but it's a big enough city that they don't dominate. I'm conservative, so I guess it never bothered me, but I don't think it bothers many people. The Springs has four military installations, but again, it's a big enough city that they don't dominate. The mysterious mountain that Brennan referred to is Cheyenne Mtn. the headquarters for NORAD, which is a joint US/Canada venture that protects North America's airspace. It was placed under the mountain to withstand a nuclear blast during the Cold War.

The real estate market is a bit more expensive than average, but not too bad. I'd recommend living west of I-25 if possible. It tends to be more expensive, but I'm sure you can find something reasonable. Colorado Springs is kind of like a big, sprawling suburb of 300,000+ people, but it's beautiful, with a nice climate and a lot of things to do.

Damnit, save me a place out there. Why the hell did I move back to Kansas City?!

lala

Thanks, hollow. Sorry, Itspd. I assume I will be making the move when the work decides the time is right. I wouldn't leave cleveland if the air was cleaner and the weather not so harsh. I do think I can improve the demographics of whitebread Colorado Springs by relocating, so it is, in a way, my duty to do so.