hypnobassman

Hi Group,

I'm thinking about moving from the great state of Minnesota to find a place where the winters aren't so long.

If you could live anywhere, and riding a bike was one of your favorite things to do for exercise, where would you live?

Ideal conditions would be:
1. Lots of paved bike trails.
2. Lots of days when I can ride (65 to 85 degrees).
3. Lots of nice scenery to look at as I ride around.

Minnesota would be great, but we have snow almost 6 months out of the year!

All input would be appriciated.

Kev

Let's see as for weather, California or Hawaii have excellent weather for cycling. Los Angeles are most of the roads have a designated area for bicycles on the roads, and a few long paths along the rivers to ride along. I've heard San Diego is alot more bike friendly though.

hypnobassman

Kev,

Thanks for the input! I'm from LA and have thought about returning, but it would be nice if I could find some place that is even nicer for us bent riders. Hmm, San Diego sounds nice.

The nice thing about Minnesota (near Minneapolist/St. Paul) is that there are so many bike trails and 13,000 lakes across the state! The scenery is great. I can ride my bike on 35 miles of paved trails that start only 7/10 of a mile from my house. While I am riding I see rabbits, deer, even phesant and other assorted small critters.

But there has to be a better place (remember I have 5 months of snow and only about 5 to 6 months of decent riding weather.

Thanks again!

Guest

I've been to LA and San Diego- I'd definitely pick San Diego over LA just for the craziness of the LA traffic alone. But San Diego is a lot more peaceful, and you can go into Mexico, which opens up a lot of possibilites too.

sch

Although Hawaii sounds nice, all the islands are mountains and the road system is a bit cramped. Another poster elsewhere went on at extravagant length over his search for glass proof tires: he was flatting almost daily. He also mentioned "50 stoplights" on his daily commute to the beach and back
over a 12-15mi route one way. Recent price hikes for inter island flights have a lot of Hawaiians in a stew, formerly an island hop was $75 -100, now $150-200. Steve

SteveE

The State of Nirvana.

The Rob

Portland, Oregon is considered one of the most, if not the most, bicycle-friendly cities in the U.S. if you don't mind riding in the wet nine months of the year.

temp1

Move to Chicago, biking here is awesome, head downtown and get in traffic

izgod

My best biking experiences were in Albuquerque, NM. Inescapable breathtaking scenerey. The city is at the foot of monutains to the east and huge mesa to the west. Lovey trails along the Rio Grande River and the large aroyas that criscross the city. Mostly flat in the city.
You can get to the top of the 12,000 foot Sandia Mountain by tram and ride down the back side for hours. All the busses accommodate bikes. There is winter, but it's mild and sunny. A pretty hip college town.
I cried when I had to leave there.

hypnobassman

This is really helpful!

But, I didn't think Hawaii was where I wanted to live. It is just too far away from everything else.

Albuquerque, NM sounds interesting though. It’s mostly desert right? If that is the case, it doesn't sound very beautiful on the eyes (I like green trees, rivers, lakes or beach, etc). Is it like 120 degrees in the summer? Are there lots of paved bike trails? (My EZ Sport prefers paved trails to dirt/gravel, etc.)

Oregon is beautiful and so is Washington, but does it really rain all the time?

What about Northern California, Colorado or Utah?

I'd like to also hear about great bike riding states in the South East.

There has to be the ideal place to live if you want to ride your bent every day.

HypnoBassMan

The Rob

Nah. Not all the time. Well...not every minute...

I spent most of my first eight years of existence in Roswell, New Mexico, and I loved it even as a kid. Cycling in the Southwest sounds like Heaven to me. I love the desert. If the gods live in the mountains, they go to the desert for vacation.

-Rob

hypnobassman

The desert is too hot and not green enought to be the best or ideal place to live and ride.

Does anyone on the list live in the South East (or at least know a lot about it)?

How about Colorado or Utah?

Tilly1

I personally am a huge fan of Utah! Lots of mountains to climb, good paths, and mostly friendly people. Fantastic views as well!
It is cold in the winter but you can usually still ride if you just bundle up. Except for Jan. and Feb.! Icky, cold, wet months!
I love it!
And it's only 30 min. to the mountains for some good Mtn Biking!

hypnobassman

Thanks for the information on Utah. What would you say is the best city for bike riders, considering all the criteria I have laid out?

Raedeke

Denver Colorado!!!
We have one of the best Cycle Advocacy People running the master plan for Denver and we have miles of paved bike paths with more in the works as we speak.
Denver has 300 sunny days a year. Even in the middle of winter, you can ride in Denver! And get a sun burn. We do get snow... but those days you snuggle with the wife or ride the trainer in the basement.
Scenary - now let's talk .... It's a beautiful place out here and if you don't like just looking at the mountains, then go ride in them. One of the best mountain trails is the bike path from Lake Dillon to Vail. Absolutly stunning and one of the nicest paths I've seen at altitude.

And if you can afford it and don't mind being apart of "The Peoples Republic Of" Boulder Colorado (my home town) is a dream.

I'd suggest you make a list of all these wonderfull places and take a road trip. Visit each and find out for yourself which one you like best.
Good luck on finding a new home. Or should I say - Welcome home to Colorado!

Olyroller

Check out Olympia in Washington State

hypnobassman

Raedeke

Colorado sounds great. How many months of snow do you get in Boulder? Is there a good web site about bike riding in Dolorado?

Olyroller

Same questions to you. I lived in Tacoma for a while. Point Defiance Park is great. I once saw it rain every day for 40 days!

Thanks guys!

Cintibiker

This is just the question I have been looking into! I live in Cincinnati which has a great club and pretty good riding - just too much winter! I did visit Colorado since I love hiking/camping also, but it is just so expensive - plus there is a lack of water issue. I am focusing on the southeast because it is more affordable and there are mountains and pretty good year-round climate. Knoxville seems to be a nice location, near mountains and very affordable. As you get to Florida - not many hills, different kind of terrain, but alot of water, wind can be an issue (makes up for not having hills!). The carolinas look pretty nice - but I have not been there yet. Recommend you check out clubs in each area via internet to determine who has a strong club, then go visit. You might also consider a putting week long tours in your cycling mix - they can be great and not very expensive!

Krispy

Have you thought about Oklahoma? It is a lot greener than the desert. There are long stretches of flat road and leg burning hills if you want them as well as everything in between.

I believe there was only about one or two weeks last winter that I didn't ride one of my bikes. It does snow occasionally in the winter but it usually melts off within a day.

There is a large cycling population here and every year there is a cross-state tour called the Oklahoma Freewheel. https://www.okfreewheel.com. 2003 was the 25th year that it ran. It is also the third longest running bike tour in the US.

bentrox!

I prefer the state of bliss myself...

hypnobassman

Krispy,

So what about paved bike trails near the city? I like getting up in the moring and going for a ride without having to drive to a nice place.

Krispy

City paved bike paths are in the works but are not complete yet.(moving rather slowly) Otherwise there are lots of bike friendly roads in the Oklahoma City metro area as well as Norman OK. Traffic on most of these routes is usually light.

Depending on where you choose to live in the area you can usually jump on your bike and ride without having to drive anywhere.

Here are a few bike route maps that some of the local clubs have posted;

https://www.bicycleleague.com/ look under the section "Where to ride"
Also;
https://www.oklahomabicyclesociety.com/Maps/maphome.htm

If you mountain bike there is a lot of nice single track to ride around the OKC metro area as well as around the state. This is the local mountain bike club's website; https://www.okearthbike.com/

The club president of the Bicycle League of Norman was also the Director of Parks and Recreation for the state until recently. While he was in office he was very influential in allowing the local clubs to help develop and maintain mountain bike trails in many our state parks.

mrfix

I would think the warmest driest one you can find. It's not Mass.

pointyhead

YES!, the city mascot for Portland is a slug. Really.

sch

One subtle and not easily changed consideration of a place, if you work conventional hours is the location in the time zone. The central TZ is the largest in the US and if you live, as I do 80mi from the eastern edge, then even in the summer the sun sets at 8pm. In Texas, the western end of the TZ
the sun sets ca 9:30, a big difference for after work riding in the summer. I take trips in April to the Smokies and the sunset is about 7:45pm in April, something I don't see at home til late June. Mountain TZ is narrow and less
dramatic in its E-W differentials. The SE is much more humid than Mn, typical
summer time is 80-98% humidity. Below 90F this is tolerable but in the mid 90s
it takes a good bit of adaptation. N Mexico splits the difference between extremes of Az and Tx/Ok. It has all kinds of terrain: flat, hilly , mtns, greenery and the desert is much more attractive than it sounds. Steve