bbattle

Lots of cyclists ride through the Weinstrasse between Defiance and Columbia/Jeff. City. Long, flat stretches on the Missouri River flood plain, then the road heads through the rolling hills before hitting the plain again. And there's the Katy Trail.




Huntsville, Alabama

Flat riding between the "mountains"(700-900 ft of climbing). Good riding club, organized rides. Motorists are pretty nice. Lots of cyclists going up and down Bailey Cove Rd. which is pretty flat. MUP trail to the River. Easy access from 4 Mile Post and Green Mt. Rd. to getting up and over Green Mt. and into the countryside on the other side. No dirt roads in Madison County, most roads in great shape for riding. No bike lanes and my workplace has no shower facility. Most people drive huge, hulking SUVs and pickup trucks.

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

University town so cruising the campus is mandatory; bikes are much easier to get around on, too. Lots of rolling hills, countryside, dirt roads. Also lots and lots of gates blocking the dirt roads and fire lanes going through the forests and to the natural gas and oil wells scattered all over the place. Definitely better for mountain bikes than Huntsville.

nobrainer440

Well, I live in 2 different places. I go to school in Manhattan, KS, and live in Overland Park, KS (near Kansas City). I'll do both.

Manhattan, KS:

Good:
Beautiful scenery (flint hills).
No traffic once you are out of town (which is about 5 miles across).
Considerate drivers (except the occasional frat boy in a giant truck that thinks it's funny to speed by cyclists 6" away).
Good LBS.

Bad:
One LBS.
Wind is rarely under 15mph.
No climbs over 350 feet.
Smells like cows frequently.
Once out of town, nowhere to stop for food/water/help.


Overland Park, KS:

Good:
Not as windy as Manhattan.
Places to stop for food/water/help.
Several LBS's.

Bad:
Not very good LBS's.
No climbs over 350 feet.
No bike lanes, dangerous bike paths.
Not many fellow roadies.
Nasty traffic.
Motorists HATE cyclists.

For cycling, I much prefer Manhattan. For other things to do, Manhattan stinks.

watchman

Asheville, NC
-Any type of terrain to ride on but predominately hilly or mountainous
-Year round riding, winters can be cold at times and summers humid, but with proper dressing and not riding with complainers, 12 months of riding fairly comfortably
-No shoulders on roads
-Drivers about the same as anywhere else, some good, alot are not. Haven't had too much problems with drivers though.
-Dogs that like to chase you, only a couple of them have meant it though
-Decent bike shops
-Large number of cyclists for the population of the area
-Lots of growth, so roads are getting more crowded with drivers in a hurry
-Fantastic mtn biking as long as you like it mostly steep and technical. Miles and miles of trails, plenty of adventure to be had if you are willing
-Overall, alot more positives than negatives

nyy

Central New Jersey
Cars
Stop Signs
Cars
Joggers
Cars
Potholes
Cars

carlson5200

Southwest MI

Good:
Freshly paved roads, some small rolling hills, many open roads in the country, generally mild seasons but last summer was HOT

Bad
Pot holes, rough pavement (in the country), scenery is somewhat bland - just farm land mainly, riding by the nuke plant (hearing the lines sizzle overhead just weirds me out) but its a nice flat stretch without traffic

gawnfishin

Mandeville, LA

The Bad
only 25 miles north of what used to be New Orleans
LA politics
Army Corp of Engineers
Some jerk burned the bridge on the St Tammany Trace
beau coup trees that double as projectiles during hurricanes
flat
average hunidity 90+%
summer humidity 100%
hot summers
hot ladies
few club rides, especially for the non-hammerheads




Oops,
That is definitely a good thing!
Thanks for catching my error

douchebagonwhlz

Kind of surprising that Asheville isn't known as a world class cycling destination. Forgetting the BR parkway, and the mt bike trails, there are lots of country roads up on the ridges. Mt Mitchell ride, road up to Newfound gap in Smoky Mt NP. I bet it compares pretty favorably to the rides in the tour de georgia

baiskeli

Somerville, MA (about 4-5 miles from Boston)

The good

1. In Somerville, Cambridge, reasonable attention paid to cyclists when planning. Also excellent for walking
2. Outside areas (Concord, Befdford, Littleton, Arlington, Carlisle), good roads for riding. You can spend forever exploring them.
3. Lots of cyclists and lots of group rides.
4. The Minuteman trail (if I don't want to deal with traffic getting to Bedford, I can ride 11 miles on this and be in much lower traffic areas.
5. Commuter rail,if you don't feel like driving you can take the commuter rail with your bike to some amazing riding further out.

The bad

1. Boston drivers (hyper-aggressive, rude, inattentive, unpredictable), seems to get better the further you move away from Boston
2. The occasional psychotic or homicidal driver (few and far in between).
3. Winter, winter, winter
4. Unfriendly cyclists (sometimes), could be the New England 'reserved thing'.


I like where I live because it is closer to Boston and Cambridge (I have a 3 mile commute). I don't like it so much for riding because I have to fight urban roads or take the bike path to really nice riding. However, considering what people post about their areas, if you can deal with the drivers, this place is not too shabby. I used to live near the Massachusetts NH Border and the riding up there was insane! I could be out of my house and in rolling farmlands in about 10 seconds flat. I once got a flat and almost every car stopped to make sure I was okay (that ain't happening anywhere near Boston).

So yeah, this area would be perfect if it wasn't for the damn drivers

baiskeli

FarHorizon

Baton Rouge, LA:

Flat forever - no hills, no up, no down
Hot forever - 100 degree heat with 100 percent humidity all summer
Bright forever - Serious skin cancer risk
Bugs forever - the big stinging ones that get into your helmet via the air vents are worst
Afternoon rains - convective thundershowers with high winds, 20 degrees temperature drops, and heavy downpours
Clueless drivers - The little turd in a Honda who's texting on his cell phone, has the boom turned up, and thinks he just owns the road
No shoulders - heavy traffic on narrow roads with no shoulder
Craters of the moon bike paths - yes, we have paths, but you'll need a MTB with a SERIOUS suspension to navigate them without damage
Indifferent local bike club - I sent my application with check to the address on their web site & never heard from them
Few local shops - Maybe a total of three (one is a multi-location chain) who all carry similar stuff - there isn't a recumbent dealer in the STATE!
Lots of potential theft - the Katrina "victims" from New Orleans now steal anything that isn't tied down
Overloaded roads - the 50% increase in population since Katrina hasn't made the streets any safer
Indifferent government - Despite asking for useful (instead of decorative) bike paths, the City Council is still sonmolent
I could go on but...

RoadToad

Ditto, my man...

Contra Fixie

yup, soccer moms are the worst. some yappy 100 pound bundle of distracted, overwrought energy doing 10 things at once is worse than a hick. at least hicks can usually drive straight. actually I think the worst hicks are the suburban wannabe ones, you know, the ones with the spotless lifted trucks and all. they're the ones with something to prove. the real country folk are usually pretty cool.

but yeah, back on topic. the bay area. pretty much like my favorite place in terms of riding.

smoke

central ohio. not the best place i've ridden. matter of fact, it's the worst:

-dumb@ss inbred rednecks in pickups. funny how everyone complains about soccer moms and suv's. almost all my riding is out in the country, so i guess i don't see 'em. and i can't remember one problem with a car in ten years. but i've grown to hate every pickup i see
-the greatest elevation change is my driveway

smoke