FixdGearHead

NYC FTW.

Actually I hate riding in the city, but my weekend trips up to Bear Mountain are great...a heck of a lot better than my rides when I lived in Kansas City (tho I do long for long stretches of cornfield lined blacktop every now and then)

waterrockets 

One vote for Austin. I've lived in Boulder, Denver, and Salt Lake City, and Austin is much nicer for roadies. Never been to Portland, but Austin leaves me wanting nothing.

I actually prefer riding in cities than in the country. Too many bumpkins pushing getting cozy with bikes with their cars. Mountains are a different story, but riding out in "the country" sucks from a social point of view.

Wasatch

Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas are fantastic places to ride. As stated above, Utah tends to be more outdoors-minded, so people are generally courteous to cyclists out here.

JohnKScott

I know...I've posted 27% of them

Unfortunately (for others), they all start at my house, so those probably arent the good ones unless someone comes and rides with me .

Bob Ross

Having lived in the northeast United States for my entire life, and spent an awful lot of time in Philly, I'd say the weather alone would be reason enough for it not to get my vote. Any city where there's even a chance that an entire week might get rained out fails to meet my qualification for "Best City To Be A Roadie"

I'd give my vote to Tucson AZ.

special

I was on an interchange to Norway a few years back in a city I think was Stavanger. We spent most of the time biking everywhere and it was great fun. I dont think the best city for road biking is in the US

San Rensho 

Berkeley CA. The hills right above the University are absolutely wonderful, switchback roads. Very fast and very fun.

VT Biker

Why Austin compared to Denver/Boulder or SLC? I ask because from my house, I can ride basically from within the city, all the way to the top of Mt. Evans and back in a day (on my bike).

Or - from my house, I can ride out into the plains for some long, slow rides to build up my base.

It would seem to me that the following cities likely are in the running at least:

- Tucson, AZ
- Denver/Boulder
- Colorado Springs
- SLC
- Billings
- San Diego, CA
- Fresno (city sucks, but the mountains nearby are awesome)
- Ashville
- Burlington, VT
- Austin, TX
- Albequerque
- Portland, OR
- Bend, OR
- Sacramento, CA


Now - if you are talking about riding in the city alone, that would clearly change the above. But for me, what city is the best city to live in and ride is based on the proximity of varies terrain, challenging hill climbs, scenic roads and lack of traffic once out of the city.

8Lives

+1. My rides average around 100 feet climbing per mile, you can easily ride 30-45 miles with only a stoplight or two (or none at all).

InstantSoul

I live in Boulder, but a recent trip to Madison, WI was a blast. Not more than 20 min outside of town you can lose yourself in hundreds of miles of paved backroads with awesome rolling hills.

j944

+1 For the great North Wett
But, I love the Austin hills. Especially out by Lake Travis.(Only did it once)Thats all it took to leave an impression.

BigJetMech

how about a shout out for Denver!

BigSean

Yeah Ill go with Palo Alto. Oregon I hear is a bit on the wet side during winter, and So Cal is a bit too warm and exposed for my tastes. If I could afford it Id live in the Bay Area 6 months of the year and Portland(or Colorado) the other 6 months.

BigSean

Sacramento is a hell hole, and there are far better cities within 100 miles of there that are 100 times better.

theshoemaker

For sure. Salt lake has plenty of good riding and plenty of good variety. Drivers are generally courteous and aware. I commute through the city and have good bike routes/lanes all the way in. One day I'm picking between several good canyon climbing runs, and the next day I'm doing a meandering desert run in the west desert. All of which I can safely get to from right out the front door. With the pratt/shoreline/and Jordan parkway trails expanding it's bound to get more interesting too.

Cycling enthusiasm and awareness seem to have healthy growth. Plenty of clubs. It's easy to never ride in precipitation with a little attention on the forecast. Winter is cold and snowy. But if you're like me and enjoy the variety, you'll still find lots of opportunity in the cold season.

I'm sure there are some better cities somewhere but so far salt lake has me pretty darn comfortable.

GP

Stagecoach.

johnny99

To all you people recommending places like Colorado or Wisconsin, how many months out of the year can you really ride all day long? Doesn't Denver still get snow in May? There are century rides in California all year long.

BigSean

Yeah, well that was a freak thing. I could of stayed home where it was in the 40's.

InstantSoul

Barring this last winter (a weird exception), snow in the Denver metro area (including Boulder) typically melts within a couple days of falling. The mountains are a completely different story, but in the city/surrounding areas you can usually throw on some heavier weight tires to deal with all the gravel and such in the shoulders and get out year round. Sometimes it's cold, sometimes you get 60 degrees in January...all depends. My guess is that Wisconsin is a different beast.

nonpareil

I second Madison, Wis. - tons of farm roads and the driftless area to the west has great scenery. Indianapolis, while lacking striking scenery, is great for farm roads, and Bloomington, Ind., has its own driftless area of hills and great cycling.

Bend, Ore., is not a good cycling town IMO. Lived there for several years before moving to Eugene, which is also a great bike town.

ggg300

yup....at least for me...there are a lot of clubs and the temp is almost always in the go ride zone, even in the winter.

Spring/Fall/Summer all can feel like the same thing some years...I used to hear complaints from a roommate from back east that San Diego's lack of seasons was annoying. With Amtrak coastal you can have a good range for coastal rides as well.

And don't forget the near by Palomar Mountan

SDRider

I vote San Diego. Beautiful coastal riding and killer mountain riding all within an hour of each other, not to mention the weather. It never snows here and it rarely rains. Temperatures range from the low 40s during the coldest months (overnight) to the mid 90s (along the coast) during the summer.

I've lived in San Diego for 10 years now, originally from upstate NY. The only thing I miss about NY is autumn. That was my favorite time of year. To the guy who said there are no changes of seasons, he's wrong. There are noticeable differences, you just have to be in tune to the minor changes I guess.

labrat_62

I love riding in philly, but will welcome a change. Oddly, i hate rollercoasters, but cannot get enough of riding through traffic at 25+ mph or decending into Manaunk down ridge or from the park at 40+ and watching the people stuck in rush hour traffic just stare. That said, if anyone wants to contribute to my hospital bills, the bank account number is.... One day i will leave, but until then i ride here and love it. Better on the bike and in traffic than not on it at all.

also, i like being able to show up for the tues ride, and see members of Navigators, Kodak, PA lighting, etc. there to drive the pace.

scotch

Brattleboro, VT
Amherst/Northampton, MA

Very cool towns with great local bike shops, cafes, taverns and endless amazing New England countryside just a quick pedal away.

Layback

Shocked that Redmond, WA has not been mentioned. Heck, anywhere near Seattle for that matter..