the real "best cycling town" where**********
04-18-11, 07:06 AM
#76
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[QUOTE=Wildwood;12521622][QUOTE=mpath;12514525]The best? No such thing.
U have never lived in Santa Cruz county California
Yeah Santa Cruz is great too.
U have never lived in Santa Cruz county California
04-18-11, 06:01 PM
#77
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Hawaii is beautiful. A little to warm and humid unless you get to altitude. A solid year-round place, for heat-tolerant people. Boulder, Dec.-April, that's why everybody goes skiing and snowboarding. A 10 for maybe 100-160 days per year, not so much when it's winter. SoCal, how many days per year can't you ride in shorts and jersey? 20 out of 365, maybe 30. Put on some raingear, you can ride comfy every day year round. If you want climbing, you can do 5000-10,000+ ft verticals. It's not a perfect 10, but a solid 9, if you want to ride just about every day of the year with as much climbing or flats riding as you want. But, if you really get into living there, the ocean may draw you away from the roads and trails.
04-18-11, 06:12 PM
#78
Recusant Iconoclast
But as a solid 9, I'd have to agree with you. I was on Oahu a month ago, and loved running there so much, I'm planning to ride up Haleakala on Maui later this summer.
04-18-11, 06:19 PM
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Are we talking just US/North America here? Because Taiwan is supposedly the Copenhagen of Asia.
04-18-11, 06:49 PM
#80
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Los Altos Ca. is pretty nice for almost any kind of riding you could ask for. That could be said for a dozen or so cities in the SF Bay Area though. I am biased of course.
04-18-11, 08:38 PM
#81
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For me, the perfect place would include things like ...
- year-round cycling -- that may mean either a place where there is no snow and ice, or a place where there is occasional snow and ice. So this could include places like all of Australia, most of southern BC, several countries or parts of countries in Europe, etc.
- a variety of terrain -- I like having the choice of whether I want to do a flat ride or a hilly ride somewhere in about a 100 km radius of where I live.
- a variety of scenery within close cycling or driving distance - I like seeing and cycling in the mountains, along the coast so I can see the ocean, near rivers and lakes, through forests of various sorts, and in flat prairie-like areas. I like living in one type of scenery and being able to go to another type of scenery for the day or for a weekend.
- lot of paved roads.
- good shoulders on the busier paved roads.
- smaller community -- perhaps a very small town near a larger town, or a mid-sized town, or maybe a largish city. Anything over about 60,000 people starts to feel too large.
- post-secondary education opportunities nearby -- I need to be able to take night classes on various topics whenever I feel the urge to do so.
- employment nearby -- I don't like long commutes.
The place I live now offers me all those things.
If I absolutely had to complain, I would say the town we live in might be just a little bit too small (but there are larger communities not too far away), and Vic Roads could pave more shoulders (but there are quite a few small quiet country roads around).
- year-round cycling -- that may mean either a place where there is no snow and ice, or a place where there is occasional snow and ice. So this could include places like all of Australia, most of southern BC, several countries or parts of countries in Europe, etc.
- a variety of terrain -- I like having the choice of whether I want to do a flat ride or a hilly ride somewhere in about a 100 km radius of where I live.
- a variety of scenery within close cycling or driving distance - I like seeing and cycling in the mountains, along the coast so I can see the ocean, near rivers and lakes, through forests of various sorts, and in flat prairie-like areas. I like living in one type of scenery and being able to go to another type of scenery for the day or for a weekend.
- lot of paved roads.
- good shoulders on the busier paved roads.
- smaller community -- perhaps a very small town near a larger town, or a mid-sized town, or maybe a largish city. Anything over about 60,000 people starts to feel too large.
- post-secondary education opportunities nearby -- I need to be able to take night classes on various topics whenever I feel the urge to do so.
- employment nearby -- I don't like long commutes.
The place I live now offers me all those things. If I absolutely had to complain, I would say the town we live in might be just a little bit too small (but there are larger communities not too far away), and Vic Roads could pave more shoulders (but there are quite a few small quiet country roads around).
04-18-11, 08:50 PM
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04-18-11, 08:57 PM
#83
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And then there's that 20% hill on Ranch View Road - that's nice too.
04-18-11, 11:24 PM
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I moved from Tucson to Denver 18 months ago. Denver is really great, but Tucson is the perfect cycling town. You really can ride almost every single day of the year. Yeah, you have to ride early in the morning in the summer, but it's really nice out then, and it's amazing how convenient this is for people who have to work normal hours.
Denver is also fantastic, but the winters are definitely a drag if cycling is your main thing. Not only did I not own a trainer in Tucson, I didn't even know anyone who did.
Group rides abound. There's a 6000ft+ climb just outside of town where you can ride up to 9000ft elevation on those days when the heat is just too much. There are many great bike shops.
I didn't even own a biking jacket. "Cold weather" gear consisted of a wind vest, arm warmers, and some mtn bike gloves. I got really wussy and bought some toe booties one year.
On top of all that, some really great mtn biking, tho it can be a bit intense for beginners.
Denver is also fantastic, but the winters are definitely a drag if cycling is your main thing. Not only did I not own a trainer in Tucson, I didn't even know anyone who did.
Group rides abound. There's a 6000ft+ climb just outside of town where you can ride up to 9000ft elevation on those days when the heat is just too much. There are many great bike shops.
I didn't even own a biking jacket. "Cold weather" gear consisted of a wind vest, arm warmers, and some mtn bike gloves. I got really wussy and bought some toe booties one year.
On top of all that, some really great mtn biking, tho it can be a bit intense for beginners.
Last edited by foresthill; 04-18-11 at 11:28 PM.
04-19-11, 01:46 AM
#86
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the sw is definitely starting to sound very attractive to me. anybody have any opinions of Albuquerque?
04-19-11, 08:45 AM
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It really isn't that bad. It may dump snow for a day or two, but the sun is out most days, which helps to melt everything. I usually wait a day or two until I ride back outside. I almost feel like it helps me to really enjoy riding outside more after I've done about a week of rollers.
04-19-11, 09:08 AM
#90
You gonna eat that?
You haven't seen the 40% on Merrick, have you?
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Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
04-19-11, 09:09 AM
#91
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I've never ridden there, but Palo Alto seems like it would be great - weather/terrain wise.
I live in the Triangle area of North Carolin now, and we have great riding here. The weather can be quite hot/humid in the summer, and we do get down into the 20s in the winter, but generally, I can ride outside almost year round. We have lots of bike lanes on the city roads. There are lots of teams and clubs, as well as some great bike shops - we are home to Performance Bike, but please don't hold that against us.
I can ride out my door and within a half hour be on country/farm roads and not see many cars for several hours. And within a two-hour drive, I can be in the blue ridge mountains, which may not be as big as the rockies, there is still lots of great climbing to be done.
And from March through September, I can race pretty much every weekend.
As for the questions about Albuquerque, it seems like a great city from the time I've spent there, but I imagine the winters are somewhat long and cold, given it's up 5000 feet and there was still snow on the ground at the top of the Sandias in October - from the previous winter.
I live in the Triangle area of North Carolin now, and we have great riding here. The weather can be quite hot/humid in the summer, and we do get down into the 20s in the winter, but generally, I can ride outside almost year round. We have lots of bike lanes on the city roads. There are lots of teams and clubs, as well as some great bike shops - we are home to Performance Bike, but please don't hold that against us.
I can ride out my door and within a half hour be on country/farm roads and not see many cars for several hours. And within a two-hour drive, I can be in the blue ridge mountains, which may not be as big as the rockies, there is still lots of great climbing to be done.
And from March through September, I can race pretty much every weekend.
As for the questions about Albuquerque, it seems like a great city from the time I've spent there, but I imagine the winters are somewhat long and cold, given it's up 5000 feet and there was still snow on the ground at the top of the Sandias in October - from the previous winter.
04-19-11, 09:10 AM
#92
You gonna eat that?
Orlando is actually kind of a cycling hell. Lots of bike lanes along roads with 40 mph speed limits where cars routinely do 55-60. It's no coincidence some of the best instructional materials can be found at CommuteOrlando.com; good knowledge is essential to getting around there without getting killed.
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I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
04-19-11, 09:24 AM
#93
Descends like a rock
yep, I don't know if I would call it the "best" since I don't have much to compare to, but fort worth is certainly a good cycling town. There are usually good routes to get you anywhere you want to go and drivers are about 99% very friendly. There are several good cycling communities - very friendly and laid back. There's go-fast groups and pub crawls and everything in between. We visited Austin a while back and toured around town on our bikes and had a great time there too.
04-19-11, 09:41 AM
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I like cycling in NYC, the main thing here vs other places that I've ridden around is that here there is a really high level of bike-illiteracy in my opinion. People think that because they are on a bike, that they can ride wherever they want, it's part of the problem. I'd like to see less cops ticketing for riding with a tote bag off the handlebars, and more cops ticketing for people going the wrong way down bike lanes. There is a bike lane for going in the direction you want one block over people! I've had more near-misses with bike on bike accidents here than anywhere else ever, period. The worst part is that all the bike salmon with that whole 'i am on a bike, bikes don't have to follow car traffic rules' tude. I might be kind of a prude in this respect, but a big component of bike safety is the ability to move predictably within the framework of car traffic, and people here just kind of don't do that. Makes me twitchy just thinking about it.
04-19-11, 09:47 AM
#95
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I live in the Triangle area of North Carolin now, and we have great riding here. The weather can be quite hot/humid in the summer, and we do get down into the 20s in the winter, but generally, I can ride outside almost year round. We have lots of bike lanes on the city roads. There are lots of teams and clubs, as well as some great bike shops - we are home to Performance Bike, but please don't hold that against us.
I can ride out my door and within a half hour be on country/farm roads and not see many cars for several hours. And within a two-hour drive, I can be in the blue ridge mountains, which may not be as big as the rockies, there is still lots of great climbing to be done.
And from March through September, I can race pretty much every weekend.
I can ride out my door and within a half hour be on country/farm roads and not see many cars for several hours. And within a two-hour drive, I can be in the blue ridge mountains, which may not be as big as the rockies, there is still lots of great climbing to be done.
And from March through September, I can race pretty much every weekend.
04-19-11, 09:59 AM
#96
Full Member
Annapolis, MD and surrounding Chesapeake Country.....just because someone has to prop it.
04-19-11, 10:27 AM
#97
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Anywhere but Austin. It's horrible here. Don't move here.
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04-19-11, 11:19 AM
#98
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It really isn't that bad. It may dump snow for a day or two, but the sun is out most days, which helps to melt everything. I usually wait a day or two until I ride back outside. I almost feel like it helps me to really enjoy riding outside more after I've done about a week of rollers.
I'm still riding everywhere in Chicagoland, but much of the year sucks in terms of weather and road conditions.
04-19-11, 11:37 AM
#99
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I was just about to post something similar. I always tell people this city sucks and to stay away. We have too many transplants who move here because they "love Austin" then complain because it's different from where they came from. Are you serious?
We do have nine, 10 months of excellent cycling weather year in, year out and some pretty amazing roads to ride. You'll definitely get your hill work in cycling the Austin numerous bike routes and around the town in general.
We do have nine, 10 months of excellent cycling weather year in, year out and some pretty amazing roads to ride. You'll definitely get your hill work in cycling the Austin numerous bike routes and around the town in general.
04-19-11, 12:41 PM
#100
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Austin is the gem of Texas, but it's certainly not as unique as it thinks it is. I was really in for a huge wakeup call when I moved away. Portland is now the new Austin, and down the line it'll be some other random town where the residents will feel extra warm and fuzzy for a few years.
PS, We have whole foods, Sonic, schlotskis deli, and freebirds here in socal too now.