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What is the best place in the U.S. for road cycling?

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

What is the best place in the U.S. for road cycling?

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Old 05-13-14, 04:23 PM
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What is the best place in the U.S. for road cycling?

What is the mecca where you just ride out of your house any day of the year and get great rides? I imagine my current location is up there but there are way too many cars to make it the best place.
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Old 05-13-14, 04:29 PM
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All depends on what you want out of your ride
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Old 05-13-14, 04:33 PM
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Auburn, CA.
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Old 05-13-14, 04:34 PM
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Originally Posted by pavemen
All depends on what you want out of your ride
Varied terrain with climbing and flats, weather for all year riding without extreme heat, scenic and lightly populated aka not a lot of cars
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Old 05-13-14, 04:35 PM
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Oregon is tough to beat in the summer, but...
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Old 05-13-14, 04:54 PM
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Old 05-13-14, 04:55 PM
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Well no place has perfect year-round riding weather. Mixed terrain would be anywhere near some foothills so you get both the flats and some climbing in. Central valley can do that but it gets hot in the summer. Midwest get winter, central states get humidity, NW gets rain, NE gets blizzards, SE is hot and humid, SW is blazing hot. So no place is perfect weather wise.
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Old 05-13-14, 04:58 PM
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Medina, Ohio
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Old 05-13-14, 05:08 PM
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You can pretty much ride your bike 350 days a year in So Cal. Lots of good climbing, not as much appealing riding in the flats but still there's quite a bit. Yes in the summer you will have to ride at dawn to avoid the heat, but you can get in a lot of miles between 5 & 11am.
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Old 05-13-14, 05:15 PM
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I say Colorado mountains. Enough climbing for the gluttons. That's where I would be if I didn't have a family, job etc etc
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Old 05-13-14, 05:17 PM
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Old 05-13-14, 05:19 PM
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I've heard Arizona is nice........
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Old 05-13-14, 05:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Heathpack
You can pretty much ride your bike 350 days a year in So Cal. Lots of good climbing, not as much appealing riding in the flats but still there's quite a bit. Yes in the summer you will have to ride at dawn to avoid the heat, but you can get in a lot of miles between 5 & 11am.
I can deal with the heat here. When we have these 100 degree heat waves it sucks but most of the summers are bearable for riding. I've only been here 8 years but I would say I could ride an average of 365 days a year. Even the few days it rains I can find a couple of hours where it's dry enough.

The only real negatives here are lots and lots of cars driven mostly by people who shouldn't be allowed to own a car and air quality
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Old 05-13-14, 05:31 PM
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Marin and Sonoma Counties, just across the Golden Gate, north of San Francisco. Hills, flats, ocean, low traffic, high traffic, year round riding.
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Old 05-13-14, 05:36 PM
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San Francisco bay area, including San Mateo, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Contra Costa, Alameda, and Santa Clara counties. Just across the Golden Gate Bridge from S.F. you're in the Marin Headlands boonies. Weather's great year 'round, and gorgeous, varied terrain including flats, hills, and (gasp) mountains.
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Old 05-13-14, 05:38 PM
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Check this out...https://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#3/-9...1706/blue/bike
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Old 05-13-14, 05:41 PM
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Palo alto has nice bike paths, also I discovered a bike path from San Jose to San Francisco. Flat but nice.
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Old 05-13-14, 05:44 PM
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I've cycled in 33 US States ...

Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hamshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming

and they all had nice parts to them.



But my top 3 favourite places to cycle are not in the US.
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Old 05-13-14, 05:49 PM
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A place with hills and temps in the 70-80s all the time.
First thought is San Diego.
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Old 05-13-14, 07:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Scooper
San Francisco bay area, including San Mateo, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Contra Costa, Alameda, and Santa Clara counties. Just across the Golden Gate Bridge from S.F. you're in the Marin Headlands boonies. Weather's great year 'round, and gorgeous, varied terrain including flats, hills, and (gasp) mountains.
Yep.
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Old 05-13-14, 07:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Machka
I've cycled in 33 US States ...

Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hamshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming

and they all had nice parts to them.



But my top 3 favourite places to cycle are not in the US.
I'm from Missouri. I'm curious if you could specify where you rode? And what you enjoyed about it? I've heard the east side of the state has lots of hills. I live on the west side, which still features some good rollers, but I haven't found a hill that takes me longer than 5 minutes here just yet. The country roads around my college town have grown on me - a lot. Fighting the wind is the closest thing I have to long climbs.
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Old 05-13-14, 07:24 PM
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New Zealand, France, and Holland.

Bucks County Pa and across the river in Hunterdon County, Nj is about as good as it gets.
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Old 05-13-14, 07:37 PM
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Originally Posted by rms13
What is the mecca where you just ride out of your house any day of the year and get great rides? I imagine my current location is up there but there are way too many cars to make it the best place.
I'm right next to you in Eagle Rock. We live in the best place in my opinion. We have the Rose Bowl for the flats with tons of riders if you're looking to ride with others, Angeles Crest just to the north, and are a short rides distance from the beach. Hard to beat.
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Old 05-13-14, 07:42 PM
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everyplace in california is forsaken. just awful. not enough scenery, earthquakes, choking pollution and way too many people/cars. horrible mexican food tambíen. and the uncontrollable rodents/insects.


try central oregon and central arizona.
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Old 05-13-14, 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted by ooga-booga
everyplace in southern california is forsaken. Just awful. Not enough scenery, earthquakes, choking pollution and way too many people/cars. Horrible mexican food tambíen. And the uncontrollable rodents/insects.


try norcal .
fify
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