Moving to Southeast
 

I'm currently living in southern California-Great Biking area. Because of Family reasons I need to move to the Southeast-Biking would be my primary concern- Where would you move too???

watch out for pick ups with gun racks

what kind of biking? road or mountain? Southeast is a big area and both can be found, but, of course some areas are better than others.

Road-Thanks

LOL. Do you need a job? Wouldn't that sort of lead you to a location?

i guess it depends on what you are looking for. the south east is not known for being a cycling paradise but with a little will you can find plenty to do. Nashville is just getting on board with cycling and comuting there is several hundered miles of bike lanes and greenways in the 25 year plan that they are starting. there is a lot of scenic routes to see here you have Natchez Trace which is a great place to ride. Land Between the lakes is another about a hour and a half from nashville. east Tennessee has the Mountains but the whole state is rather hilly.

Alabama has the Chief Ladiga/Silver Comet thats 95 miles from Anniston to Atlanta.

Florida, Southern Alabama and Mississippi have a lot of scenic ocean and flat riding.

there is several good cycling clubs in and around Nashville and plenty in Knoville and Chattanooga.

good luck with your decision.

Northern California. Or Oregon.

If biking is your primary concern, this is not where I would move to. But there is good riding to be found just about anywhere.

Is your profession such that you can go pretty much any where?

Club riding? Racing? Centuries? Cruising the back roads? Social cycling events? All can be had here or most places in the southeast, to greater or lesser degrees. Knoxville and Chattanooga both have active cycling communities and great places to ride. If you want less weather, go farther south.

Georgia info
 

Georgia has some great places to ride. There is a book by Jim Parham with maps and directions for 25 road routes in North Georgia that is a good investment. The rides in North Georgia range from sort of easy to quite challenging. The ride up Brasstown Bald, for example, is one of those things you want to do only if you are a good climber and in good shape.

In the southwest corner of the state, near the Alabama border, there is the fairly bike friendly city of Columbus. Around town and Fort Benning are many nicely maintained and scenic roads. Further east is the flat land around Plains and Americus where President Carter grew up. Riding around there is pleasant in spring and fall, though pretty hot in summer.

As bbeck mentioned, the Silver Comet runs from the suburbs of Atlanta out to Alabama, where it meets the Chief Ladiga Trail. It is a rails to trails closed route with good facilities along the way. Very peaceful and easy once you get out of the congested first 4 or 5 miles.

There are great bike friendly communities in a line between Stone Mountain and Downtown Atlanta. Roswell, north of the city, also has in recent years begun to attract cyclists. In South Fulton County, south of the city, is a completely wonderful area that includes the community of Serenbe. Cycling there is amazing. Because the road conditions are so good, the area is known as "Silk Sheets" to Atlanta area riders.

The problem with cycling in Atlanta is that for the most part, unless you live in one of the nice riding areas, you generally have to put your bike in the car and drive to someplace to ride. You have to be extra careful about cycling in most of the Atlanta metro because the roads are congested, the culture is still somewhat resistant to cyclists, and the drivers here are mostly below the national average in skill, courtesy, and awareness. It is, for example, rare to see drivers using their directional signals at all, much less correctly.

Good luck with your move!

I've ridden all around Florida. I'd say Gainesville seems to have the most road riding opportunities. There are many bike paths and bike lanes. There are also many good places to drive and ride within a couple hours drive of Gainesville. Of course, the weather allows year-round riding, although the summer heat is a bit rough.

Upstate SC and Western NC have some nice road riding areas.

Just generally moving to the Southeast won't put you close to any area in particular. I'm 700 miles from Miami and both are covered in this sub-forum.

NC has awesome riding in the Piedmont and Mountain regions.

asheville, nc

This. There's a huge variety in climate and terrain from Virginia to Louisiana.

Greenville, SC.

Don't let anyone fool you....in all of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, there is no good riding

I'll second Greenville, SC.

The Greenville Spinners is a great club and during Daylight Savings Time they have group rides every TUE evening and split folks into groups. I started doing that last summer and there are hundreds of riders out every Tuesday. In addition, most Saturdays there is a group doing a metric century to a small town bakery (Saluda) and that is fantastic. Some great hills. If you like killer hills, the locals train constantly for the Assault on Mount Mitchell, a one way century with incredible climbs. Downtown Greenville is fantastic with a nice trail (Swamp Rabbit) running right through it. More tourist than serious riding, but it's a great feel. That trail is in the process of being extended and will be a nice 20 miles one way or so.

George Hincapie is here. Sometimes.

I live about 15 miles SOUTH of Greenville, and when I turn south out of my neighborhood I am in rural territory right away with some rollers and quiet roads.

Having said that, I'm ever wary of rednecks in trucks. They're complete idiots and seem anxious to demonstrate prove it to every biker on the road.

If you have the opportunity to visit, stay in downtown Greenville, either the Hyatt, or the Westin or the Hampton Inn on the West End.

There be ridin' here!

Not all of Louisiana would come with a strong recommendation, I'm sure. But, great schools, great area and this:

http://www.tammanytrace.org/

Fixed it for you. US Southerners don't like being insulted and degraded in a foreign language like that.

I lived in Athens, Ga for a few years. The road cycling community there was pretty good for a city with a population of a bit more than 100,000. I was surprised by it. Plus, there were plenty of hills, with mountains not too far away. Just watch out for areas that get hit with the pine pollen. That was not fun.

I just moved back to southern CA after 7 years in Blacksburg, VA and I miss it already. The mountains of Virginia and the Carolinas beat the hell out of southern CA for road riding. The mountain biking is pretty good too.

Besides Blacksburg, there's Charlottesville, Roanoke, Asheville, Boone, Greenville, and probably dozens of other small-medium-sized towns that are great for cycling, and have vibrant cycling communities. Blacksburg/Radford/Christiansburg is hard to beat for out-your-door riding. In some others you have to fight traffic to get to the good riding, or even put your bike in the car.

The climate in the mountains is much milder in summer, and winters aren't too bad (this winter has been abnormally cold). So you can ride year-round. I went 5 years without a car in Blacksburg, a big change after 20k mi/yr for 20 years in Orange County CA.

The best major metro area for a cyclist is the NC Triangle (Raleigh - Durham - Chapel Hill). It's a big sprawl like southern CA but surrounded by nice country roads, and has a large and vibrant cycling community, much like Orange County or San Diego. With a big techie/yuppie population the lifestyle and career opportunities are similar too.

Helmet cam videos of local riding:

• By Scottie Weiss (around Radford, VA)
• Mountains of Misery century (near Blacksburg)

If anyone wants to take over some web duties for the Virginia Bicycling Federation or Cycling Double Header, please let me know!

It really depends on what you want most, if you want to have any climbing you really need to stay around the Georgia, South, North Carolina etc areas. If you are more interested in having warmer weather all year around then Florida, Lousianna Alabama are good. Problem with leaving SOCAL is you have good weather all year around and climbing and very few places in the SE have both. I lived in Norcal before moving to S Fl five years ago. I love the winter weather and beaches but it is flat, flat flat.

Hi Matt. Did MoM last year for the first time. Signed up for this year's a few minutes ago.

Now I'm asking myself WTF is wrong with me :)

Greenville Road Bicycling
 

Hello 57Rebike,,
I am relocating to Greenville, and we are starting to look at specific areas. What communities around Greenville are the best road cycling? I am into long distances (20-100 miles), low traffic roads are a definite plus, and not too many steep climbs (some hills OK).

I am just fine riding solo or with other similar-interest riders.

I have looked into Greer. How's the traffic? What about riding south of town? What are good communities that we might consider?

Thank you,

Aarchie

Some of us got smarts real good. ;)