Best place for road cycling in USA?

[cannonman]

where i live in upstate NY they are finishing a paved bike path from nigria falls to albany, like 350 miles. its 90% done now, but some people are complaining about it going through there back yard. it should be done by '06 i have ridden about 50 miles of it, and its a nice ride. the trafic is only bad in the city, in the country the most you will find is a tractor with spreader. i took a 200mile bike ride to scroon lake and hit trafic for only about 20 miles, and if i would have gone the longer hilly way, there would have been none!

gotta agree with upstate NY! Im from the fingerlakes area and theres plenty of hills in and out of the valleys with long steep climbs not uncommon plus long flat stretches along the length of them. The weather is nice for riding with long cool springs and falls, and the traffic is a few pickups and tractor every now and then, although i am a little biased due to my lack of riding experience elsewhere. Just thought id put in a shout for CNY...

 

[future racer???]

do yourself a favor and ride to scroonlake and lake placid, its just awsome up there too.

 

[cannonman]

do yourself a favor and ride to scroonlake and lake placid, its just awsome up there too.

It just so happens that ill be up there this year to watch my dad compete in his first ironman so im sure ill get out a few times that week!

 

[future racer???]

awesome good luck!

 

[snyper0311]

Just a quickie to say that "I'll be riding Mt. Halayaka-Maui, Hawaii in June." To me, even Colorado would be second best.(If I spelled Halayaka wrong, I'm sorry) Anyway, paradise and my bike, what could be better?

 

[graf zeppelin]

While I'm not going to promote it as best, I'm going to second or third the opinion that upstate NY is at least very good. Right out of my door I can ride out into nearly endless rolling hills and farm country in one direction; heading vaguely north I can easily get into the lower Adirondacks either around Sacandaga Lake or the previously mentioned Lake Placid and points north for decent climbing. I dont see much in the way of traffic once I go the 3-5 miles out of town. Roads are very well kept. The problem, if there is any, is that the riding season is pretty much April through October with May through September being best. You can ride in March and November with minimal cool weather gear though. I like it that I dont have to get in the car and drive and park to start a ride.

North Carolina around the Blue Ridge Parkway was amazing. Something like Asheville maybe, if you like it there and can get a job there to support you. I dont think I could have lived there, but the cycling was good. Weather was better year round (certainly compared to NY) and the mountains were something truly special.

North of San Diego, provided you could get out of the city easily enough, seems ideal to me. The few times I have been there (unfortunately without my bike) it seemed you could find whatever sort of ride you wished and the weather is literally cycling friendly all year round. Seriously thinking about moving there if the opportunity presented itself.

 

[OLMO]

Lots of interesting ideas here. I wish I could travel the U.S. and try out some of these roads.

Being a Canuck, I must second the vote for Victoria, BC, however. Beautiful, scenic roads, bike lanes everywhere, temperate climate, and cycling-friendly drivers for the most part. Great cycling and triathlon following here as well.

 

[BiggMakk]

While I'm not going to promote it as best, I'm going to second or third the opinion that upstate NY is at least very good. Right out of my door I can ride out into nearly endless rolling hills and farm country in one direction; heading vaguely north I can easily get into the lower Adirondacks either around Sacandaga Lake or the previously mentioned Lake Placid and points north for decent climbing. I dont see much in the way of traffic once I go the 3-5 miles out of town. Roads are very well kept. The problem, if there is any, is that the riding season is pretty much April through October with May through September being best. You can ride in March and November with minimal cool weather gear though. I like it that I dont have to get in the car and drive and park to start a ride.

North Carolina around the Blue Ridge Parkway was amazing. Something like Asheville maybe, if you like it there and can get a job there to support you. I dont think I could have lived there, but the cycling was good. Weather was better year round (certainly compared to NY) and the mountains were something truly special.

North of San Diego, provided you could get out of the city easily enough, seems ideal to me. The few times I have been there (unfortunately without my bike) it seemed you could find whatever sort of ride you wished and the weather is literally cycling friendly all year round. Seriously thinking about moving there if the opportunity presented itself.

I did a search for "Adirondacks" and found this thread. Yes my question is 18 months too late. I am originally from CNY and did a lot of camping as a kid in the Addies. Now that I am nearing middle age, I want to go ride the Adirondacks on my road bike. A long weekend is all I can take off. Can you suggest any 50 miles rides? I like long hills. Thanks.

 

[NomadVW]

I did a search for "Adirondacks" and found this thread. Yes my question is 18 months too late. I am originally from CNY and did a lot of camping as a kid in the Addies. Now that I am nearing middle age, I want to go ride the Adirondacks on my road bike. A long weekend is all I can take off. Can you suggest any 50 miles rides? I like long hills. Thanks.

I'd recommend the trip around the Sacandaga Lake (IIRC it nets around 75 miles). I grew up on the northern most part of the lake and would love to go around it again some time. It's on my list of rides the summer after I return to the states in 2008.

As far as 50 milers go, you could safely pick any point inside the park and go anywhere and get a gorgeous ride. Kinda cold this time o' year!

 

[BiggMakk]

I'd recommend the trip around the Sacandaga Lake (IIRC it nets around 75 miles). I grew up on the northern most part of the lake and would love to go around it again some time. It's on my list of rides the summer after I return to the states in 2008.

As far as 50 milers go, you could safely pick any point inside the park and go anywhere and get a gorgeous ride. Kinda cold this time o' year!

Thanks for the post. I am setting up 5 or 6 rides 'key rides' for next year. If I don't plan it now and add it to my calendar, I will never end up doing it. I also want friends to join me and they need forewarning, etc. Other rides I am considering are New York State Wine Country, Berkshires, Vermont, New Hampshire - all places easily reached from NYC by car. Good luck in your travels.

 

[carpediemracing]

for weather, probably north of San Diego. They average something like 10 rain days a year. And in the dead of winter you can go out in knickers or shorts, you just have to wait till 11 AM. I've already booked a flight for Feb 07.

Other areas which fit your criteria: Bear Mountain NY, upper CT (Barkhamsted Resevoir), virtually anywhere in VT/NH.

however, when you ask about the best place for road cycling in the US, you seem to imply that smooth roads, no traffic, and climbs are desireable.

I find city rides the most fun. Therefore I submit two of my favorite places to ride:
1. NYC, midtown Manhattan (Greenwich village up to Central Park) - esp with synchronized lights and some semblence of awareness of cyclists (due to the messengers). The fact that traffic rolls at 30-40 mph between lights means you constantly have ideal motorpacing vehicles around. And when they get caught in slower moving traffic, you can jump around them to catch the vehicles "breaking out" of the temporary jam. The best is doing the run down Broadway, with its more interesting diagonal intersections. There is never a dull moment when riding in the evening, say from 5 to 8 pm.

2. An unidentified city in SW Connecticut. There is a 2 mile loop through downtown which has one way or streets with medians. So you can ride with traffic and not worry about any oncoming cars. With the available street lights, the loop (and its ancilliary loops nearby) is ideal for late night sprints, using cars and trucks as leadouts. Even the occasional police car assists either by following or by leading out. The drunk bar patrons only help by giving some atmosphere, cheering, telling you how fast you're going, and yelling from the outdoor patio areas.

cdr

 

[helmutRoole2]

Portland Oregon. Hands down. There's racing year around (road/cross/mtb), great club system, OBRA is the best governing body in the sport, mass transit actually works in Portland, in the summer there's racing every day of the week within the metro area...

The best.

 

[helmutRoole2]

I have heard that too....due to the traffic, crappy roads and weather....

but on the map it looks like there would be some decent areas in the areas with good climbs....and away from the big cities.

It depends. Most major cities do, but check out Gainesville, Fla. Great roads, sidewalks, bicycle friendly, college town, college girls, great roads... several pro teams do winter training there.

 

[carpediemracing]

Gainesville - my experience there is that the roads are pretty flat but not really smooth ("stoney" pavement), cracks and potholes like New England. Some hills which are a real pain when you're expecting flats. The really big roads have some shoulder but most have little or no shoulder, crumbly edges, and ditches and stuff along the road. This leads to cars and trucks going 60 mph passing a couple feet off your left shoulder. Although it's reasonable, those looking for "quiet meditative" routes should best look elsewhere.

In Jan it is positively cold there - this year there was ice in the mornings the week I was there (29-31 degrees F). Just like home! At best it got to 55-60 deg F. My friend and I bring winter gear down as gifts to the locals with whom we ride. And we laugh at their attempts to deal with ice (plain lycra tights, pouring hot water on iced up windshields, etc). All in good fun of course.

However the roads are conducive towards LSD riding. There are a couple cycling teams around and plenty of group rides. Good pro shops to buy anything you forgot or broke. And if you look, there are some very strong riders around with incredible amounts of experience. It seems the winter riding is much lower key there than, say, 15 years ago.

On a side note, because it's a (huge) college town, getting food at restaurants is next to impossible. You have to go out early (before 6 pm) or else you're looking at 30-90 minute waits for a table. And if there's a basketball game, forget it.

Having said that, I have my tickets to go there too, in Jan 07

cdr

 

[spinner32]

I'll put my head on the line and represent for those midwestern cyclists out there. South central Wisconsin (Sauk, Dane and Iowa counties in particular) offer some amazing routes for cyclists of any ability. Add to this averages in the mid 70s to low 80s during summer, beautiful rolling hills and low traffic, and you have a premier cycling destination. I've been to a variety of areas in the country, except the northwest, and I still rank these areas in Wisconsin as my favorites.

Then again, it's where I grew up - I'm probably biased.

 

[Fastguppy]

Colorado springs is a good place. I was at the OTC and the lights weren’t that bad.


You also have the OTC Olympic Training camp there. Very good place I think.

 

[buckybux]

I live in Spokane, and we have excellent cycling routes. We have flats and mountains. We have the Centennial Trail, which goes from North of Spokane to Coeur d'Alene, it is about 60 miles long. There another trail called the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes which is a rails to trails and it is 70 miles long, and goes by lakes, rivers, swamps and mountains. We also have the Hiawatha which is another rails to trails for mountain bikes. We have excellent rides through the Palouse just south of town. Best place I have lived for cycling!

 

[redbeach6506]

Hi, I live in Chicago. Like to know where in midwest could be considered a NICE place to ride weather permitted.. Wisconsin, Illinois specially.
Thanks

 

[Las Montanas]

Tuscon, AZ.

Warm year round, mountains, flats, college town, etc, etc.

 

[sash]

Colorado springs is a good place. I was at the OTC and the lights weren’t that bad.


You also have the OTC Olympic Training camp there. Very good place I think.

riding in the springs sucks, there's way to much traffic, and it takes forever to get out on good roads.

riding near allentown, PA is superb, there are many world class athletes that come in for velodrome racing, the roads are unbelieveably quite, its beauitful amish countryside and there are numerous 1-4km climbs. you can't get any better than that, and they have one of the best group rides in the country, "the derby"