Survey: Best Place in US to Live as a Cyclist

[friedmikey]

Well duh... the answer's San Francisco Bay Area.

I wonder how many other people are going to say their hometown is the best?

 

[huhenio]

Not rural PA ... too hilly and the snow makes the commute too dangerous.

Year round it has to be somewhere in Southern CA

 

[badhat]

Well duh... the answer's San Francisco Bay Area.

I wonder how many other people are going to say their hometown is the best?

good point, butto be clear, i'm actually a chicagoan, and while the bike community and infrastructure are great, and theres a few great rides there, the weather is what inspired me to look elsewhere and i ended up here because of the biking

 

[jrstevens]

I cast my vote for Ft Collins as well. Like the others have said the climate may not be terrific in the winter but you do get used to it. I've ridden in temps in the 20's which is not too bad because the air is dry.


JS

 

[raynim]

Thanks for the input. I am finishing my undergrad degree in 6 months and I am plannning on moving somwhere where I can have acess to places that have great conditions for the activities I love; primarily cycling and backpacking. The Front Range, CO and Bay Area, CA were already the top two on my list but I wanted to see what else was out there.

To anyone in the Bay Area: Looking at maps, so much of the area looks Urban, do you find getting out to good road riding country difficult?

 

[friedmikey]

... To anyone in the Bay Area: Looking at maps, so much of the area looks Urban, do you find getting out to good road riding country difficult?

That all depends on where in the Bay Area you are, but in general, no, it is not difficult to get to good roads. San Francisco proper is a relatively small big city, so it won’t take you long to get out. Every day, scores of SF cyclists ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to get to hundreds of miles of suburban and country roads in Marin County, where I live. Folks in the south bay (Palo Alto, San Jose, etc.) have easy access to great roads in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Mt. Hamilton, etc. East Bay has the Berkeley Hills, Mt Diablo, etc.

I ride loops from my home, which is about a ten minute drive from SF. I can ride any number of rural/semi-rural centuries+, or begin climbing Mt. Tamalpais as soon as I leave my driveway… how’s that?

 

[williamrobinson]

Thanks for the input. I am finishing my undergrad degree in 6 months and I am plannning on moving somwhere where I can have acess to places that have great conditions for the activities I love; primarily cycling and backpacking. The Front Range, CO and Bay Area, CA were already the top two on my list but I wanted to see what else was out there.

To anyone in the Bay Area: Looking at maps, so much of the area looks Urban, do you find getting out to good road riding country difficult?

This is my 34th year in Palo Alto, CA home of Stanford U, about 20,000 cyclist and lots of hills. One can reach single track by taking CalTrain and VTA light rail south of San Jose. The biggest problem is housing cost but ideal weather, good jobs (mostly) and preserved space make it pricey. My 50,000 biking miles are mostly commuting to work by trail and quiet streets. I put my bike on CalTrain for 5 years. I now ride everyday home from work. Cheap company I work for has no shower.

 

[bobke]

We (my family) are moving to the US next year. It is interesting that New England has a very low representation in that list. We are either going to Harvard U, Mass or Hartford/Farmington Ct.

Anyone have any feedback on either place?

Hartford is OK. I am not far from there, but it is a bit inland and gets more snow than the coast where I am. My personal opinion is that the weather here is atrocious, disgusting etc. This is an unusually warm Sept and Oct so not a fair comparison, but from end of October onwards it gets very cold. And DARK. Hartford is better than Boston which is even colder and darker.

Gainesville is warm, hot even, flat and SUNNY, a very coastal community. Hartford will be a big switch from Sydney, mate.

Good luck.

But why no votes for Austin Texas?!?!?
very bike friendly, year round riding etc?


Tennessee?

 

[tcklyde]

Portland, Oregon, of course! Hills, mountains, flats, year round riding, road and trails, good racing (crits and stage races), and a city that is 100% committed to making cycling safe on city streets. Tons of bike lanes! Lots of other cyclists! Routinely called the best cycling city in the country (cf. Bicycling Magazine).

 

[Got Millked]

anywhere with roads that have wide shoulders and temperate climate... in other words, not where I live

I've spent a couple of years as a pre-teenager riding and racing BMX in central New York; more specifically the Mattydale-Liverpool-North Syracuse-Clay area (Onondaga County?) where there weren't too many people, and the roads were big enough with multi-lanes for a city of much larger population, AND the roadside shoulders were HUGE! No bike lane needed..... I think the locals around there pretty much accept the shoulders as bike lanes..... but of course, the weather there is an exemplarary four-distinct seasons...... winters will be mostly trainer-time.....

 

[LIKESBIKES716]

Thanks for the info I think I'll take my private jet to my next bike ride! lol

Here's a good place to start:
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/May2005Pressrelease.htm

 

[wugga]

Denver, Colorado in the Washington Park neighborhood .....

 

[e-doc]

Hummm, the south (though only know about NC, SW Va and NE Tenn) No leash laws, cars that honk at you and drivers that tell you to "Get the F*CK of the road", hit you because they are drunk then drive off, even throw things at you. Makes life interesting (except the trucks with the gun racks.) The weather is nice though (except in NC mountains which are like Vt, only not as cold)
BTW, am a native NC boy

 

[rkymthiker]

I'll put in another vote for Boulder county and the Colorado Front Range.

 

[Blademun]

Hummm, the south (though only know about NC, SW Va and NE Tenn) No leash laws, cars that honk at you and drivers that tell you to "Get the F*CK of the road", hit you because they are drunk then drive off, even throw things at you. Makes life interesting (except the trucks with the gun racks.) The weather is nice though (except in NC mountains which are like Vt, only not as cold)
BTW, am a native NC boy

I'll put a second vote for the South! LoL

Florida is kinda bicycle friendly..Perfect Climate, sunny almost all the time, perfectly flat, my community has buses with bikeracks on them, very loose, non restrictive laws, Low Living Costs.

There is some bad points..Roads are ****, the drivers are old and blind, sidewalks are spotty, Oh, and the BUGS. In the summer, after a rain, clouds of gnats fill the air. Its the most horrible experience to ride into one of those. YOu ride out literally covered in little black specks with wings. Most of this though is only bad out here in the backwood parts of FL.

If you stick to the big citys you'll be alright. Clearwater in particular gets my vote for the Best Bicycling City.

 

[wugga]

Yikes, Florida

Man, when I lived in Cocoa Beach, I had a helmet mounted rear facing vid camera with a LCD display on teh bar to look out for all the crazy old people and NY'ers coming from behind driving and scratching their lotto tickets. Multiple flashing warnign lights all over my bike helped, well most of the time......

I'll put a second vote for the South! LoL

Florida is kinda bicycle friendly..Perfect Climate, sunny almost all the time, perfectly flat, my community has buses with bikeracks on them, very loose, non restrictive laws, Low Living Costs.

There is some bad points..Roads are ****, the drivers are old and blind, sidewalks are spotty, Oh, and the BUGS. In the summer, after a rain, clouds of gnats fill the air. Its the most horrible experience to ride into one of those. YOu ride out literally covered in little black specks with wings. Most of this though is only bad out here in the backwood parts of FL.

If you stick to the big citys you'll be alright. Clearwater in particular gets my vote for the Best Bicycling City.

 

[Alpenrose]

Seattle isn't too good. The climate isn't bad but THE TRAFFIC! It's hilly. There are a few good bike trails, but not in proportion to the size of the city.

My nomination: Eugene, Oregon.
LOTS of dedicated bike trails, the streets are not too busy to ride anywhere. Good climate. Mostly flat.

My bro in law says Seattle

 

[badhat]

by my accounting, "mostly flat" is a con, not a pro.


but yeah 'sides that, i hear almost universally great things about eugene for cycling.

 

[ChristoffH]

Southern Orange County, where I live

I was at Santa Barbara to visit a friend this weekend, I definitely wish I had my road bike. Looked awesome for a mountain bike as well.

 

[Randomus]

That all depends on where in the Bay Area you are, but in general, no, it is not difficult to get to good roads. San Francisco proper is a relatively small big city, so it won’t take you long to get out. Every day, scores of SF cyclists ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to get to hundreds of miles of suburban and country roads in Marin County, where I live. Folks in the south bay (Palo Alto, San Jose, etc.) have easy access to great roads in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Mt. Hamilton, etc. East Bay has the Berkeley Hills, Mt Diablo, etc.

Yep. The Bay Area is a pretty good place to be if you're a cyclcist. I live in the East Bay but manage to get into San Francisco and then ride across the GGB so I can explore Marin County. Good weather, nice scenery, etc.