What is the best place in the U.S. for a cyclist to live?



jitteringjr

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Sep 2, 2003
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What is the best place in the U.S. for a cyclist to live?

I am looking to move, but where should I move to? I am a roady but I wouldn’t mind buying a mountain bike and hitting some trail from time to time as well.

I would like a combination of good weather and good infrastructure. I would rather ride in 100 degree heat than 40 degree cold and hate riding in the rain and refuse to ride in snow. I also want good infrastructure where it is safe to ride. After almost being killed by a car this is especially important to me. Preferably this place would have good bike trails where one could ride at 20 mph+ and not have to worry about weaving through tons of comfort bikes on 8 mph Sunday strolls.

So lets hear your opinions? Where is cycling nirvana? At least the United States’ version of it.
 
jitteringjr said:
What is the best place in the U.S. for a cyclist to live?

I am looking to move, but where should I move to? I am a roady but I wouldn’t mind buying a mountain bike and hitting some trail from time to time as well.

Marin County California - just north of San Francisco. This is the birthplace of mountainbiking and the road riding on Mount Tamalpais as well as in West Marin is spectacular. The place is hellish expensive though.

Many top riders live in Boulder or Durango Colorado. They must have a reason. Those places are gorgeous also.
 
Denver, Co. The slopes are only an hour away for downhill/freeriding, near the metro area are tons of trail for mtn. biking, dirt jumps for jumping, and more than enough paved hills to grind up and fly down if road is more your style. Just my $.02
 
yrbjr said:
Denver, Co. The slopes are only an hour away for downhill/freeriding, near the metro area are tons of trail for mtn. biking, dirt jumps for jumping, and more than enough paved hills to grind up and fly down if road is more your style. Just my $.02

Not to mention 300 days of sunshine a year.
 
cheapie said:
asheville, nc.

Didn't Ashville get pelted with two hurricanes in like a weeks time? I'm not sure that qualifies as good weather. :)

Why is that a good place?
 
asheville is incredibly bike friendly. plus, they are in the beautiful smoky mountains. hey...if it's good enough for hincape. :cool:


the mtn. biking is tremendous there as well. the pisgah and tsali trails are world-class. they'll def. wear you out and f**k you up if you aren't careful.
 
yrbjr said:
Denver, Co. The slopes are only an hour away for downhill/freeriding, near the metro area are tons of trail for mtn. biking, dirt jumps for jumping, and more than enough paved hills to grind up and fly down if road is more your style. Just my $.02
Apparently due to global warming Denver never gets below 40 anymore per the guy's dream locale. RTFQ
 
skydive69 said:
Apparently due to global warming Denver never gets below 40 anymore per the guy's dream locale. RTFQ

The average highs in Denver are about 44 degrees in December and January so that definitly meets my criteria. Its not like I am going to be riding bike at 1 am when its colder. Its ok if it gets below 40 as long as the winters are not too severe. I grew up in Minnesota so I know that places up north are out.

Denver, CO Springs and Fort Collins are already on my list of no brainer places to move to. However, I am looking for other possibilites because I can't seem to get a job interview in Colorado to save my life.

Most places in California are out as well because it is not worth to me paying a half a million bucks for a 3 bedroom rancher, when I could buy a mansion in other parts of the country (i.e. Ashville NC) for that much. Areas in the central coast of California and north of San Fran seem more reasonable as far as cost of living, so I am looking there however.
 
Phoenix is 95% flat, 350 days of sunshine, 110 degree heat in the summer. I don't really think it's great for riding... but it has no rain and no snow ;) Theres a nice long bike path that goes across the city too, about 30-40 miles probably
 
JTEK said:
Phoenix is 95% flat, 350 days of sunshine, 110 degree heat in the summer. I don't really think it's great for riding... but it has no rain and no snow ;) Theres a nice long bike path that goes across the city too, about 30-40 miles probably

But its all flats!!! Nothing beats the Bay Area, here in Northern California where you got just about enough hills to make you a mountain goat!!! The weather is perfect for riding the whole year round - winter is not that cold and summer not that hot; you can never run out of places you can go out and ride. Going back to hills, we got MtDiablo wherein its the only one where you have almost all 11 miles going uphill. If you can climb this, you can climb any hills.
 
Madison, WI. A bikers paradise, its beautiful and a bike friendly city thanks to the Trek factory right outside of town. There are hundreds of miles of paved roads with little traffic (thanks to the milk industry). the longest climbs are about a mile but there steepness makes up for the lack of length. and you can bike from march-oct outside with decent weather. also collegiate road nationals were held there this year.
 
Northern Sonoma County, California

Why?
1.Beautiful weather
Avg min temp is 39' in Dec- Avg. temp 47'
Avg yearly rainfall 29"- most of it in Dec, Jan, and Feb
Avg Max temp 89' all year (it does get hotter though-spikes as high as 115)
2.Most beautiful place in the world-
3.Great wineries on every bike ride- good for getting some suger if you need
4.Cyclist friendly, but not cyclist burdened (there are not a lot- saw three in 60+ miles today- can go as high as twenty)
5.The further North, the less traffic
6.Great small communities (mine is Cloverdale)
7.No Marin-ites (sorry guys, you know what I mean) north of Petaluma
8. A bike rack will get you to thousands of rides
9.good local shops
10.Within reasonable distances of beaches and forests
11. LOTS of Mountain Biking
12. Lots of lakes and wild life
13.Trees!
14.Home of the VINEMAN Triathalon and many club rides that are up to speed
15.Sweet hills-hard climbs
16. very few dogs in the road
17. The river- for cooling off after a hard ride
18. Fat shoulders on most roads
19.100s of continuous no-freeway miles
20.Friendly cyclists

Why not-
1.It's spendy-coming from any where else, California is going to hurt

Just my 2c worth
but of course- this is where I live- I better love it right?
 
Telegram Sam said:
7.No Marin-ites (sorry guys, you know what I mean) north of Petaluma

Sorry, but I don't know what you mean? what is a Marin-ite?

Telegram Sam said:
Why not-
1.It's spendy-coming from any where else, California is going to hurt


How expensive is it compared to the Bay area? I though it was significantly cheaper up there but still higher than most other places in the US.
 
jitteringjr said:
Sorry, but I don't know what you mean? what is a Marin-ite?
You know return student in all the college classes that always has his hand up? Sits in a cafe and pontificates to anyone who will listen? Is an environmentalist...on Earth day? Wants to save the world but never gives to charity? Doesn't like pollution, but drives a deisel Volvo down the block for cigs? That guy is a Marin-ite. However, being from Los Altos, I have to say that I have never met anyone as bad as most the people in Los Altos, so Marin-ites are actually pretty high in my book.




How expensive is it compared to the Bay area? I though it was significantly cheaper up there but still higher than most other places in the US.
The lower end house prices have jumped about 120K in the last two years. The bottom of the market in the least expensive part of Sonoma County (Cloverdale) is in the low 400K...but the bottom end is the only part of the market that has seen real significant growth- Bottom in Healdsburg is well over five (1 br, 1 b no DRIVEWAY at 625K right now...aghhhh!).
It looks to me that as people leave the bay area, we are going to see more of an equalization of pricing in this region. So, while it is a bit lower, I know you can touch San Jose for 600K...but you'd be shopping for a while.
Definately ridiculous when compared to the rest of the country...but there is a reason we live in California right?
 
Telegram Sam said:
Marin-ite

Ok I know the type, never heard the name though.

Telegram Sam said:
Bottom in Healdsburg is well over five (1 br, 1 b no DRIVEWAY at 625K right now...aghhhh!).

Bummer, I was hoping it was more reasonable up there. My wife has a good friend that bought a house there in Sunnyvale in the bay area a year or two ago for $575K with only 1100 ft2 and 2 bedrooms. Upon hearing that price, I did a search here in Richmond at that price range and found a 4000 ft2 house with a 3 car garage 5 bedrooms and a pool. Hmmm, gee Mansion or shack which one do I choose? My house now is almost 3000 ft2. So I could sell it and go out there only to struggle in making payments on a tiny town house or something. It would be different if salaries in the area reflected the cost of living, but they are only marginally higher and in no way make up for the difference in housing pricing.


Telegram Sam said:
but there is a reason we live in California right?

The weather isn't that nice IMHO. There has got to be better alternatives. I guess they is why I am asking the question.
 
denver is a lot more expensive than NC but has an amazing amount of sunny days.
 
Hey Cheapie,

How does Charlotte compare to Asheville? It might be a little easier for my wife and I to find jobs in Charlote because there is more people living there.
 
charlotte is a pretty city, but about an hour or two east of asheville. asheville is really where the mountains begin. if you want to have great climbs w/in 1-2 hours, charlotte would work. if you want to go out your backdoor, not so much.

but i live in michigan and would LOVE to live in charlotte so don't let me discourage you from looking there.