Moving to Gainesville Florida
 

We’re planning a move around Gainesville. Which area would be best as a base for road cycling out into the countryside plus the wife wants some utility cycling. We’re considering buying a few acres in the NW near Alachua, south near Micanopy, or east near Lake Newman. Any advice would be appreciated.

Pretty much anywhere in Gainesville will put you no more than 20 minutes from a country road if you know how to get there. I'm technically "in the city" on the north side of town but within 7 minutes of leaving my door I'm in the countryside and within 20 minutes I'm riding by cows.

The Gainesville Cycling Club (Gainesville Cycling Club) has a few group rides, but they don't seem to be as popular as they once were. They do have several route maps for various distances though.

Probably a great opportunity to look at the Strava Heat Map. We travel to Reddick once or twice a year to ride around the horsefarms and have lunch in Micanopy. I don't think there is a bad area in your list. I would look at how the area you buy in was impacted by Hurricane Michael in 2017-it was probably a once in 500 year amount of rain. Lots of Payne's Prairie was flooded.

Was down in Gainesville in Feb., and really minimal to no impact from the storm - It was up here, where the real action was ......
I think around G-ville is maybe the most bike friendly area in Florida (If there is such a thing). But the traffic in town can get pretty hectic.

There is also a most excellent co-op in the city :
https://www.thefreewheelproject.org/

Good luck