My favourite place to ride is in our river valley... our city has the largest urban parkland in North America and you could spend the day riding through it. It also provides and east west corridor and several south central route for cyclists, although it offers a little more challenge than surface streets as you have to climb out.
It is down there in the trees... D:
It does not take one long to leave the city behind...
In the city I often find myself riding through the Highlands area and down Ada Boulevard which looks over the river and is a wonderful cycling route... there are houses on the north side and the south side overlooks the river valley and has access to the parks and trails. It has very little traffic and the road is wide enough for everyone to share...