Best cycling city in USA?
12-02-19, 08:24 PM
#26
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I can only speak for where I've lived.
San Jose, CA = great weather & terrain variety & cycling environment
Santa Cruz, CA = all the above + Monterey Bay coastal rides
West St Louis county, MO = nice hills, great low traffic back roads, hot summers
East of Seattle, WA = great variety of terrain, cycling community, relatively moderate weather.
Honorable mention to Grand Junction, CO (as I have visited often) = great everything, except winter months
San Jose, CA = great weather & terrain variety & cycling environment
Santa Cruz, CA = all the above + Monterey Bay coastal rides
West St Louis county, MO = nice hills, great low traffic back roads, hot summers
East of Seattle, WA = great variety of terrain, cycling community, relatively moderate weather.
Honorable mention to Grand Junction, CO (as I have visited often) = great everything, except winter months
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12-02-19, 08:31 PM
#27
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NYC. I can do a 50 mile bike ride and never leave Brooklyn and I'm on dedicated trails about 60% of the way and bike lanes almost all of the rest. It isn't paradise here but don't discount how much cycling infrastructure there is. Winter isn't great here but that's about the only time I don't ride. I visited Seattle a few years back thinking it would be a cycling paradise but I didn't think so. I had lived there for a number of years back in the '80s and thought it would have improved a lot more than it did. I was in San Francisco riding a few weeks back and liked it there, but in-city riding has a major problem, the hills. I really enjoyed my day there on a road bike though, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin county. Even in town, on Embarcadero and Market.
I rode in Copenhagen a few summers ago and I'm itching to get back. It really is a cycling paradise there. Even my 3 kids, college age at the time, were happy to use bikes to get around, it was just the thing to do to fit in with everyone else.
I rode in Copenhagen a few summers ago and I'm itching to get back. It really is a cycling paradise there. Even my 3 kids, college age at the time, were happy to use bikes to get around, it was just the thing to do to fit in with everyone else.
12-02-19, 08:40 PM
#28
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NYC. I can do a 50 mile bike ride and never leave Brooklyn and I'm on dedicated trails about 60% of the way and bike lanes almost all of the rest. It isn't paradise here but don't discount how much cycling infrastructure there is. Winter isn't great here but that's about the only time I don't ride. I visited Seattle a few years back thinking it would be a cycling paradise but I didn't think so. I had lived there for a number of years back in the '80s and thought it would have improved a lot more than it did. I was in San Francisco riding a few weeks back and liked it there, but in-city riding has a major problem, the hills. I really enjoyed my day there on a road bike though, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin county. Even in town, on Embarcadero and Market.
I rode in Copenhagen a few summers ago and I'm itching to get back. It really is a cycling paradise there. Even my 3 kids, college age at the time, were happy to use bikes to get around, it was just the thing to do to fit in with everyone else.
I rode in Copenhagen a few summers ago and I'm itching to get back. It really is a cycling paradise there. Even my 3 kids, college age at the time, were happy to use bikes to get around, it was just the thing to do to fit in with everyone else.
12-02-19, 08:46 PM
#29
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The Best Bike Cities in https://www.bicycling.com/culture/a2...e-cities-2018/ America
12-02-19, 09:48 PM
#30
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Probably. Manhattan isn't too bad though. Between the west side greenway and the separated bike lanes on 1st/2nd, 8th/9th, and a few others, there are enough options, plus Central Park of course. Queens is probably the worst. The Bronx is mostly just devoid of riders although I go there all the time, and I never go to SI and I have no idea what it is like to ride there.
12-02-19, 09:52 PM
#31
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I could easily brag about my own backyard; mountain roads, ocean vistas, open rural roads, respectful (for the most part) drivers. But I don’t want a bunch of outsiders coming over and ruining a good thing.
Stay out of my backyard!
Stay out of my backyard!
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12-02-19, 10:39 PM
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Kernville, CA. It can get a little cold in Jan.-Feb. but it's usually sunny and reasonably warm. You've got to like hills though!
12-02-19, 11:16 PM
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The one you live in. Unless it's a town.
12-02-19, 11:44 PM
#34
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I'm surprised how many people think of winter as a con. If you live somewhere with real winters, you should find a snow sport you love. You'll come back stronger and with a renewed passion when dryland season returns.
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12-03-19, 05:31 PM
#35
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" Ski Madonna Mountain- Where we make fun of Winter!".
I still think it's a great pitch.
Much better than the sour " I hate winter" and "the sun never shines in winter" types.
Last edited by chainwhip; 12-04-19 at 10:27 AM.
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12-03-19, 08:09 PM
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It takes me 2-3 hours to drive to mountains if I want to do snow sports. I can have the good bits of winter (skiing) without the bad parts (slushy, gritted roads, sub-zero temps etc).
If I’d had the time today, we had beautiful weather for riding.
If I had a complaint about the weather here, it’d be that it never gets cold enough to justify buying a Castelli Gabba, or similar cold weather gear.
If I’d had the time today, we had beautiful weather for riding.
If I had a complaint about the weather here, it’d be that it never gets cold enough to justify buying a Castelli Gabba, or similar cold weather gear.
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12-04-19, 08:14 AM
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Nice area. That was my favorite area for winter camping when I lived out that way - warm by my standards, cold enough to deter acclimated Southern California folks, and really pretty!
12-04-19, 08:52 AM
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One of the most often heard complaints on this forum is being harassed by motorists. I would submit then that an important characteristic for good cycling is the attitude of the general public toward cycling.
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12-04-19, 09:29 AM
#40
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Minneapolis, Portland, OR and Chicago are the most bikeable cities in the U.S. for the second year in a row.
That’s according to updated rankings from Bike Score®, a tool by Redfin company Walk Score® that rates the bikeability of neighborhoods, cities and addresses.
That’s according to updated rankings from Bike Score®, a tool by Redfin company Walk Score® that rates the bikeability of neighborhoods, cities and addresses.
12-04-19, 12:26 PM
#41
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I think that San Diego is surprisingly un-cycling friendly for the amount of riders it has. This includes miles of bike lanes and general road conditions. Within the county, North County is significantly better with easier access to open country roads and climbing.
I will agree that the amount of clubs, events and weather are indeed pretty tough to beat. In regards to the events, the number of USAC sanctioned races has dropped from 5-6 a few years ago to just 1 now. But that problem also extends to SCNCA/NCNCA and the nation at large. USAC needs to do a better job of fostering participation, and we need another lance-like GC rider to garner interest on a bigger scale.
My vote def. goes to Santa Barbara for the record. I spent 10 weeks there interning in college (~2009) and had a hard time staying in the lab enough... Great riding all around and drivers that seemed to be more tolerant towards it. San Diego is quite conservative in comparison, politically and culturally and I've felt generally safer on the road the farther north in the state I've been. College was Humboldt State U, also awesome but just so remote, and rain.
I will agree that the amount of clubs, events and weather are indeed pretty tough to beat. In regards to the events, the number of USAC sanctioned races has dropped from 5-6 a few years ago to just 1 now. But that problem also extends to SCNCA/NCNCA and the nation at large. USAC needs to do a better job of fostering participation, and we need another lance-like GC rider to garner interest on a bigger scale.
My vote def. goes to Santa Barbara for the record. I spent 10 weeks there interning in college (~2009) and had a hard time staying in the lab enough... Great riding all around and drivers that seemed to be more tolerant towards it. San Diego is quite conservative in comparison, politically and culturally and I've felt generally safer on the road the farther north in the state I've been. College was Humboldt State U, also awesome but just so remote, and rain.
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12-04-19, 01:02 PM
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12-04-19, 01:56 PM
#43
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Some people are focused on riding on roads for transportation; some are focused on roads for race training; some ride roads only for leisure; some look for the road least traveled; .... Basically, not everyone sees "road cycling" the same way.
These are all examples of road cycling.
These are all examples of road cycling.
12-04-19, 03:06 PM
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I agree. And what do they all have in common? Riding bikes on roads. Which is what road cycling boils down to. 🙂
12-04-19, 03:51 PM
#45
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That's my thoughts, but from talking with a variety of people over the years ... not everybody thinks the same way.
12-04-19, 06:48 PM
#46
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Basically I'm tired of riding the same dozen hills and few hundred miles of roads around me and want to fantasize about living somewhere where I can roll out of my house and hit endless scenic mountain roads.
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12-04-19, 07:00 PM
#47
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Ya, I was thinking more as an ideal training and/or ideal city for someone who wanted to go do long recreational rides all the time as opposed to bike lanes downtown, but all the responses have been interesting.
Basically I'm tired of riding the same dozen hills and few hundred miles of roads around me and want to fantasize about living somewhere where I can roll out of my house and hit endless scenic mountain roads.
Basically I'm tired of riding the same dozen hills and few hundred miles of roads around me and want to fantasize about living somewhere where I can roll out of my house and hit endless scenic mountain roads.
12-04-19, 07:17 PM
#48
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If training is your priority, then Boulder becomes an obvious choice.
12-04-19, 09:48 PM
#49
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Ya, I was thinking more as an ideal training and/or ideal city for someone who wanted to go do long recreational rides all the time as opposed to bike lanes downtown, but all the responses have been interesting.
Basically I'm tired of riding the same dozen hills and few hundred miles of roads around me and want to fantasize about living somewhere where I can roll out of my house and hit endless scenic mountain roads.
Basically I'm tired of riding the same dozen hills and few hundred miles of roads around me and want to fantasize about living somewhere where I can roll out of my house and hit endless scenic mountain roads.
12-04-19, 11:56 PM
#50
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