Davis (mature) Bike Culture?
12-31-18, 03:57 PM
#1
The Left Coast, USA
Thread Starter
Davis (mature) Bike Culture?
We are thinking a semi-retirement move, Davis is high on the list, as is Sacto.. Could you share your opinion on local ride groups geared to more seniors; like 25m friendly rides, more social less competition? All other comments about the Davis lifestyle, environmental issues, etc. are very welcome.
01-01-19, 11:39 AM
#2
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I'm not in Davis, but the Davis bike club is amazing and very very active. It appears they have a race team, but also a regular folks group. I'm a member, even though I'm too far away to do their club rides. Check out their web site. Membership is pretty low priced, and their club kit is super nice.
https://davisbikeclub.org/
https://davisbikeclub.org/
01-06-19, 12:18 PM
#3
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I live in Folsom. I’m not sure if Folsom is good for retirement but it’s great for cycling. Cycle Folsom is the local roadie club, FATRAC for MTB’s, and Folsom Bike is the local shop (we also have Mikes Bikes and REI).
There are dedicated bike paths and bike lanes all over town.
The Tour of California has been here several times, twice with the TT stage. Last year they had a stage starting here and going to South Lake Tahoe. We are not a host city this year but I’d be amazed if they didn’t pass through given that stage 2 goes from Rancho Cordova to South Lake.
Folsom has a Bike Month ride with the mayor and the Great Scott Road Ride where they close off some roads south of town all day for riding. Not sure about that last one this year, the area is under development
There are dedicated bike paths and bike lanes all over town.
The Tour of California has been here several times, twice with the TT stage. Last year they had a stage starting here and going to South Lake Tahoe. We are not a host city this year but I’d be amazed if they didn’t pass through given that stage 2 goes from Rancho Cordova to South Lake.
Folsom has a Bike Month ride with the mayor and the Great Scott Road Ride where they close off some roads south of town all day for riding. Not sure about that last one this year, the area is under development
Last edited by Darth Lefty; 01-06-19 at 12:53 PM.
01-06-19, 12:59 PM
#4
The Left Coast, USA
Thread Starter
Yeah, I seem to come up with blanks looking for the usual suspects; Davis bike club seems to be an option, thanks. Oh well, maybe I need to start a MeetUp like the ones in this area.
01-09-19, 03:31 PM
#5
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The May is Bike Month website has statistics on all of the "Team" challenges for 2018. While there are employer teams mixed it, overall it's a good list of various cycling clubs and groups that exist in the Sacramento area, including Davis:
https://mayisbikemonth.com/challenges_club.php
https://mayisbikemonth.com/challenges_club.php
01-09-19, 07:35 PM
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I figured Davis was either a city or a make, and the bikes are pretty mature, as are their sewing machines.
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01-17-19, 01:16 PM
#8
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If you are not going for the coastal life-style, why even pay the overhead to retire in Kali ... 55% of the land mass is owned by Gov't agencies (USFS, DoD, BLM, etc.) and the remaining land has to accommodate 40M people by 2025 or so ...
Pricing and taxes are goinna be insane.
If I wanted a bike life and I had the $, it would be Santa Barbara (or similar)
W/o the $$, I'm thinking the outskirts of Portland ...
Pricing and taxes are goinna be insane.
If I wanted a bike life and I had the $, it would be Santa Barbara (or similar)
W/o the $$, I'm thinking the outskirts of Portland ...
02-22-19, 10:23 PM
#9
Firm but gentle
Portland?!? I've never lived there, but we have family there and visit often. My take: colder and rainy by huge amount versus central CA. Dangerous to boot, check out the Bike Portland dot org website. I can't imagine why a bike rider would willingly move there.
02-22-19, 10:25 PM
#10
Firm but gentle
EDIT: outskirts, as in a different city, might be good, I'm (we're) considering it.
02-23-19, 10:22 PM
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Where you coming from? What's nice is you are central to a lot of different riding areas. If you don't have to commute to work, it's a big plus.
02-26-19, 09:39 AM
#12
The Left Coast, USA
Thread Starter
I will continue to have business in the east bay, so I need to be a few hours away for the occasional visit. I love the heat, so Sacto area is top of list. Plus, downtown Sacto seems pretty cool.
02-26-19, 07:59 PM
#13
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Davis is a great bike town and the club is very active with multiple rides each day both on and off the ride calendar. We have had other people, specifically newly retired cycling enthusiasts, move to Davis specifically to ride and join the community. We don’t do quite as good a job as other clubs in maintaining the website but that is probably due to our use of an 800+ member email list which is used extensively. Our club site is davisbikeclub.org. PM me if you have more questions or need more info.
03-06-19, 03:49 PM
#14
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Davis, CA is an excellent place to retire if you're looking for a mature cycling community. With an average membership age of around 62.8 years old with a flat, bike-lane friendly area. I'd argue that if anything, the Davis Bike Club is almost non-mature-unfriendly. While they've gotten better over the past few years, the majority of their rides (especially during the week) cater only to those are who are retired or at least work a very alternative work schedule. Plus they finally have a club president for 2019!
Davis, as a town, is definitely something. As someone who was worked at the university for the past 10-years it's definitely an interesting environment. Lots of students on bikes and a lot of blatant disregard from cyclists (of all ages) of posted signage with the assumption that "you'll yield to me because you don't want to hit me." This coupled with an over population of cars going to and from the university or bypassing I-80 during heavy Tahoe traffic times creates a very unique car / bike / resident dynamic. I do like the charm of downtown Davis and there's some great restaurants. I often call Davis, "Berkeley-lite."
I will say that the cost of living in Davis (even the northern outskirts) is absolutely ridiculous. Not that midtown Sacramento is any better. As someone who's a relatively new homeowner in the area, Davis was completely out of a budget. My $450,000 budget got me an 8-year old 2200 sq. ft. house with a garage, yard and numerous modern home furnishings in Roseville. That same budget barely got me 1200 sq. ft. and a house built in the 70s (maybe early 80s) in Davis.
Davis, as a town, is definitely something. As someone who was worked at the university for the past 10-years it's definitely an interesting environment. Lots of students on bikes and a lot of blatant disregard from cyclists (of all ages) of posted signage with the assumption that "you'll yield to me because you don't want to hit me." This coupled with an over population of cars going to and from the university or bypassing I-80 during heavy Tahoe traffic times creates a very unique car / bike / resident dynamic. I do like the charm of downtown Davis and there's some great restaurants. I often call Davis, "Berkeley-lite."
I will say that the cost of living in Davis (even the northern outskirts) is absolutely ridiculous. Not that midtown Sacramento is any better. As someone who's a relatively new homeowner in the area, Davis was completely out of a budget. My $450,000 budget got me an 8-year old 2200 sq. ft. house with a garage, yard and numerous modern home furnishings in Roseville. That same budget barely got me 1200 sq. ft. and a house built in the 70s (maybe early 80s) in Davis.
Last edited by softreset; 03-07-19 at 12:19 PM.
03-06-19, 04:00 PM
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Seems like there's a constant back up on the Yolo Causeway, so if you need to be in the East Bay regularly you'll want to be on that side. I like Davis. It's still a small town with a fairly large university attached to it. Good bike infrastructure.
