gaucho777 

Riding in the SF Bay Area, we rarely get extreme temperature/weather. I don’t envy those who live in icy climates and have to put away their bikes over the winter.

We do have smoke. Lots of smoke.

rhm

There are just so many different kinds of topography! I'd love to see them all, ride them all, at least enough to get bored with each. But i can't.

My daily commute takes me through suburban roads, plowed fields, an old canal complete with disappeared villages and an abandoned toll house, to a train to NYC where i play in traffic a bit. On weekend rides i have farmland, rivers, pine forests, and a variety of hills to chose from. Serious climbs are available.

In summer I usually ride a loop through eastern Long Island, where over about 110 miles we'd see five or ten completely different kinds of scenery. It's pretty cool how a long ride begins to feel like a series of short rides, some more fun than others.

i feel pretty lucky to have such a variety at hand. But i know what I'm missing, and yes i miss it. One time, some 37 years ago, I rode through prairies and mountains and a desert, even a honest to God shid your pants range fire. i spent hours in gas stations hiding from lightning and tornadoes. Yeah, i miss that, well... like kinda.

​​​​​Even now, now and then, i will go somewhere interesting to ride. This month i rode several hundred miles in Wisconsin and the U. P. Last year i did a 250mile loop through Vernont, and rode around Lake Ontario. New scenery! But as lovely as the UP is, I've seen the best of its scenery in Maine or Vernont, the Adirondacks or the Pine Barrens of NJ (and I've seen the rest in rural PA).

And let me not forget weather conditions! I've ridden in sweltering heat, arctic cold, thunderstorms, gorgeous spring mornings, and so on.

One of these days I will experience goatheads and all the joys of riding in the southwest. My brother has ridden in every mountain range in Europe, i including some I'd never heard of. i envy him, just as i envy you guys that deal with goatheads and that kind of stuff. i am glad i get to read about it here and wherever, so i know exactly what I'm, uh... missing.

natterberry 

I miss those trails. Not that’s it’s hard in Edwardsville, but every apartment/house I had in that town was a block away from an entry point. Right at about an hour drive from here, I need to get down more.

Like the rest of the Illinois posters, pretty flat here. I’m by the Sangamon River, so a slight amount of hill action can be found.

squirtdad

or put studded nokians on them

sd5782 

I know not of what you speak with 50 mph downhills. No hills here to even make 30 mph. In fact I don’t even gear my bikes to over 100 gear inches anymore. It even sounds a bit scary and I ride motorcycles too

randyjawa 

I spend half the year riding in Canada and the other half riding in Jamaica. Lots and lots of hills in both places. Really rough roads in Jamaica and only a couple on not so bad rough ones in the Canadian road I ride. These days, getting old and decrepit, I tend to not ride far from home in Canada. The road I now ride, in Canada, is 9.6 kilometers long and my cottage is half way on the loop. I do two loops each day on smooth road surface. The loop includes lots of up and down and lots of smooth curves. Perfect.

In Jamaica, I wander and wander, seeing this, that and the other thing. Caught a dog licking my foot, one day, on my way to Great Bay and darn near ran over a crocodile when riding the swamp roads on my way to Black River.

rccardr 

I enjoy riding everywhere I go.

And I go everywhere a lot.

Trsnrtr

Steep grades don’t require gear inches, the grade and gravity do all of the work for you. The following was done on Kerfoot Street in East Peoria, IL this summer. Kerfoot is 20+%. Check the max speed in the lower left of the Garmin screen.

tgot 

Another Bay Area rider here, SF Peninsula. It is possible to ride flattish routes, but they are far more stop-and-go due to traffic lights than riding along the edge of the hills.

Top of hills (Skyline) is prone to bands of sports cars pretending to be racers. Not worth it in my mind.

There are bigger climbs going to the coast and back, but I tend to ride shorter, and roughly 'square' rides, like 15mi/1500ft, 25 mi with variants 2000-2700ft, up to 53 mi & 4800 ft. Some in my history this summer are 36/2400 ish, if I do the rolling north-south stretches and avoid the climb excursions.

So, my "How in the world?" is half-step gearing. I can't imagine every shift being a double shift, especially on the downtube. And if I don't have exactly the gear I want, a mile from now I'll need something different.

Classtime 

I’ve recently experienced some paved roads that were not like my local paved roads. When folks write about needing wider tires for their roads, I would roll my eyes. Something called chip-seal made 28+ Tires essential? Then, last month, I rode a bit around Tucson, and later, North Tx. I think I get it now. Next trip out that way, I’ll bring the same bike, leave the 23s at home, and be thankful that bike has room for 28s.

natterberry 

Yeah, I don’t believe I’ve ever ridden on one of these so-called “smooth paved roads.”

madpogue 

Put away?

nlerner

Yeah, winter in New England is just another excuse for n+1, but one you can trash.

Sedgemop 

Yes to this. Winter riding in Chicago for me means picking up a gas pipe road bike, or a lower end mtn. bike, or a funny commuter. Slap on some fenders and keep going. Buy cheap in the fall and sell when it's warm. Been a great way to try out a wide variety of bikes.

I skip blizzard days and ice storm days. Otherwise, I'm out there riding.

randyjawa 

I could not have said it better. Well done! And, for what it is worth, I ride new chip-seal every day. Half of my daily route in on the new chip-seal the other half on old chip-seal. There is a huge difference in ride quality and effort needed to get there and back again. These days 28 to 32 only, if available. Yesterday, I had to settle for a new set of cheap 25s. Today, I get to try them out. And, one more thing about 23s...

My old hands, usually cramped with arthritis, are just not strong enough to install a set of 23. I could barely get these 25 installed yesterday. Looking forward to the test ride, later today...

ofajen

I’m not too sanguine with riding on snow, so I typically wait til the roads are cleared enough to have some actual road surface exposed.

Also, our trails get pretty messed up when it snows, so I switch to the wheels with the small knob tires (Race Kings) for the winter, but even then I’m cautious about riding on actual snowpack and ice.

Not only is riding on snow with regular tires kinda scary to me, but if I can’t pedal hard and keep traction, I can get a better workout doing something else, probably in the warmth and safety of my home.

Otto

adamrice 

Rain. It doesn't rain much around here, but when it does, you really don't want to be out in it. So fenders are kind of moot. I see some people extol the virtues of fenders, and I have to remind myself that they probably are suitable in other places.

BentRider56

Southern New England here. We can have anything from mud, sand, broken glass bottles, loose rock chips & gummy sealant, root heaves under paved rail trails, to untreated snow & ice. I got my first set of studded 40+ mm width Schwalbe Winter tires last Spring, but mostly I ride 28 mm wide slicks, 406's and 559's.
On my Northern Tier ride across N. America in 1991, I had a rude awakening in the Seattle Washington area, where the volcanic sand is the most vicious abrasive I've ever encountered. I wore out my chain in the first 1000 miles; should have brought a chain cleaner and dry lube, instead of just using the leftover oil in bottles found in gas station trash bins.

From 2015. Didn't get much 2019-2020.

uncle uncle

I ride from the land that is topographically flatter than a flap jack, and when the summer sun is at it's wickedest, hotter than said flap jack straight from the grill. I split my time on chalk gravel roads, allowing the sun to beat down on me, while the wind slaps me in the face like some scorned lover. Often, because you can literally see for miles, farm dogs will lie in wait, salivating, knowing that chasing you may be the only thing on their schedule today. The rest of the rides are on bike paths of a city where opportunity packed it's bags and headed out, some time in the 80's. The paths are equal parts root heaves, broken glass, street art, and abandoned dreams, with an occasional homeless person for color commentary. But, silver lining, riding a C&V bike makes you blend in.

ofajen

Makes me miss my old Silca frame Pump with the Campy head. That really evened the odds a bit when you pull it off the bike and brandish it to fend off the dogs while yelling like a madman. 😊

Otto

rccardr 

Pretty darn poetic.

BEC111

I’m in Northern Virginia and mostly ride the W&OD MUP. I’m a few miles west of halfway. Paved path, two lanes very well maintained. Hilly with a general elevation increase East to West, but only a few hundred feet for any 5 mile segments.

Cougrrcj

I bent a few Zefal HPs on rural doggie noggins back in the day...

noglider 

This thread makes me feel lucky. I haven't seen a goathead yet. I am curious but also scared to ride in a desert. I have small hills in the city and big ones in the country. I have crazy traffic in the city and quiet roads in the country. (I'm bi-homed.) The city traffic is annoying, but not annoying enough to keep me off the bike. The city doesn't have many scenic rides unless one redefines what is scenic. I have a friend in the city who knows tons of very interesting bike routes, and he never gets bored while staying in the city. The climate makes riding in the colder months harder, but I manage to ride at least some amount each month. I don't generally head out on my bike when it's raining, but if it rains when I'm out, I don't let it stop me from riding home in the rain.

Eiko

Your question is true for just about anything that people deal with. Money, jobs, power, etc or lack of any of that. More empathy would be nice.

I poo-poohed the need for disc brakes until moving to Colorado and descended way too fast on a steep switchbacked road. Promptly bought a new disc brake bike after surviving that.

I finally gave up the 28's on my 1981 Raleigh Competition and bought a Canyon Grail and am running 38's! Much more comfortable.