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Best Cities to Ride



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 13th 05, 08:43 PM
JoeD
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Default Best Cities to Ride

Hi,

I live in NYC and am thinking of moving out of this area in the future.
I am starting to look now for any city that would be bicycle friendly. I
am leaning towards the Southwest of the country like NM, with its warmer
climate and cheaper health insurance but I am open to any suggestions.
I use my bike to, commute to work (20m RT), local shopping, long day
trips and just getting around even though I have a car. I average about
5k a year.
Either because I have been careful, plain lucky or a bit of both, I have
never had a serious problem in my 45 years of riding in the streets
competing with the cars, trucks, cabs and the dreaded pedestrians. I am
mentioning this because I am not afraid of city traffic. Highway traffic
is whole nother story since I want to live to ride another 45 years.

Would anyone living in or knowing about bicycle friendly cities, want
another cyclist sharing the roads with them. I would promise to say "Hi"
as I pass you or vice versa.

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  #2  
Old March 13th 05, 09:19 PM
Ken
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Default

JoeD wrote in news:lJ0Zd.2668$qf2.2314
@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net:
I live in NYC and am thinking of moving out of this area in the future.
I am starting to look now for any city that would be bicycle friendly.


To me, "bike friendly" means you can ride every day of the year. That rules
out the snow belt. Some people would also rule out the humidity belt (aka, the
southeast and gulf states). The west coast has pretty good year-round weather.
There are lots of college towns in California with excellent bike route
systems.
  #3  
Old March 13th 05, 10:26 PM
Ken Marcet
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Posts: n/a
Default


"JoeD" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hi,

I live in NYC and am thinking of moving out of this area in the future.
I am starting to look now for any city that would be bicycle friendly. I
am leaning towards the Southwest of the country like NM, with its warmer
climate and cheaper health insurance but I am open to any suggestions.
I use my bike to, commute to work (20m RT), local shopping, long day
trips and just getting around even though I have a car. I average about
5k a year.
Either because I have been careful, plain lucky or a bit of both, I have
never had a serious problem in my 45 years of riding in the streets
competing with the cars, trucks, cabs and the dreaded pedestrians. I am
mentioning this because I am not afraid of city traffic. Highway traffic
is whole nother story since I want to live to ride another 45 years.

Would anyone living in or knowing about bicycle friendly cities, want
another cyclist sharing the roads with them. I would promise to say "Hi"
as I pass you or vice versa.

Interesting, I live in Florida, and was thinking about the southwest also.
Somewhere in the neighborhood of AZ, NM, NV or southern CA.

Ken

  #4  
Old March 14th 05, 12:13 AM
JoeD
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

When I meant bicycle friendly, that means the city government provides
bike lanes, proper signs, bridge access, law enforcement etc. and the
driving public generally respects a cyclists right of way. I've already
mentioned that I am leaning towards the SW because it is warm. Riding
year round is nice but not a requirement. I do want dry weather at least
9 to 10 months a year. The land needs rain for things to grow so rain
is ok sometimes but not all the times. Cold doesn't bother me too much.
I ride to work in 25 degrees with wind chill factor of 10 to 15 so if
the mornings and evenings drop to 40 or 50, that's ok, if I'm dressed
for it.

Love to hear from some of you with concrete city (not state) suggestions.

JoeD wrote:

Hi,

I live in NYC and am thinking of moving out of this area in the
future. I am starting to look now for any city that would be bicycle
friendly. I am leaning towards the Southwest of the country like NM,
with its warmer climate and cheaper health insurance but I am open to
any suggestions.
I use my bike to, commute to work (20m RT), local shopping, long day
trips and just getting around even though I have a car. I average
about 5k a year.
Either because I have been careful, plain lucky or a bit of both, I
have never had a serious problem in my 45 years of riding in the
streets competing with the cars, trucks, cabs and the dreaded
pedestrians. I am mentioning this because I am not afraid of city
traffic. Highway traffic is whole nother story since I want to live to
ride another 45 years.

Would anyone living in or knowing about bicycle friendly cities, want
another cyclist sharing the roads with them. I would promise to say
"Hi" as I pass you or vice versa.


  #5  
Old March 14th 05, 01:09 AM
greggery peccary
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Ken Marcet" wrote in message
...

"JoeD" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hi,

I live in NYC and am thinking of moving out of this area in the future.
I am starting to look now for any city that would be bicycle friendly. I
am leaning towards the Southwest of the country like NM, with its warmer
climate and cheaper health insurance but I am open to any suggestions.
I use my bike to, commute to work (20m RT), local shopping, long day
trips and just getting around even though I have a car. I average about
5k a year.
Either because I have been careful, plain lucky or a bit of both, I have
never had a serious problem in my 45 years of riding in the streets
competing with the cars, trucks, cabs and the dreaded pedestrians. I am
mentioning this because I am not afraid of city traffic. Highway traffic
is whole nother story since I want to live to ride another 45 years.

Would anyone living in or knowing about bicycle friendly cities, want
another cyclist sharing the roads with them. I would promise to say "Hi"
as I pass you or vice versa.

Interesting, I live in Florida, and was thinking about the southwest also.
Somewhere in the neighborhood of AZ, NM, NV or southern CA.

Ken


RANT WARNING!
i am a native arizonan now living in seattle. trying to ride a bicycle there
was difficult at best. the streets are very wide but the average speed on
surface roads might be over 50 mph, and everything is very spread out.
summers are difficult because it's dangerous to go on a long ride in the dry
heat.
the southwestern cities from phoenix to texas are a cultural wasteland and
are now full of giant vehicles and an arrogant, aggressive culture. the
dominant mode down there is a big texas-style '**** you i will do anything i
want-even if it means running you over with my mega truck/compensator'.
posers with cowboy hats and boots that never saw a ranch or roped a calf,
and a big new truck that never hauled anything dirtier than their own
thoughts of racial, cultural and national superiority.
i still get down to phoenix area at least once a year to see my family. it
pains me to go down there because it's getting worse. when i was a kid that
city had about 500,000 inhabitants (1970's). now there are 3.5 million. and
tucson is also growing wildly. boxes and strip malls as far as the eye can
see.
LA isnt much better for bikes, but at least it's more interesting.
up the coast from there is much more bike friendly all the way to vancouver
canada...but even in seattle i have problems with arrogant drivers who dont
know the rules of the road and just random yahoos. (i think it's a national
epidemic)
HTH
-alan


  #6  
Old March 14th 05, 03:55 AM
Rangersfan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"greggery peccary" .@. wrote in message
...

RANT WARNING!
i am a native arizonan now living in seattle. trying to ride a bicycle
there
was difficult at best. the streets are very wide but the average speed on
surface roads might be over 50 mph, and everything is very spread out.
summers are difficult because it's dangerous to go on a long ride in the
dry
heat.
the southwestern cities from phoenix to texas are a cultural wasteland and
are now full of giant vehicles and an arrogant, aggressive culture. the
dominant mode down there is a big texas-style '**** you i will do anything
i
want-even if it means running you over with my mega truck/compensator'.
posers with cowboy hats and boots that never saw a ranch or roped a calf,
and a big new truck that never hauled anything dirtier than their own
thoughts of racial, cultural and national superiority.
i still get down to phoenix area at least once a year to see my family. it
pains me to go down there because it's getting worse. when i was a kid
that
city had about 500,000 inhabitants (1970's). now there are 3.5 million.
and
tucson is also growing wildly. boxes and strip malls as far as the eye can
see.
LA isnt much better for bikes, but at least it's more interesting.
up the coast from there is much more bike friendly all the way to
vancouver
canada...but even in seattle i have problems with arrogant drivers who
dont
know the rules of the road and just random yahoos. (i think it's a
national
epidemic)
HTH
-alan


I'm from Texas and I have to agree. I love the weather down here, but I
hate the attitudes. The attitude of the average driver sucks. Most can't
drive their thumb up their...well, you get the idea...but still they want to
drive way faster than the posted speed limit and zip in between traffic like
they're really going somewhere faster than everyone else.

The heat is not really a problem once you get used to it. You just have to
adequately hydrate yourself and travel earlier or later in the day. The
worst of it only lasts a couple of months and you have the rest of the year
which is very mild. There are some suburban roads that have wide shoulders
and the pace of building new bike trails has really picked up.


  #7  
Old March 14th 05, 04:36 AM
Matt O'Toole
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Ken Marcet wrote:

"JoeD" wrote in message
ink.net...


Would anyone living in or knowing about bicycle friendly cities, want
another cyclist sharing the roads with them. I would promise to say
"Hi" as I pass you or vice versa.


Interesting, I live in Florida, and was thinking about the southwest
also. Somewhere in the neighborhood of AZ, NM, NV or southern CA.


As a lifetime resident until recently, I can say southern CA has pretty good
biking if you already live there, but I wouldn't move there for it. Roads are
generally wide and there's a good network of bike paths, but to me it's
unaesthetic and boring from a road rider's perspective. I enjoyed the mountain
biking a lot more, but again, I wouldn't move there for it. That said, San
Diego has arguably the best climate in the world, and probably the best biking
in southern CA. Triathletes, etc., flock to San Diego so they can train all
year.

Almost anywhere you'd want to live in CA is expensive and crowded.

I can't say enough about the biking where I live now, in southwest VA. Although
we have winter, there are just a few days a year where it's below freezing
during the day. It's rare the weather and roads are bad for cycling for more
than three days in a row. There are times where it's cold and snowy for a week
or so, but it's just one or two episodes a year. This winter we've been spared
completely. So while fewer people ride all year, there's no reason not to.
I've lived in Blacksburg for a couple of years now with no car. My bike is my
primary transportation. Except for (or because of) the hills, the town is
perfectly stuited for it. Blacksburg has been featured many times in "best
places to live" articles.

For anyone who wants to sample the biking in Southwest VA, the perfect
opportunity is our club's Mountains of Misery and Wilderness Road Ride
doubleheader:

http://www.mountainsofmisery.com/

The MoM ride in particular follows some of the most beautiful roads in the area,
through Giles and Craig counties. Coincidentally I asked a couple of riders
today how the Mt. Mitchell ride compares to the MoM. They all agreed the MoM
double metric is probably harder, but more interesting. But there's also a
regular century, with two big climbs instead of four, over mostly the same
roads. The WRR has something for everyone, from an easy spin around Radford to
a pretty demanding 70 miler.

Another good one, especially for a flatlander, is the Burke's Garden century in
August. It's the same beautiful Appalachian landscape, but the route follows a
valley most of the way. It does climb a couple thousand feet but it's steady
over the whole route, with the return trip being downhill. Many people do this
ride with over a 20 MPH average, but of course you can take all day if you want
to.

We're also just a half hour's drive from the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the best
cycling roads in the country. Also nearby is the New River Trail, a 57 mile
rail trail following the New River. There's plenty of mountain biking around
too, within easy riding distance.

So, come do one of our rides! If you want to come ride another time, our club
has several rides going on every week, and plenty of friendly people to show you
around:

www.nrvbike.com

Feel free to email for more info.

Matt O.


  #8  
Old March 14th 05, 04:53 AM
greggery peccary
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Rangersfan" wrote in message
...
"greggery peccary" .@. wrote in message
...

RANT WARNING!
i am a native arizonan now living in seattle. trying to ride a bicycle
there
was difficult at best. the streets are very wide but the average speed

on
surface roads might be over 50 mph, and everything is very spread out.
summers are difficult because it's dangerous to go on a long ride in the
dry
heat.
the southwestern cities from phoenix to texas are a cultural wasteland

and
are now full of giant vehicles and an arrogant, aggressive culture. the
dominant mode down there is a big texas-style '**** you i will do

anything
i
want-even if it means running you over with my mega truck/compensator'.
posers with cowboy hats and boots that never saw a ranch or roped a

calf,
and a big new truck that never hauled anything dirtier than their own
thoughts of racial, cultural and national superiority.
i still get down to phoenix area at least once a year to see my family.

it
pains me to go down there because it's getting worse. when i was a kid
that
city had about 500,000 inhabitants (1970's). now there are 3.5 million.
and
tucson is also growing wildly. boxes and strip malls as far as the eye

can
see.
LA isnt much better for bikes, but at least it's more interesting.
up the coast from there is much more bike friendly all the way to
vancouver
canada...but even in seattle i have problems with arrogant drivers who
dont
know the rules of the road and just random yahoos. (i think it's a
national
epidemic)
HTH
-alan


I'm from Texas and I have to agree. I love the weather down here, but I
hate the attitudes. The attitude of the average driver sucks. Most can't
drive their thumb up their...well, you get the idea...but still they want

to
drive way faster than the posted speed limit and zip in between traffic

like
they're really going somewhere faster than everyone else.

The heat is not really a problem once you get used to it. You just have

to
adequately hydrate yourself and travel earlier or later in the day. The
worst of it only lasts a couple of months and you have the rest of the

year
which is very mild. There are some suburban roads that have wide

shoulders
and the pace of building new bike trails has really picked up.



i should add also that once outside of the cities, the sw can be a great
place for biking. i often visit prescott and spent years in flagstaff where
the biking can be great (had some great trips up around sunset crater and
out near seligman on old 66!). i dont want to dis the whole area, just those
suburban cancers they call cities...but you didnt hear that from me


  #9  
Old March 14th 05, 01:21 PM
Earl Bollinger
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"JoeD" wrote in message
ink.net...
When I meant bicycle friendly, that means the city government provides
bike lanes, proper signs, bridge access, law enforcement etc. and the
driving public generally respects a cyclists right of way. I've already
mentioned that I am leaning towards the SW because it is warm. Riding
year round is nice but not a requirement. I do want dry weather at least 9
to 10 months a year. The land needs rain for things to grow so rain is ok
sometimes but not all the times. Cold doesn't bother me too much. I ride
to work in 25 degrees with wind chill factor of 10 to 15 so if the
mornings and evenings drop to 40 or 50, that's ok, if I'm dressed for it.

Love to hear from some of you with concrete city (not state) suggestions.

JoeD wrote:

Hi,

I live in NYC and am thinking of moving out of this area in the future. I
am starting to look now for any city that would be bicycle friendly. I am
leaning towards the Southwest of the country like NM, with its warmer
climate and cheaper health insurance but I am open to any suggestions.
I use my bike to, commute to work (20m RT), local shopping, long day
trips and just getting around even though I have a car. I average about
5k a year.
Either because I have been careful, plain lucky or a bit of both, I have
never had a serious problem in my 45 years of riding in the streets
competing with the cars, trucks, cabs and the dreaded pedestrians. I am
mentioning this because I am not afraid of city traffic. Highway traffic
is whole nother story since I want to live to ride another 45 years.

Would anyone living in or knowing about bicycle friendly cities, want
another cyclist sharing the roads with them. I would promise to say "Hi"
as I pass you or vice versa.



Well, I have started to get used to the cycling around the Dallas Forth
Worth area in Texas.
The winters are mild, but the summers can get hot and humid, hydrate youself
a lot.
And although it has it's problems, good days and bad days, the riding is
actually pretty good.
A number of cities in the metroplex have posted bike routes on the regular
roads and they have still built pretty good bike paths too.
The bike paths they build are not the "lame crappy painted on the side of
the road" bike paths you see in California either, they actually
go to the trouble to pour reinforced steel concrete paths. So you can have
the choice of braving the roads and traffic or taking a path without a lot
of traffic.
But I wish the cities could get together and have more interconnected bike
paths though.
Also a big plus the police generally cut you a lot of slack if you run a
stop sign too, unless you hit something like a car. But be safe doing it as
they could give you a ticket if they want to. You still have to obey the
traffic laws like a car.
Last Saturday, I went on a MS150 training ride in Cedar Hill Texas, where we
rode down and around Joe Pool Lake, and there were many many cyclists out
riding all over too, not just on the training ride. It was a good killer
road ride, something like 8 miles of going uphill on the way back.
Basically south of Dallas it gets hilly and North of Dallas it is more flat.
I haven't tried it yet, but they also say the bike riding down in Austin
Texas is pretty good too.
You still encounter the idiot or moron car driver, but for the most part all
the car drivers are pretty nice, and many will slow down or yeild the right
of way to you.
Your welcome to the area, I'll say hi if I see you around and about.


  #10  
Old March 14th 05, 02:29 PM
Peter Cole
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Posts: n/a
Default


Ken wrote:
JoeD wrote in news:lJ0Zd.2668$qf2.2314
@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net:
I live in NYC and am thinking of moving out of this area in the

future.
I am starting to look now for any city that would be bicycle

friendly.

To me, "bike friendly" means you can ride every day of the year.

That rules
out the snow belt.


Not really, lot's of people ride year 'round in nothern climates. It's
just a matter of having the right clothes and equipment.

 




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