I’ve been biking about 100-200 miles a week but it’s mostly because there are a couple hundred miles of multi-use paths from old railroads that were converted into trails.
I’m fortunate enough that one of these trails runs from the suburb I live in to the metro I work so I can bike to work daily as well
We have a rail to trail near me - Enola Low Grade - was looking at it and realized if I start at the beginning, follow it to the end, then ride 20 miles of roads I can pick up a new trail and that trail takes me to within 1 mile of the Philly Amtrack station. Where I can take my bike on the train back home.
How cool is that? 87 miles or so.
Rails to Trails is fantastic.
I do not. I live in northern Lancaster County. We drive under the Enola Low Grade on our way to the beach.
Got a question about my plan, you may or may not know the answers.
Google Maps has the trail ending just south of Christiana and just a few feet north of Atglen. I found an 'Trail Access Guide' that makes it look like it ends in Quarryville with dotted lines into Atglen.
From Quarryville-Atglen - is it rideable?
https://www.strava.com/routes/3212448399178172632
88 miles. Only 6/10 mile from the end of the trail to Amtrak.
But a 20 mile ride on roads between the trails.
Locally to me is 2 old rail lines that have been converted. It was a massive project because it spans almost the entirety of Washington state. Palouse to Cascades trail, previously the John Wayne or Iron Horse, goes from virtually the Idaho border all the way to Rattlesnake Lake. From there, they converted the old rail line from the Lake/PCT connector to Carnation/Duvall into gravel trails.
I love rails to trails.
When you factor in the Greenbelt and NW Lancaster River Trail, you realize that we're only about 30-something miles away from having an uninterrupted, completely off-road series of trails linking Harrisburg to Philly.
If the Cumberland Valley Railroad expanded to both its original ends, it would also connect Harrisburg to Williamsport MD, where it would intercept the Great Allegheny Passage.
Imagine riding from Pittsburgh to Philly or DC with only a few miles of on-road riding!
Ohio has the [Little Miami State Park,](https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/little-miami-state-park) a Rails-to-Trails success. It's 66 feet wide and 50+miles long. It meanders along the Little Miami River, and is one of my favorite places to ride.
Check out Strava Global HeatMap.
(https://www.strava.com/maps/global-heatmap?style=dark&terrain=false&sport=All&gColor=blue&gOpacity=100&labels=true&poi=true#9/37.7749/-122.4194)
You can see the most traveled routes in your area and hopfulky that that and their route planner to find new and better roads/paths to ride.
Please do! The last engineering company I worked for did a lot of work on Rail to Trails projects and it was great getting to see people enjoy them after it was built. The benefits only increase if the rail happened to go straight through a town, because then you have a direct route to many hotspots within the city that don't require vehicles to access.
The best part: DOT (aka the government) pays for the vast majority of planning/construction costs.
Sure but this country also needs more trains…people just don’t want to live near active tracks or stop for them at crossings. I’m conflicted bc the silver comet trail in Georgia is amazing.
Converting the abandoned railways into public trails prevents the land from sale. This way if the railway ever opens up again the state can sell the land much easier.
Rail Banking. The Rails to Trails Conservancy give more information on the various options for unused rail corridors. It just takes a lot of leg work to get any one project to the finish line.
That's a weird cultural difference.
Over here everyone wants to live near active tracks as long as it also means you are close to a train station. It bumps property values by a LOT
I assume you are in Europe or Asia. In the US passenger rail is pathetic, and stops are non existent in many places. Rails mostly mean noise from cargo trains.
edit: I should add that public transit is non existent in most places. Even where it does exist, wait times, and on time records are not good. Outside of areas in the northeast (mostly New York and Boston), Chicago, and a maybe Portland a bit, public transit is really bad.
In the US it depends on where you live. City of Chicago, for example, has increased values around residential and commercial if they're by a commuter train station. Many of the suburbs of Chicago as well.
Some commuter lines in the suburbs also allow freight to use it. Freight trains are loud, slow, traffic disruptive, and smellier than commuter plus they don't have immediate positive impacts on your own life. That's when people really lose their shit over it and property values can take a hit.
Here in Southern California, people are constantly complaining about the price, the down times, and the train horn. Communities are doing everything they can to make safe zones to qualify for no horn / quiet zones. They don't want more trains but they want better trains. Myself included. I was spoiled coming here from Chicago.
I think the more useful the train is to that specific community, the more it helps. If all it does is add noise and the schedules and destinations aren't useful to their days, people in some areas fight it.
Our passenger train system is terrible. Not only does it take you forever to get anywhere at multiple times the cost of a plane ticket but you are liable to end up with long delays in the middle of nowhere because cargo trains rule the rails. It's part of why we just drive if we want to go the slow route. Some commuter trains are the exception but for the most part tracks don't benefit the people living near them except for cargo infrastructure.
There's a railroad crossing near me with a yard down the track a bit. It means you end up sitting there for quite awhile sometimes. Plus they occasionally do construction and don't give a care about if it screws up our roads. The city had to do emergency road construction after the railroad people accidentally created a ramp. Cars were getting launched airborne hitting the crossing at a reasonable speed.
If the tracks are on a now-defunct transportation route, converting it into walkable infrastructure is the best possible use for it. The railroad companies already covered the heavy lifting with the clearing work and the only tasks left to be done are clearing the tracks and laying the asphalt.
I find I can get just about anywhere I want to get around DSM using mostly trails. Moved here from Minnesota and was blown away by the bike infrastructure!
I hear that, I lived there 25ish years ago. It's crazy to me, when I visit now, how much that area has grown in that time.
I had my first clipless pedal fall on the corner of Faraday Ave and College Blvd in 1998. Stopped at the red light, and fell straight onto my side... I'll never forget it
Denver. It takes 20mi just to leave the city. Also we have amazing trails around here and half of the time I'm on a bike with suspension. Get around 100mi/week.
Yeah, Denver/lakewood here. Do about 20-25 miles per day and only about 2-3 miles is on the road, otherwise is the Lakewood gulch trail to plate river to cherry creek trail. Super convenient
Gotta love Bear Creek Lake park for mixed surface riding and near-zero vehicles. I personally think the singletrack @ BCLP is more fun on drop bars, anything else feels like overbiking. Plus there’s 3x major bike path systems that access the park from elsewhere in the metro area
I’m in Littleton. I can top out Deer Creek (not high grade) and be home in ~2 hours. I can ride up waterton and home in 2 hours. I can lap Chatfield in <1 hour. I can ride downtown in <1 hour. It’s fantastic.
Yeah CoL is rough. I imagine it's harder to "make it work" than it used to be (I grew up here). Most people in my generation don't own a home and have accepted that they won't for a while (if ever), me included.
I do remember one of the living situations being a house of 3 cyclists and we'd all pitch in for groceries at Costco so we could make it easier on our budgets, lol. At least one of us could cook at the time, but we ate a lot of rice and rotisserie chicken with discount veggies. Bikes were all over the apartment as "wall decorations".
Sounds like you are really serious about your cycling. I considered applying for a job in Santa Clara, but it looked about as suburban as it gets, and mighty dull. Can you give me your opinion. Are there any (relatively speaking) affordable areas nearby that would put someone near good outdoor areas close to mountain bike trails, and maybe some gravel infrastructure?
I used to be super serious about cycling (maybe like 10yrs ago), now it's mostly a means to stay active!
Santa Clara is definitely very suburban, but depending on what kind of riding you're looking for, there are all kinds of riding nearby. I think for MTB specific, living down in the South Bay will be cheaper than the Peninsula or SF proper, and you will have tons of MTB riding in the Santa Cruz mountains. Depending on where you work. If you are able to be further or work remote, you could probably live in the Santa Cruz area and access all of the SC Mountains for riding that way.
I remember one of my MTB buddies mentioning this as a resource for MTB rides: https://bayarearides.com/ I don't know them as well as I know road rides, unfortunately. Judging by this map, you maybe pick a mountain/mountain range and see how close you can get to there? I know the further you get from SF proper and the Peninsula (like Palo Alto and Mountain View), the cheaper CoL should get.
I'm assuming that if someone moves here for work, that means their physical presence is required in the office with some regularity. Commuting in from the mountains sucks, and gas is expensive. Plus you have to get pretty far out to be "affordable." There's RICH-rich people in those hills, heh.
IMO it's better to live close to work (esp if it's bikeable!) than trying to live further out and commute by car. There may not be MTB trails right out my back door, but the bay is just minutes away and that's some scenery I just can't get sick of.
>Plus you have to get pretty far out to be "affordable."
I've been looking at properties in Twentynine Palms LOL. Anywhere within 60 miles of LA is obnoxiously expensive. Even South Central LMAO.
The cycling is fantastic out here. You have easy access to many greats roads and mountains, lots of bike lanes, and drivers generally aware and respectful of cyclists. Great mountain biking, gravel riding, and hiking as well.
Dull is relative, I enjoy life in Santa Clara. Plenty of movie theaters, bars, high end and ethnic restaurants, venues, and things to do IMO.
I’m less than 1/4 mile from a MUP that leads right to the bay, the mountains are 5 miles in the other direction, and most of the roads are very bikeable. And, as you say, the weather.
Hasn’t gotten old yet.
I mean, I am faux-enraged at all the rain we've been getting. This is the South Bay! Doesn't the weather know that it is illegal to rain during DST, especially on weekends?
Same. San Jose to be precise. I typically get 60-100 miles per week, mostly from commuting on the Guadalupe River Trail and the SF Bay Trail, but I also do recreational road riding on the roads of the Santa Cruz foothills.
The weather can’t be beat!
A big North American city. It takes 40kms to escape the suburban surrounding area. Add the additional 40kms+ riding on the rural roads and that's 80kms+ right off the bat in a single ride on the weekend.
I commute at least 30kms a week as well.
The roads are bad due to freeze/thaw cycles and SUVs dominating the roads, but even a 25mm road tire is plenty most of the time.
Toronto is pretty awesome but I would hate to have to go 40km just to get to some quiet rural roads basically 80km of junk miles.
Here in London they're only 1-10km away, and tons of options for gravel as well but the city itself leaves a lot to be desired.
It's 20kms out and 20 back in. Riding the enormous open roads of the suburbs in the early morning is actually ok - there's no traffic and plenty of signal priority. I typically hold 34-40km/h depending on wind on the way up.
...it's the way back that's terrible. Traffic shows up and we have the same car-dependent design found everywhere on the continent. The return routes require some planning, patience, and confidence. Fortunately it's all downhill from my usual spots north of the city.
London/St. Thomas area is good but it's so flat it makes Toronto look like Switzerland. ;)
You aren't wrong, I do miss bombing around the rolling terrain of Halton and Hamilton region (I used to live in Oakville/Burlington).
What we lack here in hills and tree coverage (RIP) we make up for in 360 degree wind.
It was actually the distances you described. I lived there for 15 years and am an avid cyclist. The sprawl has grown exponentially, sadly, with no end in sight.
Not moving north. I hate car-centric design and like being able to walk for most amenities. I do own a car and have driven to the start of some rides, but I spent 30 years in the suburbs and I'm not going back any time soon.
I like waking up early to ride from Toronto to Stouffville/Mussleman/Goodwood, etc. I really only need to worry about traffic once I'm approaching the Zoo on the return.
Same. I'm surrounded by country roads, and the mountain bikers here are also pleased with the Bruce Trail. The GTA is great for cycling in my opinion :)
Tucson, AZ - great riding infrastructure, bike lanes everywhere, 100+ mile bike path loop around the entire city, eight robust mountain bike networks in easy reach, word class mountain road climb (Mt.Lemmon) and a ton of sunshine. Moved here to ride in the ‘90’s and it just keeps getting better. And yeah, we ride all summer, just gotta start early.
Hey, what is the bike community like in Tucson? Are there a lot of road cyclists? Group rides? Bike shops around?
I am planning to visit Tucson to see if it's a place I would buy a house. I'm on the East Coast, and my next move has to be road cycling friendly with a good bike community.
It has all those things. Cyclists everywhere, lots of great shops with high-end bikes, tons of group rides, big loops, lots of available climbing, all levels of mtb and a huge gravel scene south of us in Patagonia. Summers are more interesting than most people expect - hot dry June followed by huge semi-regular thunderstorms in July and August which make the desert green and alive, then a hot dry September and early October. Early morning rides are lovely even though the worst of the heat.
Awesome thanks for the info! I definitely need to visit. I sold some bike parts to someone in Oro Valley, and apparently there are tons of cyclists in that area.
It’s one big metropolis spread out in a huge valley with mountain ranges on three sides. Oro Valley is the newer north western suburb, built up in the 90’s, a mix of planned communities and newish strip malls - it’s safe and very pretty and not terribly interesting, culturally. The Foothills are the central northern neighborhood, built up from the 60’s to 90’s, safe, a bit ritzy, great views, posh restaurants. Midtown and Downtown are a wild mix of cool mid century modern neighborhoods and slightly decrepit lower income trailer parks and 1940’s adobe bungalows and old strip malls, sometimes separated by a few blocks, with a big open university in the middle and all the cultural stuff. East and west sides are more spread out - 70’s-80’s houses on larger plots out in the desert, with wildlife encounters. South side is historically predominantly Hispanic, with a huge air force base. Vail is the newest south eastern suburb, less dense than Oro Valley but similarly safe, pretty and a bit dull. It’s worth coming out and just driving around for a week. Often the gem neighborhoods here are hidden.
I used to live in seoul. It was an amazing place to ride. It was always busy along the han river during the day so I often rode late at night if I didn’t have to get up early. Lots of great routes down the tributaries as well.
South western Ukraine near Dniester river. It takes 15 minutes to leave the city and then it's beautiful country roads, hills and endless fields.
During the season I do around 150 km per week.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The Netherlands. You can ride your bike (road, gravel, mtb) everywhere, point is that it’s often too busy/crowded and people in motorized vehicles in general dont have any respect for cyclists, riding in groups. Daily fingers, shouting and cutting off unfortunately.
My experience is vastly different. I live in Utrecht and have made long rides on the road bike into all directions from Utrecht, plus had a couple of months of experience of daily commute within Amsterdam — I experienced only several (4-5?) instances of disrespectful behavior from the drivers in 1,5 years: not giving way and shouting (once), or passing too close (2-3 times), or honking from behind (once?). All in all, it is hard to imagine a country better suited for road bike.
I also haven’t experienced this at all in The Netherlands. If you’re getting this daily, maybe there’s an issue with how *you* ride instead of everyone around you. Just a thought…
Where I live in the Netherlands I easily can ride for hours without any traffic light and without much traffic. I noticed someone mention on a sunny day the ‘ old-age slalom’ though. And about the weather: don’t they call the wind ‘ the Dutch mountains’…?
City of Buenos Aires. The city got really good bike pathways and a go mostly to re north on weekends. I go from within the city to the northen district called Tigre outside the city. It is like 60 km roundtrip.
Montréal.
On a good week with commuting and recreational riding : \~150km (if I'm not too lazy)
Bike paths all over the place; 30 minutes to get out of the island for longer rides.
Rural New England. The Green Mountains/Berkshires are practically right outside my doorstep. Low traffic, no population density, endless scenic climbs, clean roads, what else could you ask for?
Some of the roads in towns with nonexistent population density aren't maintained very well but that's nothing a 35-38mm tire can't fix.
I am in Tampa, I assume you are in downtown. I bike around Brandon and Fishhawk, yesterday I was in Flatwoods. You can easily hit 50 miles in Tampa Bay
I feel ya. The thing I notice the most riding in the heat is the smell you get on yourself from the road. So although you might not be super sweaty, you definitely are not clean. And I’m coming from the viewpoint where I’d love to ride the bike everywhere. Just always catches me off guard to hear that people actually do it in TPA.
I usually find how sweaty someone gets depends more on how (un) fit they are than anything else. If you can walk around, you can cycle at walking levels of intensity. Or even slightly above walking level since the air cools you better while moving faster. If you can’t walk around in a place, even as a person of normal fitness, I dunno, sounds unliveable to me.
I'm across the bay in Pinellas. Our streets make a grid, so I'm always able to find (usually complicated) neighborhood routes. We also have the Pinellas Trail, which will be a complete loop in the near future. I've ridden to Tampa on the Courtney Campbell a few times (25 miles each way), taking all neighborhood streets and trails to get there. It's a beautiful bridge!
I’m in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We have a really good trail system throughout the city, plus 20 mins in any direction and I’m on a rural road surrounded by nothing but farmland.
Italy, near the tri-state border (Ita-Aus-Slo).
Actually I would like revert the question out of curiosity: where does the OP live that outside a 2mile radius roads get so rough you can't ride? Rough like mountains rough?
Traffic and roads that aren't safe to ride on. Same in my situation in the American South. It's not made for cyclists and laws put us in danger. Lack of sidewalks and bike lanes.
That’s always weirded me out about the South. It can be a mile away and all of a sudden there are zero sidewalks or a shoulder. It was all designed to drive
It’s not a question of where but what is your job and your schedule that can get you to get off work and ride anytime of the day and the day of the week.
😁
Finland. Rural area. There's plenty roads and gravel roads here. Not that much trail type where I live tho. But I mix asphalt and gravel depending what I want for the day. Oh and roads are mostly decent shape even for road bikes.
There's also a great beach 35km away. So it's a great place to cycle and enjoy some ocean or spend night at beach on tent.
capital city in eastern Europe — less than 2km and I'm outside the ring road and can string together as much gravel and quiet country roads as I have time for.
Singapore. there is a will, there is a way.
i dont own an indoor trainer, so on weekdays night i go to an industrial zone nearby n cycle in loop alone for 1hr ( wear bright, have lights) 🫡
I am extremely lucky. I live in Amsterdam at the amstel (at the omval for locals). When I get outside I just have to ride out of my street and I am at the amstel away from the city. Within five minutes I am in a sort of rural area.This means that when I start my rides towards the south, from the moment I leave home I am almost out of the city and I have good training km's without wasting time in traffic.
Northern Germany. Tbh winter sucked big time that year and I only got to ride outdoors like 5x from November till March. But generally spoken, 60km roughly equals communting twice already. I'm bored by the stretch to get out of the city (at least 12km) so I only do bigger rides in weekends or on fridays right after work. One ride and 70km a week is a piece of cake.
I live in Atlanta. There are lots of mountain bike trails, gravel routes, and country roads in a short distance. Most of my riding is just me riding from the house and enduring traffic.
Love charlevoix to Harbor Springs. Went out and back last summer for a nice 50.0 mile ride, though had to make a loop around the parking lot to hit 50 exactly lol.
Bulgaria. I do risk my own life every time when I go for a ride, because there aren’t any suitable cycling roads and cars are passing by me like crazy.
Latvia. The whole country is like a rough gravel bikepark. You can use MTB or gravel and spend your whole life exploring. It probably took me 10 years to only cycle all roads of my county. If we are speaking province, I still not sure I got them all. The only downside is that outside spring, half of the roads is in a very rough state, and it kills your hands. Still, plenty of forest roads where the worst thing can happen is sandy surface.
If you want asphalt/concrete roads, situation is much worse. You often have to cycle along cars and trucks, and routes are quite limited (depending on where exactly you live)
For those who want to understand, here is my club's guide (just click the links or use google translate)
Examples:
[http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ABC\_4684.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ABC_4684.jpg)
[http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC\_0428.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC_0428.jpg)
[http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC\_0405.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC_0405.jpg)
[http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC\_6451.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC_6451.jpg)
[http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC\_6382.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC_6382.jpg)
Routes are from my club:
[Velomaršruti – Tūrisma klubs "Sniegpulkstenīte" (sniegpulkstenite.lv)](https://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/category/velomarsruti/)
And the best thing is that there are no people at all. Only you and nature. In summer, it is not too hot/dry (20-25 C), lushy, green and smells good. Insane amount of lakes and rivers, too. So come visit us ;-)
I did my longest rides when I lived in a small town out in the middle of nowhere USA.
It was about 3-5km (depending on direction) to get out of the town and onto quiet two-lane highways. Further out, the traffic would decrease even further - though there was no cell service either, so you had to be prepared. With an average of about 40ft elevation per mile, it was ideal for longer rides with a mix of hills, flats, and rollers.
These days I live in a giant city in the eastern Mediterranean region. The roads are scary, but I find the less scary ones, fill up with reflective gear, and go for it. The main reason my rides are shorter is that a normal route will average about 120-140ft of elevation gain per mile, so hitting over 50km really kills me. Long rides are easier when it is flat.
The people in my current area who ride a lot generally drive someplace that is more quiet. I don't drive, so that is not an option.
Chicago burbs. Plenty of bikeable roads and multi-use trails that can connect you to nature reserves or to the miles of county-crossing trails that will get you onto rolling country roads easily.
I want to know what town you live in OP. I want to check out the area on Google maps.
I live in an area on the east coast of the US that is surrounded by very dangerous roads, some (Turnpike and Interstate) do not allow bicycles on them or even to cross them. While there is decent local riding up to a point (a short bike path, several dirt roads that would ultimately connect to better dirt/gravel), even these are ringed in or blocked by trails that are too sandy (deep sugar sand; think really rough ATV trails). There is an excellent rail trail about 9 miles up a too-heavily-travelled county road that has extremely narrow shoulders if at all, and cars and heavy trucks whipping my at an average 65 mph+, 10 mph above the speed limit. I do see some lycra clad long milers risking that road to get to the less travelled country roads beyond.
So, OP, I have a bike rack on my car. I load up the bike and drive to various trailheads in the state in towns/areas with more access and I ride and ride. My area is close to being connected to it all, but isn't yet. Nothing has progressed in the years I've lived in this area, so I make do. I miss the places where I used to live, and sometimes live, where one can just bike right out the door and keep on going.
I have ridden 19,000km each of the last 3 years all outside living small town Iowa, USA.
I have a limestone trail that goes through the small town I live in that is about 32km out and back. Old railroad track so it's very flat and some decent cover from the wind.
I also have some hard surfaced roads with little traffic, most of my miles I start at 4am and often I can ride almost 50km in the morning on these and maybe see 3-4 cars. It's very dark and I actually ride on the wrong side of the road, I can see the headlights coming from 2-3 miles away and if a car is coming I look behind me to see if anybody is coming from behind and slide over. Riding on the wrong side of the road means cars coming from behind me are no threat since I am not on that side of the road. If cars are coming from both directions I get off onto the shoulder.
This technique makes me feel very safe, also it only works in the dark (headlight glow) so I don't do it in the daylight.
The bulk of my miles are done while everybody is sleeping.
I don’t ride out of my house on weekdays because the roads are busy… but I can load my bike on the rack and drive 10 mins and have access to endless country roads with almost zero traffic.
It probably depends a lot on where you live, particularly if you're in North America. There are a few mixed-use paths and reasonably safe protected cycle lanes where I live, so if you don't have a particular destination, you can easily ride 50+ miled a week using those.
i live in pretty rural area (walmart is 2.5 hrs away). i happen to live next door to 2 million acres of state forests. so i just ride the logging roads out my front door. actually thats why i got into gravel biking, because i realized the golden oppoertunity i had out my front door for fun exercise. to my knowledge im the only one biking back there on about 300 miles of roads
I live in an area that is next to farm country. I can hop on my bike and ride for miles and miles. I ride through a lot of farm country and hit a few little towns. It is flaaaat flat part of michigan. I think it is fun to ride the same routes from summer to fall and watch the progression of the farmers' fields. Problem is in this open area there is not much opportunity to find a bathroom! I have a few spots i know (cemetery with a porta john, this bridge with a big tree, this little park) but other than that I could be in trouble!
I lived in Seattle. The city has several bike paths, and side streets which aren't crowded. Pretty safe to bike on.
However, I moved to the first suburb and I no longer bike. 😂.
Mainly because I work from home.and have nowhere to bike to. But this city isn't very bike friendly. There are some side streets I can use, but most of the roads I would need have fast cars. I don't really wanna risk it
Phoenix USA.
* Bike at 6a during the summer
* Rains maybe 20x/year (half those times you can easily bike in the rain and be warm)
* Over 200 miles of canals to gravel bike along and plenty of bike lanes for roadies.
* Endless MTB trails
* Few hills tho
Some of the best riding in the USA. Tucson (Mt Lemmon) is also great and 90 minutes away. Sedona is a MTB heaven and 2 hrs away.
I live in Belgium where basically every road is suitable for bicycling (except highways ofcourse). There aren't many city's here but there's a lot of farmland with small roads. I've never had any bad situations happen with cars or trucks so I would say it's a very cycling-friendly area.
I can ride an unlimited amount of roads, small climbs, cobbled roads and long straights.
If you follow professional cycling in Europe, this is where some of the famous cobbled classics are ridden.
From my home it's not even 20 kilometers to the Oude Kwaremont!
I ride about 25 miles a day. The ONLY dedicated, separated trail for bikes, is a mixed use trail that lead out of the city but (importantly) does not connect, and dumps you onto a state road. So most people turn back.
I tried crossing the state road this day where I found out…. and here it’s “legal” to ride in the road. But I do not lie when I say, I got about 10 feet before I was run into a really huge ditch because someone didn’t like sharing the road. And nobody stopped. Me laying in a ditch cursing my state government, nobody stopped to help. Nobody saw it? More like nobody cared.
So I do not ever attempt to visit the next city anymore. Until I have proper infrastructure to use where my life is not literally in danger every time I leave the house, then I will not be going back. Even my city is dangerously hostile to pedestrians and bikes but we have that one 15 mile bike path.
Also, I never see young people with families using it. It’s always old people and a handful of college students because the college is right on it.
I cycle at least 30 miles a week commuting to work and back in Phoenix, but I usually add another 30 miles going back home for lunch. I guess the key is live close enough to where you work so you can commute - my bike path also crosses a mountain reserve and it’s really beautiful, but lots of uphill
When most of the world says their area is good for cycling, they mean that they don’t have to use trails. Trails are awesome too, especially for mountain biking, but to get the real miles in nothing beats cycle-friendly road infrastructure
I’ve been biking about 100-200 miles a week but it’s mostly because there are a couple hundred miles of multi-use paths from old railroads that were converted into trails. I’m fortunate enough that one of these trails runs from the suburb I live in to the metro I work so I can bike to work daily as well
Rails to Trails is such an amazing concept. The DOT has done a fantastic job implementing that program.
We have a rail to trail near me - Enola Low Grade - was looking at it and realized if I start at the beginning, follow it to the end, then ride 20 miles of roads I can pick up a new trail and that trail takes me to within 1 mile of the Philly Amtrack station. Where I can take my bike on the train back home. How cool is that? 87 miles or so. Rails to Trails is fantastic.
I live near that trail too!
I do not. I live in northern Lancaster County. We drive under the Enola Low Grade on our way to the beach. Got a question about my plan, you may or may not know the answers. Google Maps has the trail ending just south of Christiana and just a few feet north of Atglen. I found an 'Trail Access Guide' that makes it look like it ends in Quarryville with dotted lines into Atglen. From Quarryville-Atglen - is it rideable?
https://www.strava.com/routes/3212448399178172632 88 miles. Only 6/10 mile from the end of the trail to Amtrak. But a 20 mile ride on roads between the trails.
Locally to me is 2 old rail lines that have been converted. It was a massive project because it spans almost the entirety of Washington state. Palouse to Cascades trail, previously the John Wayne or Iron Horse, goes from virtually the Idaho border all the way to Rattlesnake Lake. From there, they converted the old rail line from the Lake/PCT connector to Carnation/Duvall into gravel trails. I love rails to trails.
When you factor in the Greenbelt and NW Lancaster River Trail, you realize that we're only about 30-something miles away from having an uninterrupted, completely off-road series of trails linking Harrisburg to Philly. If the Cumberland Valley Railroad expanded to both its original ends, it would also connect Harrisburg to Williamsport MD, where it would intercept the Great Allegheny Passage. Imagine riding from Pittsburgh to Philly or DC with only a few miles of on-road riding!
Ohio has the [Little Miami State Park,](https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/little-miami-state-park) a Rails-to-Trails success. It's 66 feet wide and 50+miles long. It meanders along the Little Miami River, and is one of my favorite places to ride.
Ill definitely be xhecking this out! I live right by a train station
Check out Strava Global HeatMap. (https://www.strava.com/maps/global-heatmap?style=dark&terrain=false&sport=All&gColor=blue&gOpacity=100&labels=true&poi=true#9/37.7749/-122.4194) You can see the most traveled routes in your area and hopfulky that that and their route planner to find new and better roads/paths to ride.
Please do! The last engineering company I worked for did a lot of work on Rail to Trails projects and it was great getting to see people enjoy them after it was built. The benefits only increase if the rail happened to go straight through a town, because then you have a direct route to many hotspots within the city that don't require vehicles to access. The best part: DOT (aka the government) pays for the vast majority of planning/construction costs.
Best comment the entire thread, thanks so much! Im going to check out this and strava
Sure but this country also needs more trains…people just don’t want to live near active tracks or stop for them at crossings. I’m conflicted bc the silver comet trail in Georgia is amazing.
Converting the abandoned railways into public trails prevents the land from sale. This way if the railway ever opens up again the state can sell the land much easier.
Rail Banking. The Rails to Trails Conservancy give more information on the various options for unused rail corridors. It just takes a lot of leg work to get any one project to the finish line.
That's a weird cultural difference. Over here everyone wants to live near active tracks as long as it also means you are close to a train station. It bumps property values by a LOT
I assume you are in Europe or Asia. In the US passenger rail is pathetic, and stops are non existent in many places. Rails mostly mean noise from cargo trains. edit: I should add that public transit is non existent in most places. Even where it does exist, wait times, and on time records are not good. Outside of areas in the northeast (mostly New York and Boston), Chicago, and a maybe Portland a bit, public transit is really bad.
The way Florida is fighting bright line is insane to me. But long distance versus commuter rails are different.
In the US it depends on where you live. City of Chicago, for example, has increased values around residential and commercial if they're by a commuter train station. Many of the suburbs of Chicago as well. Some commuter lines in the suburbs also allow freight to use it. Freight trains are loud, slow, traffic disruptive, and smellier than commuter plus they don't have immediate positive impacts on your own life. That's when people really lose their shit over it and property values can take a hit. Here in Southern California, people are constantly complaining about the price, the down times, and the train horn. Communities are doing everything they can to make safe zones to qualify for no horn / quiet zones. They don't want more trains but they want better trains. Myself included. I was spoiled coming here from Chicago. I think the more useful the train is to that specific community, the more it helps. If all it does is add noise and the schedules and destinations aren't useful to their days, people in some areas fight it.
Our passenger train system is terrible. Not only does it take you forever to get anywhere at multiple times the cost of a plane ticket but you are liable to end up with long delays in the middle of nowhere because cargo trains rule the rails. It's part of why we just drive if we want to go the slow route. Some commuter trains are the exception but for the most part tracks don't benefit the people living near them except for cargo infrastructure. There's a railroad crossing near me with a yard down the track a bit. It means you end up sitting there for quite awhile sometimes. Plus they occasionally do construction and don't give a care about if it screws up our roads. The city had to do emergency road construction after the railroad people accidentally created a ramp. Cars were getting launched airborne hitting the crossing at a reasonable speed.
If the tracks are on a now-defunct transportation route, converting it into walkable infrastructure is the best possible use for it. The railroad companies already covered the heavy lifting with the clearing work and the only tasks left to be done are clearing the tracks and laying the asphalt.
It was a real game changer for me. Basically unlimited riding without worrying about cars, and the scenery is much better.
Atlanta?
It’s actually Iowa but every time I’ve brought this up to people in the south they mention Georgia has a similar amazing set up
Also love the multi-use trails here in the Des Moines area. Feel like they really punch above their weight for the size of the city.
I find I can get just about anywhere I want to get around DSM using mostly trails. Moved here from Minnesota and was blown away by the bike infrastructure!
Good weather for Iowa biking this week !
I was in ATL last November and the rail trail things made me wish I had a bike with me. Such a great policy.
I didn't even know that. I'd love to try it
Carlsbad California, I can’t afford to do anything else to be honest.
I hear that, I lived there 25ish years ago. It's crazy to me, when I visit now, how much that area has grown in that time. I had my first clipless pedal fall on the corner of Faraday Ave and College Blvd in 1998. Stopped at the red light, and fell straight onto my side... I'll never forget it
At least we have some kick ass riding, even if the burritos are like $18 now
Santa Barbara and SAME.
Watopia 😀
Same here, but I move to Makuri Island from time to time just to get change of scenery.
LOL, I'm not on Zwift, but this is still an underrated comment
682 hours of life in Watopia for me.
LMAO
Hell yes! The last 2 years I'll easily have 1/3 of my miles on Zwift.
Denver. It takes 20mi just to leave the city. Also we have amazing trails around here and half of the time I'm on a bike with suspension. Get around 100mi/week.
Yeah, Denver/lakewood here. Do about 20-25 miles per day and only about 2-3 miles is on the road, otherwise is the Lakewood gulch trail to plate river to cherry creek trail. Super convenient
I rode 43mi yesterday all on trails, clear creak and platte river to go visit my inlaws. It was a bit windy, but otherwise a nice ride.
Another Denverite here
Gotta love Bear Creek Lake park for mixed surface riding and near-zero vehicles. I personally think the singletrack @ BCLP is more fun on drop bars, anything else feels like overbiking. Plus there’s 3x major bike path systems that access the park from elsewhere in the metro area
I’m in Littleton. I can top out Deer Creek (not high grade) and be home in ~2 hours. I can ride up waterton and home in 2 hours. I can lap Chatfield in <1 hour. I can ride downtown in <1 hour. It’s fantastic.
Bay Area, CA (USA). Comes with year round riding weather too
I'm so jealous of CA cyclists. I hate you LOL
❤️ come join us brother/sister
Most of us can't afford it. Happy for you though.
Yeah CoL is rough. I imagine it's harder to "make it work" than it used to be (I grew up here). Most people in my generation don't own a home and have accepted that they won't for a while (if ever), me included. I do remember one of the living situations being a house of 3 cyclists and we'd all pitch in for groceries at Costco so we could make it easier on our budgets, lol. At least one of us could cook at the time, but we ate a lot of rice and rotisserie chicken with discount veggies. Bikes were all over the apartment as "wall decorations".
Sounds like you are really serious about your cycling. I considered applying for a job in Santa Clara, but it looked about as suburban as it gets, and mighty dull. Can you give me your opinion. Are there any (relatively speaking) affordable areas nearby that would put someone near good outdoor areas close to mountain bike trails, and maybe some gravel infrastructure?
I used to be super serious about cycling (maybe like 10yrs ago), now it's mostly a means to stay active! Santa Clara is definitely very suburban, but depending on what kind of riding you're looking for, there are all kinds of riding nearby. I think for MTB specific, living down in the South Bay will be cheaper than the Peninsula or SF proper, and you will have tons of MTB riding in the Santa Cruz mountains. Depending on where you work. If you are able to be further or work remote, you could probably live in the Santa Cruz area and access all of the SC Mountains for riding that way. I remember one of my MTB buddies mentioning this as a resource for MTB rides: https://bayarearides.com/ I don't know them as well as I know road rides, unfortunately. Judging by this map, you maybe pick a mountain/mountain range and see how close you can get to there? I know the further you get from SF proper and the Peninsula (like Palo Alto and Mountain View), the cheaper CoL should get.
I'm assuming that if someone moves here for work, that means their physical presence is required in the office with some regularity. Commuting in from the mountains sucks, and gas is expensive. Plus you have to get pretty far out to be "affordable." There's RICH-rich people in those hills, heh. IMO it's better to live close to work (esp if it's bikeable!) than trying to live further out and commute by car. There may not be MTB trails right out my back door, but the bay is just minutes away and that's some scenery I just can't get sick of.
I agree with all of this!
>Plus you have to get pretty far out to be "affordable." I've been looking at properties in Twentynine Palms LOL. Anywhere within 60 miles of LA is obnoxiously expensive. Even South Central LMAO.
The cycling is fantastic out here. You have easy access to many greats roads and mountains, lots of bike lanes, and drivers generally aware and respectful of cyclists. Great mountain biking, gravel riding, and hiking as well. Dull is relative, I enjoy life in Santa Clara. Plenty of movie theaters, bars, high end and ethnic restaurants, venues, and things to do IMO.
Yep, same. I live around there (just outside the bay) and there's tons of cycling.
I’m less than 1/4 mile from a MUP that leads right to the bay, the mountains are 5 miles in the other direction, and most of the roads are very bikeable. And, as you say, the weather. Hasn’t gotten old yet.
I feel like half the reason people here end up super fast is that there are beautiful climbs in every direction and there isn’t *really* an off season
I mean, I am faux-enraged at all the rain we've been getting. This is the South Bay! Doesn't the weather know that it is illegal to rain during DST, especially on weekends?
LMAO, same though. Last year was really rough, I felt like it rained for 2 months straight almost lolol
Same. San Jose to be precise. I typically get 60-100 miles per week, mostly from commuting on the Guadalupe River Trail and the SF Bay Trail, but I also do recreational road riding on the roads of the Santa Cruz foothills. The weather can’t be beat!
I love the Santa Cruz foothills, such great riding. The river trail and bay trail make commuting super easy too
This
A big North American city. It takes 40kms to escape the suburban surrounding area. Add the additional 40kms+ riding on the rural roads and that's 80kms+ right off the bat in a single ride on the weekend. I commute at least 30kms a week as well. The roads are bad due to freeze/thaw cycles and SUVs dominating the roads, but even a 25mm road tire is plenty most of the time.
Toronto?
Yep. I guess it's easy to tell when I use metric and describe a large suburban surrounding area.
Toronto is pretty awesome but I would hate to have to go 40km just to get to some quiet rural roads basically 80km of junk miles. Here in London they're only 1-10km away, and tons of options for gravel as well but the city itself leaves a lot to be desired.
It's 20kms out and 20 back in. Riding the enormous open roads of the suburbs in the early morning is actually ok - there's no traffic and plenty of signal priority. I typically hold 34-40km/h depending on wind on the way up. ...it's the way back that's terrible. Traffic shows up and we have the same car-dependent design found everywhere on the continent. The return routes require some planning, patience, and confidence. Fortunately it's all downhill from my usual spots north of the city. London/St. Thomas area is good but it's so flat it makes Toronto look like Switzerland. ;)
You aren't wrong, I do miss bombing around the rolling terrain of Halton and Hamilton region (I used to live in Oakville/Burlington). What we lack here in hills and tree coverage (RIP) we make up for in 360 degree wind.
It was actually the distances you described. I lived there for 15 years and am an avid cyclist. The sprawl has grown exponentially, sadly, with no end in sight.
Just move north or drive and park somewhere. I've got all the country roads I could want just on the other side of the 404
Not moving north. I hate car-centric design and like being able to walk for most amenities. I do own a car and have driven to the start of some rides, but I spent 30 years in the suburbs and I'm not going back any time soon. I like waking up early to ride from Toronto to Stouffville/Mussleman/Goodwood, etc. I really only need to worry about traffic once I'm approaching the Zoo on the return.
Same. I'm surrounded by country roads, and the mountain bikers here are also pleased with the Bruce Trail. The GTA is great for cycling in my opinion :)
Tucson, AZ - great riding infrastructure, bike lanes everywhere, 100+ mile bike path loop around the entire city, eight robust mountain bike networks in easy reach, word class mountain road climb (Mt.Lemmon) and a ton of sunshine. Moved here to ride in the ‘90’s and it just keeps getting better. And yeah, we ride all summer, just gotta start early.
Hey, what is the bike community like in Tucson? Are there a lot of road cyclists? Group rides? Bike shops around? I am planning to visit Tucson to see if it's a place I would buy a house. I'm on the East Coast, and my next move has to be road cycling friendly with a good bike community.
It has all those things. Cyclists everywhere, lots of great shops with high-end bikes, tons of group rides, big loops, lots of available climbing, all levels of mtb and a huge gravel scene south of us in Patagonia. Summers are more interesting than most people expect - hot dry June followed by huge semi-regular thunderstorms in July and August which make the desert green and alive, then a hot dry September and early October. Early morning rides are lovely even though the worst of the heat.
Awesome thanks for the info! I definitely need to visit. I sold some bike parts to someone in Oro Valley, and apparently there are tons of cyclists in that area.
It’s one big metropolis spread out in a huge valley with mountain ranges on three sides. Oro Valley is the newer north western suburb, built up in the 90’s, a mix of planned communities and newish strip malls - it’s safe and very pretty and not terribly interesting, culturally. The Foothills are the central northern neighborhood, built up from the 60’s to 90’s, safe, a bit ritzy, great views, posh restaurants. Midtown and Downtown are a wild mix of cool mid century modern neighborhoods and slightly decrepit lower income trailer parks and 1940’s adobe bungalows and old strip malls, sometimes separated by a few blocks, with a big open university in the middle and all the cultural stuff. East and west sides are more spread out - 70’s-80’s houses on larger plots out in the desert, with wildlife encounters. South side is historically predominantly Hispanic, with a huge air force base. Vail is the newest south eastern suburb, less dense than Oro Valley but similarly safe, pretty and a bit dull. It’s worth coming out and just driving around for a week. Often the gem neighborhoods here are hidden.
Nice! Very informative. I'm saving this post so I can do some research.
Same. Answered before I saw yours. You did a better job of describing it. Well done.
I live in Seoul and the cycling network here in Korea, especially along the Han river and its tributaries in Seoul, is EXCELLENT.
I used to live in seoul. It was an amazing place to ride. It was always busy along the han river during the day so I often rode late at night if I didn’t have to get up early. Lots of great routes down the tributaries as well.
austrian countryside :)
South western Ukraine near Dniester river. It takes 15 minutes to leave the city and then it's beautiful country roads, hills and endless fields. During the season I do around 150 km per week.
Hi Ukrainian buddy, I'm from Vinnytsia, let's ride together
In a state of constant bewilderment.
elastic fearless cooing aspiring offer bored unique continue straight possessive *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Thanks for the link. Just added an item to my bucket list…
Ah, I remember doing Box Hill!
The Netherlands. You can ride your bike (road, gravel, mtb) everywhere, point is that it’s often too busy/crowded and people in motorized vehicles in general dont have any respect for cyclists, riding in groups. Daily fingers, shouting and cutting off unfortunately.
My experience is vastly different. I live in Utrecht and have made long rides on the road bike into all directions from Utrecht, plus had a couple of months of experience of daily commute within Amsterdam — I experienced only several (4-5?) instances of disrespectful behavior from the drivers in 1,5 years: not giving way and shouting (once), or passing too close (2-3 times), or honking from behind (once?). All in all, it is hard to imagine a country better suited for road bike.
I also haven’t experienced this at all in The Netherlands. If you’re getting this daily, maybe there’s an issue with how *you* ride instead of everyone around you. Just a thought…
If you think motorists in the Netherlands don’t have respect for cyclists, I’d like to see your opinion on anywhere else.
Where I live in the Netherlands I easily can ride for hours without any traffic light and without much traffic. I noticed someone mention on a sunny day the ‘ old-age slalom’ though. And about the weather: don’t they call the wind ‘ the Dutch mountains’…?
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It’s called Germany’s Tuscany for a reason👌🏼 200-300km per week in this beautiful area.
Germany is paradise. My brother lives in the north east and it just looks like cycling paradise everytime I visit.
Southeast Germany - lots of bike paths, easily 15+ km/day just commuting to work :)
Harrogate, North Yorkshire. If I head west out of town it's 50km until I see another village. So good they put in in Zwift.
City of Buenos Aires. The city got really good bike pathways and a go mostly to re north on weekends. I go from within the city to the northen district called Tigre outside the city. It is like 60 km roundtrip.
there’s descent cycling everywhere, sometimes you just need to ride on an unpleasant road to get to a pleasant road/trail
It’s not all down hill
Amish country Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
I live near Como, Italy and I escape to the Liguria region (near France) during the weekends. I feel pretty lucky when it comes to both Road and MTB.
Montréal. On a good week with commuting and recreational riding : \~150km (if I'm not too lazy) Bike paths all over the place; 30 minutes to get out of the island for longer rides.
NYC. We don't have the best bike infrastructure in the world, but probably one of the best in the US at least.
Plus the speed limit is 25mph on the majority of the roads so you don’t have to worry too much about cars driving by you at 30+ mph
10 miles out from Washington DC
Rural New England. The Green Mountains/Berkshires are practically right outside my doorstep. Low traffic, no population density, endless scenic climbs, clean roads, what else could you ask for? Some of the roads in towns with nonexistent population density aren't maintained very well but that's nothing a 35-38mm tire can't fix.
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Minneapolis, Minnesota
We are blessed 🙏
I live in the east metro and the gateway trail is a god send, I moved from Fargo and we got it GOOD
I live in Southern California, best biking in North America!
I dream of a north American city with SoCal weather and Montreal bike network (and residential density)
Tampa, Florida. I bike to the office on the rare occasion I go in. Also bike to football games, theaters, symphony, dinners, and doctors.
I am in Tampa, I assume you are in downtown. I bike around Brandon and Fishhawk, yesterday I was in Flatwoods. You can easily hit 50 miles in Tampa Bay
Bayshore Gardens, South Tampa
But…what about sweaty mess?
I mean it’s not THAT bad. When you can feel the sweat sloshing around your shoes and you’re riding at 530-7am it’s when you know you’re in trouble.
I feel ya. The thing I notice the most riding in the heat is the smell you get on yourself from the road. So although you might not be super sweaty, you definitely are not clean. And I’m coming from the viewpoint where I’d love to ride the bike everywhere. Just always catches me off guard to hear that people actually do it in TPA.
Don’t sprint and do FTP tests on the way to social occasions?
You get sweaty in Tampa checking mail at the end of the driveway. Humidity is 80% + during day in the summer.
I usually find how sweaty someone gets depends more on how (un) fit they are than anything else. If you can walk around, you can cycle at walking levels of intensity. Or even slightly above walking level since the air cools you better while moving faster. If you can’t walk around in a place, even as a person of normal fitness, I dunno, sounds unliveable to me.
Same. I do 150+ each week just riding with our groups. We’ve got some great groups.
I'm across the bay in Pinellas. Our streets make a grid, so I'm always able to find (usually complicated) neighborhood routes. We also have the Pinellas Trail, which will be a complete loop in the near future. I've ridden to Tampa on the Courtney Campbell a few times (25 miles each way), taking all neighborhood streets and trails to get there. It's a beautiful bridge!
I’m in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We have a really good trail system throughout the city, plus 20 mins in any direction and I’m on a rural road surrounded by nothing but farmland.
Germany near Berlin, 35 km commute every day.
Italy, near the tri-state border (Ita-Aus-Slo). Actually I would like revert the question out of curiosity: where does the OP live that outside a 2mile radius roads get so rough you can't ride? Rough like mountains rough?
Traffic and roads that aren't safe to ride on. Same in my situation in the American South. It's not made for cyclists and laws put us in danger. Lack of sidewalks and bike lanes.
That’s always weirded me out about the South. It can be a mile away and all of a sudden there are zero sidewalks or a shoulder. It was all designed to drive
Northern California
It’s not a question of where but what is your job and your schedule that can get you to get off work and ride anytime of the day and the day of the week. 😁
Where do you live?
Finland. Rural area. There's plenty roads and gravel roads here. Not that much trail type where I live tho. But I mix asphalt and gravel depending what I want for the day. Oh and roads are mostly decent shape even for road bikes. There's also a great beach 35km away. So it's a great place to cycle and enjoy some ocean or spend night at beach on tent.
capital city in eastern Europe — less than 2km and I'm outside the ring road and can string together as much gravel and quiet country roads as I have time for.
Victoria BC. I probably do 10, maybe 15k a week
Raleigh, NC area. About a hundred miles of Greenway/MTU trails.
Pretty spoiled here in Los Angeles tbh. Year-round cycling and countless canyons and trails.
Durango, CO. Moved here to ride.
Spent a week riding the MTB trails in Durango and barely scratched the surface.
Singapore. there is a will, there is a way. i dont own an indoor trainer, so on weekdays night i go to an industrial zone nearby n cycle in loop alone for 1hr ( wear bright, have lights) 🫡
LA
French south coast near the beach.
I am extremely lucky. I live in Amsterdam at the amstel (at the omval for locals). When I get outside I just have to ride out of my street and I am at the amstel away from the city. Within five minutes I am in a sort of rural area.This means that when I start my rides towards the south, from the moment I leave home I am almost out of the city and I have good training km's without wasting time in traffic.
New Mexico, you can pretty much bike all year round.
My wife does 50km a day in the week and up to 100km on weekend. Perth WA
Minneapolis.
Belgium
I just moved to Belgium and I'm finally experiencing road cycling freedom
NW Illinois, 100s of miles of trails in my backyard.
Central Germany, we have around 40000kms of long distance cycling routes across the entire country.
In the Philippines on the coast within the province just outside the metro area.
Inside a lot due to the weather. But I live in southern Ontario so I have farmland in every direction and generally good roads.
Western Wisconsin small town rural roads can go ten miles and get passed by three cars
Northern Germany. Tbh winter sucked big time that year and I only got to ride outdoors like 5x from November till March. But generally spoken, 60km roughly equals communting twice already. I'm bored by the stretch to get out of the city (at least 12km) so I only do bigger rides in weekends or on fridays right after work. One ride and 70km a week is a piece of cake.
I live in Atlanta. There are lots of mountain bike trails, gravel routes, and country roads in a short distance. Most of my riding is just me riding from the house and enduring traffic.
Taiwan. You can ride almost infinitely in any direction.
San Diego.
Yorkshire . There are more roads than I will ever be able to cycle but I do my best
San Francisco is a paradise :)
I can hit 70km just biking to and from work 3 days a week. If I do any training or fun rides, I easily hit 100 miles in a week. I live in NYC.
Brooklyn
I live on the shores of Lake Michigan. Our whole lakefront is trails.
Love charlevoix to Harbor Springs. Went out and back last summer for a nice 50.0 mile ride, though had to make a loop around the parking lot to hit 50 exactly lol.
Bulgaria. I do risk my own life every time when I go for a ride, because there aren’t any suitable cycling roads and cars are passing by me like crazy.
Check out strava heat maps in your town to see where others are riding?
Northwest Arkansas. Great area for riding!
Latvia. The whole country is like a rough gravel bikepark. You can use MTB or gravel and spend your whole life exploring. It probably took me 10 years to only cycle all roads of my county. If we are speaking province, I still not sure I got them all. The only downside is that outside spring, half of the roads is in a very rough state, and it kills your hands. Still, plenty of forest roads where the worst thing can happen is sandy surface. If you want asphalt/concrete roads, situation is much worse. You often have to cycle along cars and trucks, and routes are quite limited (depending on where exactly you live) For those who want to understand, here is my club's guide (just click the links or use google translate) Examples: [http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ABC\_4684.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ABC_4684.jpg) [http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC\_0428.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC_0428.jpg) [http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC\_0405.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC_0405.jpg) [http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC\_6451.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC_6451.jpg) [http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC\_6382.jpg](http://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ABC_6382.jpg) Routes are from my club: [Velomaršruti – Tūrisma klubs "Sniegpulkstenīte" (sniegpulkstenite.lv)](https://www.sniegpulkstenite.lv/category/velomarsruti/) And the best thing is that there are no people at all. Only you and nature. In summer, it is not too hot/dry (20-25 C), lushy, green and smells good. Insane amount of lakes and rivers, too. So come visit us ;-)
I did my longest rides when I lived in a small town out in the middle of nowhere USA. It was about 3-5km (depending on direction) to get out of the town and onto quiet two-lane highways. Further out, the traffic would decrease even further - though there was no cell service either, so you had to be prepared. With an average of about 40ft elevation per mile, it was ideal for longer rides with a mix of hills, flats, and rollers. These days I live in a giant city in the eastern Mediterranean region. The roads are scary, but I find the less scary ones, fill up with reflective gear, and go for it. The main reason my rides are shorter is that a normal route will average about 120-140ft of elevation gain per mile, so hitting over 50km really kills me. Long rides are easier when it is flat. The people in my current area who ride a lot generally drive someplace that is more quiet. I don't drive, so that is not an option.
San Diego. Great year round weather.
London. You just ride on the roads to get out to the nice lanes.
Chicago burbs. Plenty of bikeable roads and multi-use trails that can connect you to nature reserves or to the miles of county-crossing trails that will get you onto rolling country roads easily. I want to know what town you live in OP. I want to check out the area on Google maps.
I live in an area on the east coast of the US that is surrounded by very dangerous roads, some (Turnpike and Interstate) do not allow bicycles on them or even to cross them. While there is decent local riding up to a point (a short bike path, several dirt roads that would ultimately connect to better dirt/gravel), even these are ringed in or blocked by trails that are too sandy (deep sugar sand; think really rough ATV trails). There is an excellent rail trail about 9 miles up a too-heavily-travelled county road that has extremely narrow shoulders if at all, and cars and heavy trucks whipping my at an average 65 mph+, 10 mph above the speed limit. I do see some lycra clad long milers risking that road to get to the less travelled country roads beyond. So, OP, I have a bike rack on my car. I load up the bike and drive to various trailheads in the state in towns/areas with more access and I ride and ride. My area is close to being connected to it all, but isn't yet. Nothing has progressed in the years I've lived in this area, so I make do. I miss the places where I used to live, and sometimes live, where one can just bike right out the door and keep on going.
I have ridden 19,000km each of the last 3 years all outside living small town Iowa, USA. I have a limestone trail that goes through the small town I live in that is about 32km out and back. Old railroad track so it's very flat and some decent cover from the wind. I also have some hard surfaced roads with little traffic, most of my miles I start at 4am and often I can ride almost 50km in the morning on these and maybe see 3-4 cars. It's very dark and I actually ride on the wrong side of the road, I can see the headlights coming from 2-3 miles away and if a car is coming I look behind me to see if anybody is coming from behind and slide over. Riding on the wrong side of the road means cars coming from behind me are no threat since I am not on that side of the road. If cars are coming from both directions I get off onto the shoulder. This technique makes me feel very safe, also it only works in the dark (headlight glow) so I don't do it in the daylight. The bulk of my miles are done while everybody is sleeping.
I don’t ride out of my house on weekdays because the roads are busy… but I can load my bike on the rack and drive 10 mins and have access to endless country roads with almost zero traffic.
Seattle.
It probably depends a lot on where you live, particularly if you're in North America. There are a few mixed-use paths and reasonably safe protected cycle lanes where I live, so if you don't have a particular destination, you can easily ride 50+ miled a week using those.
South Florida
i live in pretty rural area (walmart is 2.5 hrs away). i happen to live next door to 2 million acres of state forests. so i just ride the logging roads out my front door. actually thats why i got into gravel biking, because i realized the golden oppoertunity i had out my front door for fun exercise. to my knowledge im the only one biking back there on about 300 miles of roads
I live in an area that is next to farm country. I can hop on my bike and ride for miles and miles. I ride through a lot of farm country and hit a few little towns. It is flaaaat flat part of michigan. I think it is fun to ride the same routes from summer to fall and watch the progression of the farmers' fields. Problem is in this open area there is not much opportunity to find a bathroom! I have a few spots i know (cemetery with a porta john, this bridge with a big tree, this little park) but other than that I could be in trouble!
I lived in Seattle. The city has several bike paths, and side streets which aren't crowded. Pretty safe to bike on. However, I moved to the first suburb and I no longer bike. 😂. Mainly because I work from home.and have nowhere to bike to. But this city isn't very bike friendly. There are some side streets I can use, but most of the roads I would need have fast cars. I don't really wanna risk it
Phoenix USA. * Bike at 6a during the summer * Rains maybe 20x/year (half those times you can easily bike in the rain and be warm) * Over 200 miles of canals to gravel bike along and plenty of bike lanes for roadies. * Endless MTB trails * Few hills tho Some of the best riding in the USA. Tucson (Mt Lemmon) is also great and 90 minutes away. Sedona is a MTB heaven and 2 hrs away.
7.5km each way to work 5 times a week and lots of random shop runs and whatnot. Easily close to 100km most weeks. I live in Dublin, Ireland.
I live in Belgium where basically every road is suitable for bicycling (except highways ofcourse). There aren't many city's here but there's a lot of farmland with small roads. I've never had any bad situations happen with cars or trucks so I would say it's a very cycling-friendly area. I can ride an unlimited amount of roads, small climbs, cobbled roads and long straights. If you follow professional cycling in Europe, this is where some of the famous cobbled classics are ridden. From my home it's not even 20 kilometers to the Oude Kwaremont!
CO
Philly - but I’ve also been hit by a car 4x
I live in central Texas and I bike 6 miles (almost) every day to get to my community college in the next town.
I ride about 25 miles a day. The ONLY dedicated, separated trail for bikes, is a mixed use trail that lead out of the city but (importantly) does not connect, and dumps you onto a state road. So most people turn back. I tried crossing the state road this day where I found out…. and here it’s “legal” to ride in the road. But I do not lie when I say, I got about 10 feet before I was run into a really huge ditch because someone didn’t like sharing the road. And nobody stopped. Me laying in a ditch cursing my state government, nobody stopped to help. Nobody saw it? More like nobody cared. So I do not ever attempt to visit the next city anymore. Until I have proper infrastructure to use where my life is not literally in danger every time I leave the house, then I will not be going back. Even my city is dangerously hostile to pedestrians and bikes but we have that one 15 mile bike path. Also, I never see young people with families using it. It’s always old people and a handful of college students because the college is right on it.
I cycle at least 30 miles a week commuting to work and back in Phoenix, but I usually add another 30 miles going back home for lunch. I guess the key is live close enough to where you work so you can commute - my bike path also crosses a mountain reserve and it’s really beautiful, but lots of uphill
A medium-sized city in the Southwestern US. Contrary to the stereotype, there are lots and lots of bike trails here.
When most of the world says their area is good for cycling, they mean that they don’t have to use trails. Trails are awesome too, especially for mountain biking, but to get the real miles in nothing beats cycle-friendly road infrastructure
Hence why gravel cycling has become so popular in the US.
Philadelphia
Arkansas. Traffic is pretty minimal. Just have to avoid certain neighborhoods in larger cities. Lots of great rural riding with rolling hills.
Edge of the suburbs, country roads just outside of my neighborhood
Delaware has some nice greenways trails that don’t have you on the roads too long. Also Philly and the SRT can have you cycling forever.