These threads kill me every time. We always get from the “best” place to a series of arguments about how if you can just get past this one or two crippling flaws, where I live is actually the best.
Look man, I’m not judging people for living in LA, FL, Arizona, Midwest, inland CA, etc. I’ve lived in many of these places myself and agree you can totally make the best of it, but y’all high if you think they are the “best” place in the US for cycling.
PSA, if any of this applies you do not live in a place that has the “best” year round riding:
- Drive more than 30 minutes to avoid traffic or get to interesting routes
- Wake up at 4am to avoid heat
- Wait a few days for the snow to melt
- Where you live is pancake flat
I grew up in FL, lived in the midwest for years, lived in San Diego for years, have lived in CO for years, have ridden across all of CA on a few occasions following Tour of California route, have done training camps in Tucson, Texas, etc. I’ve had some truly great riding experiences in all of these places, but there’s major drawbacks to pretty much everywhere. Closest I’ve experienced is certain areas of costal California, only catch is you’d need either go back in time and buy a house 30 years ago or be a multi-millionaire.
I honestly don’t know where the best year-round riding in the US is, but I do know where it isn’t 
/hot take concluded
edit: to be clear, I do not think CO is the “best” place. Immediate disqualification due to winter. We don’t have freaking leaves on the trees for 7 months of the year