Hahahaha, its not all highway. Its only the IM bike route that’s crap.
Oh yeah, forgot about wildfires. We had none this year but 2020 was awful.
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Napa Valley
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That’s where I am…in Davis.
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Just came from Boulder area. Getting expensive quickly CA-ish. Can ride there all year with cold weather gear because it doesn’t rain/show that often and when it’s sunny 30F can easily feel like 60F in CA.
South of San Jose (where I grew up) is great too. Not great infrastructure in the cities for riding, imo, but for people who are comfortable sharing roads with cars, not such a big deal.
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Fall to spring is amazing weather here in Jacsksonville, FL, though the days are short so either go out for a lunch ride or make sure you got some good lights. I wouldn’t recommend it though as this was voted most unsafe city for cyclists in the country. @Joelrivera is right, Claremont area is a much better option. You’re right about the summers, they’re brutal, but you’ll probably gravitate to early morning or evening riding times, short mid-day, or indoor rides. You’ll never be totally comfortable in the humidity but you’ll get somewhat used to it. Honestly, the best place in the country for year round cycling (at least weather-wise) is southern and central California. The politics and cost of living are atrocious, but hey, the weather is nice! Lol
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Lived in Rexburg for almost four years. I love the riding out there.
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Let’s keep politics out of here. I’m sure we’ve all seen states or cities mentioned that we would never live in because of our personal beliefs, but no one wants to hear about it here.
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My wife’s stepbrother lives in Rigby, a few years ago we visited her dad in Rexburg in November and there was already snow on the ground! So close to Yellowstone and the Tetons.
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Great topic and one that is very top of mind. I’d love to hear more from folks with experience in the Portland, OR area, esp. to the west/southwest of Portland (Hillsboro, Yamhill, Newberg, McMinnville). Feedback about Salem and Eugene would be appreciated as well.
I just spent all summer biking in Tucson at all hours (morning group rides, 6-10 a.m., morning commutes, 7-9:30 a.m., evening commutes, 4-6:30 p.m., and evening group rides, 6-9:30pm). Just add water… cold water. Being reasonably adapted to the heat, I’m more concerned with the 45 degrees forecast for tomorrow. Brrr!
I grew up in Salem, OR. I loved it as a kid, but now can’t imagine so much dark and rain. YMMV.
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There is no question San Diego. Ive lived and ridden in socal, norcal, NW Washington state, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Salt Lake City, Tokyo, Dallas, S. Texas, Mississippi and Germany…and there is no place with the year round temps, variety of terrain and cycling scene like San Diego imo. Can’t be beat. Especially when you tie in the imperial valley and Anzo Borrego area for climbing. Just MHO though.
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I lived in Portland for a few years. I was living in the northwest district so most of my rides were in that area. That said on my days off I would travel all around the area (Hillsboro, McMinnville, Hood River) to try out different areas to ride. I really likes all the places I rode while I lived there. Best option is to live somewhere that is allows fast/easy access to country roads. The cities you listed would have that since they are away from the busyness of the metro area.
Some general thoughts:
- You have to get used to the rain. But the nice thing is the rain is more drizzle than downpour so it never bothered me to much. You just slowly get west and by the time you are home you realized you got soaked.
- Pavement is generally in good condition.
- Lots of variety. You can do fast flat stuff (ie Suavie Island) you can find tons of hard climbs (the West Hills), you can get some really epic views (Columbia River George/Rowena Loop).
- Good bike culture and infrastructure. Lots of bike lanes, lots of people riding lots of different bikes in lots of different ways. Lots of good local shops.
- Lots of race opportunities. There is a good CX series, OBRA puts on a number of bike races, there is a velodrome. There used to be a velodrome, but it looks like it has been closed
. I have not raced it but the Oregon Gravel Grinder looks epic. - Like any metro that has 2+ million people living in it, you are going have to deal with more cars than if you live somewhere with a smaller population.
I have not lived in Eugene, but one of the buddies lives there (and had lived in Portland for awhile in-between stints in Eugene). It’s in kind of a nice location since you are close to Bend and can get to the coast. I asked him about it and he told me:
“The roads south of Eugene have very light traffic, are well maintained, and easily accessible from just about anywhere in town. You can ride flat or get in a lot of climbing, and you see a number of people out riding. Rolf Prima is based in Eugene and they take pretty excellent care of the local cycling community. It doesn’t get super cold here so you can ride outside year round.”
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The Spokane-CDA metro has a population of 750,000 people. Not sure I have ever heard anyone call it remote
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Yeah, lol, I went to college near Lake Superior and the nearest red/yellow/green traffic light was 99 miles away. That was remote!
I appreciate the detailed feedback. I’d be coming from the Seattle area, so the weather will be very familiar.
Worked in Portland for a few years. It’s fantastic except summer is only two weeks in Aug where it may make it to 80f. I looked forward to traveling out there ever week I worked out there.
The near burbs aren’t great to ride in, but the city and the area outside of there is great. The rain is a constant mist. In winter, you get freezing rain a lot.
Past the burbs, forward the water is basically a giant long hill, then you hit the costal plain. There are great gravel roads in this area.
Oregon doesn’t have a coast like California. There’s not a continuous view of the sea like you’ll find in CA, nor beaches - at least in the areas I saw.
A view from a Portland outsider.
We went to Portland and Eugene last February. It wasn’t terribly cold, but there was a good bit of snow on the ground between the two cities and on the way back we got caught in a bad hail storm. That’s February though.
Portland is a neat city in that it has a lot of personality. It has a fairly bad homeless problem downtown. It’s nice that there are trams and trains to get around and makes getting to and from the airport simple. My daughter loved hitting thrift shops and other trendy places just outside downtown. There’s great walkability.
Eugene was pretty old fashioned. The school was incredible, state of the art EVERYTHING, but the city itself felt like stepping back in time. That could be a positive or a negative depending on your outlook.
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That’s interesting. I’d have never guessed that. Everyone seems to talk about it like it’s rural. Even Coach Chad. I’ve never been, so just sharing what I’ve heard.