a lot of these 1st generationers have suddenly been struck w/ the NIMBY syndrome.
MOUNTAIN BIKE THREAD: Best Locale for year-round riding?
- Thread starter BurlyShirley
- Start date
Perhaps you could move to Mexico? Might be fun.
Born and raised in Flagstaf... kick ass town. But I can't see riding in the winter if there is a ton of snow on the ground. For YEAR-ROUND riding, I'd say Sedona, with Tucson as a second. Tucson isn't as urban-sprawled as Phx, has some great trails, and if you want Flagstaff-type scenery, you just drive up the Catalinas.
Other than CA, all those states are probably decent to live in. Utah...maybe not either. And SC? Meh. And TN? Already live here. Riding scene is lame except in a few tiny areas.narlus said:
I think that gives us.
WA
OR
NM
AZ
CO
NC
Would that be pretty accurate? We could probably eliminate New Mexico, just for most of the state being worthless. But I dont have much personal experience there.
Now if Easterners, Texans, and Hollywood types would get that message, things would be a lot nicer there.BurlyShirley said:
Naw. I'm just warning everyone that living in CO sucks. I can't believe I got stuck here. :mumble:narlus said:a lot of these 1st generationers have suddenly been struck w/ the NIMBY syndrome.
i lumped SC in because greenville is pretty close to the pisgah trails, right? i really don't have much idea what riding is like in the other parts of the state.
new mexico i liked, at least the santa fe area. but it's pricey. we did a couple of rides in the area (10K trail -> otero, and the winsor trail) and they were both great. i'd imagine that Taos has some great terrain available too, but we headed off to Durango instead (which has phenomenal riding, probably the best xc riding i've ever done).
new mexico i liked, at least the santa fe area. but it's pricey. we did a couple of rides in the area (10K trail -> otero, and the winsor trail) and they were both great. i'd imagine that Taos has some great terrain available too, but we headed off to Durango instead (which has phenomenal riding, probably the best xc riding i've ever done).
Great year around riding in Santa Barbara. In the afternoon it never gets below 65 and the hottest is maybe 85 degrees F.
The entire state of California was deleted from the list long ago. The transgendered schoolteachers and moviestar governors and god knows what else cant be overcome.Adam Novatt said:
SkaredShtles said:
Couldn't agree more..I got duped into moving here in '94...This place blows huge root for Mountain Bikin' I recommend Kansas...:angry:
I wasn't even duped. I voluntarily moved here in '93.PonySoldier said:
Where is lordopie
He exists in legendary necrothreads...like Partsy, Burley and others who have fallen off the Monkey wagon.
Sedona is just as hot as Phoenix...well, not physically, it's supposed to be about 8 degrees cooler due to the altitude, but the rock reflecting the sun on you the entire time with little shade makes it feel every bit as hot IME. And Phoenix is not just hot, it's "I want to die" hot. Prescott is a much better compromise. Sedona is 45 min away, temps that make riding manageable in the summer, vs. not wanting to ride outside at all without heading up to Flag. Flag is still close by, just over an hour, and Phoenix is there for the few times when it gets cold/snows. Snow doesn't hang around in AZ though, so not a problem.
I'll say this too, if I had just some of the gear I have now living in AK, I could ride all through the winter and be a toasty happy camper. I do the same up here. Having a little bit of gear and a fatbike makes such an amazing difference in what you can get out and ride. I hate being cold, but I've come up with what works for me, even with Reynolds syndrome. I did ride through the winter in Prescott year after year, but again, if I had some of the gear I have now, I could have spent all day out there. One time I rode and it was something like +5 or so in town, but I'm sure more like -5 in some of the valleys and cold spots up in the mountains that I tried to ride. That was my worst ride up there (other than being caught in thunderstorms) and I vowed never to put myself in that situation, wildly trying to get back to the car because I couldn't feel my hands.
Back to Flag, it's great, it doesn't offer the depth of riding as some other alpine places, but it's a great place in AZ and pairs with Sedona and other offerings for a wild amount of variety. More variety in Flag due to more vertical and more dedicated DH trails too IMO, although Sedona riding has improved dramatically in 12 or so years. Flagstaff is an outdoor-orientated town, with hiking and climbing shops. The overall vibe is so much better than Sedona, which is a tourist-mystical town that harbors creepy people and jams with traffic all the time. Flagstaff has it's negatives, but usually when I get on the trails in Flag I see other people enjoying the outdoors and physical stuff. In Sedona you still see those people, but many more tourists and weird stuff like horses brought up onto Cathedral Rock trail and weddings going on, lost families, etc. The brewery/hangout situation is much worse too. Sedona is nice to visit. Flagstaff is nice to live. Since it's in AZ and at 7000', snow sublimates off the streets in a day or so, so it's not like you are fighting snow on the ground all the time in the winter, unlike us here at SL in Alaska, where when it falls (still got a few more weeks of no snow) it stays until it melts, and even then it still stays, as pooled water everywhere, eventually it leaves, but it's not like AZ where it's gone often in a matter of hours.
wow...A+ for effort
I've gotten so sick and tired of people saying how "year round" places like Phoenix are, when they have to wake up at 4AM and be off the trails by 9 in the summer because the low temp is 95 and most just stay indoors where there's AC. Yeah, if you love the heat, live and drive without the AC...when it's 117. The last thing I want to do on the weekend is get up at 3 or 4am to go put in some miles on my day off. In that same sense, here in Anchorage we also have "year round" riding. I rode to work all last winter, as well as many rides after work. The coldest was probably around -15F, but with pogies, balaclavas, big hiking boots on flats, snow pants or equivalent and breathable jacket, you can be downright toasty and happy. Most of the time on my commute I had to slow down because overheating was more of a concern. On trail rides I'd go with less clothing for the expected greater effort. Again, no real issues doing this, you get used to it and it becomes second nature. As far as how long winter is, it's not really that we have 8 months of winter, it's that we have longer winters and summer and the shoulder seasons are shorter. The shoulder seasons are also the worst for riding, due to the mud. I'm patiently awaiting the snow, so we can finally get back to snow riding, which is an absolute blast. We have several trail areas where as soon as it snows, all kinds of people are out snow-shoeing, XC skiing, skijorning and everything else, they get the trails packed down and we are out the next day riding the snow-trails. The brewery is less than a mile from one of these areas, so that sucks really bad to ride to the brewery after clicking out some miles 
And of course our summer riding is off-the hook epic. Yes, when I got to this point on the trail, I didn't think what I was seeing was "real", looked like some kind of perfect painting done by an artist or something.
So the point is that ANY place is year-round riding. IMO the people that ride in Phoenix in the summer are crazier than me, the low 90s is usually my cutoff point. Don't decide on a place just because it's year-round, decide on it based on trail options nearby. Lots of places like Santa Fe, Prescott, Bend, Front Range, and others will get snow, but will clear out fast and will have riding nearby most of the time, as well as access to great riding nearby. AZ is a good one, but don't discount Oregon, Colorado and others. I'd rather be able to get to a few fantastic riding destinations relatively quickly.
And of course our summer riding is off-the hook epic. Yes, when I got to this point on the trail, I didn't think what I was seeing was "real", looked like some kind of perfect painting done by an artist or something.So the point is that ANY place is year-round riding. IMO the people that ride in Phoenix in the summer are crazier than me, the low 90s is usually my cutoff point. Don't decide on a place just because it's year-round, decide on it based on trail options nearby. Lots of places like Santa Fe, Prescott, Bend, Front Range, and others will get snow, but will clear out fast and will have riding nearby most of the time, as well as access to great riding nearby. AZ is a good one, but don't discount Oregon, Colorado and others. I'd rather be able to get to a few fantastic riding destinations relatively quickly.
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clearly he's moved beyond A+ territory and is going for either extra credit or teacher's pet
Well as the original poster didn't mention that it had to be in any specific country......
Wellington New Zealand.
you can ride year round no worries!
The average day time temp only changes by 8-10degC between summer and winter.
There is single track within 5 min ride (if your slow) from the CBD.
It's a hilly town and every single hill has a minimum of 2 mountain bike tracks on it.
Check out the stats on here;
http://tracks.org.nz/region/show/1
It's also NZ's music, arts and craft beer capital.
Wellington New Zealand.
you can ride year round no worries!
The average day time temp only changes by 8-10degC between summer and winter.
There is single track within 5 min ride (if your slow) from the CBD.
It's a hilly town and every single hill has a minimum of 2 mountain bike tracks on it.
Check out the stats on here;
http://tracks.org.nz/region/show/1
In the last 10 years the amount of track building that's gone on in this town is truly insane.
It's also NZ's music, arts and craft beer capital.
Wait...you guys actually RIDE bikes? Hippies...
lol.
I think that is VERY short sighted. CA has whatever you want. If you want good jobs and cultural diversify there are the major metro areas. SD for a fairly chill laid back vibe, OC for lots of silicone enhanced blondes, LA for hustle and bustle, SF for hipsters and hippies, San Jose for Techie types. If you want small towns, look to Idyllwild, Arrowhead or any of the numerous places along the central coast. If you like open desert you have SoCal, if you want trees and rain go North. Honestly ANYTHING you want is here in California and you can ride 365 in most places except the BIG sierra mountains, but then you ride for 7 months and ski/board for 5. You can surf, downhill and ski all in one day if you want.
don't come to nc. nothing to see here. move along...
Likewise.
