Loco, all the best riding in the world couldnt get me to move to that craphole state even if you didnt live there. I cant wait til mexico takes it back.loco said:Don't come to Texas.
MOUNTAIN BIKE THREAD: Best Locale for year-round riding?
- Thread starter BurlyShirley
- Start date
stinkyboy said:
^^What he said. Between Flag, Sedona, and the white mountains in the summer, Phoenix and Tucson in the winter You just can't beat living here.
burly flagstaff is the way to go. I lived there for two years and dream about my return every night. Usually you cannot ride in the winter b/c of the snow up on the mountain but this year there is no snow. Even if there was snow in the winter you could drive less than forty minutes and be in sedona for some amazing riding. The bars are fun especially flag brewing company and the people are really cool. The town just has an amazing feel to it. plus you dont want to move to arizona if not for flagstaff phoenix is waaay too hot. Man summers in flag are amazing never warmer than 87 with cool nights...finding a job is the only downfall
I don't see how you are going to be happy anywhere if Hawaii wasn't good enough...but I agree with others and would you will find better quality overall if you think "most of the year" as opposed to all year.
My vote would go to the Bay Area if it wasn't for all the damn people around. :mumble:
My vote would go to the Bay Area if it wasn't for all the damn people around. :mumble:
My ride was nice, mellow, boring, and ST tires are SLOOOOOOOOW on pavement.
Ashland OR, usually doesn't get below the mid 30's during the day all year round, 35 min drive from a 7500ft mountian, lots of trails, nice community.
I've heard good things about the outdoor life of Flag and I spent a couple days there some years ago, but what about non-sports life?
How's the job market there?
How's the culture?
Seems like a small town without much diversity for food, entertainment, music. Am I wrong?
How's the job market there?
How's the culture?
Seems like a small town without much diversity for food, entertainment, music. Am I wrong?
Diversity? Pffft.LordOpie said:
You might like Vancover WA. Across the Columbia from Portland it's much more Republican than those hippies in Oregon. You are close to Oregon hot spots, 45 minutes from killer St. Helens rides. A couple hours north is Olympia and Capitol Forest with year round riding. The Cowlitz river is an hour away with world-class steelhead fishing. I know Jeenyus 'wheels too (I see your avatar on NAXJA Jeenyus) and could let you know about Tillamook State Forest for both riding and 4X4 fun.
There is a Vancouver campus of Washington State University if you want to continue your education.
Heck there isn't likely anyone from the PNW on RM who wouldn't give the low-down/give directions/or show you all the great trails to ride on around here.
I love it here. I wouldn't live in Seattle or Portland, but where I'm at I can be in either city in less than two hours. Good luck on figuring out where you want to be.
There is a Vancouver campus of Washington State University if you want to continue your education.
Heck there isn't likely anyone from the PNW on RM who wouldn't give the low-down/give directions/or show you all the great trails to ride on around here.
I love it here. I wouldn't live in Seattle or Portland, but where I'm at I can be in either city in less than two hours. Good luck on figuring out where you want to be.
opie your wrong. first its a decent sized college town with people coming from all over the country bringing in ton of diversity. Local artist sell their works in all the downtown shops. The food is amazing especially at Beaver Street Brewing Company. Musicians are always playing in the parks and in town square its awesome. Sunday nights during the summer they show kid movies projected onto a huge brick wall in the square bringing families on sleeping bags all enjoying the nice weather. Overall its a great place to live
I wasn't insulting the town, just suggesting it's tiny.greenchris said:
you're making the point... you mention ONE restaurant. Again, not insulting, but I come from Miami and that's no where near as diversified in culture, music, food... as Chicago, NY, LA, etc.greenchris said:
Within 30 minutes of me, you get the same thing every night of the week in the various cities of and around Denver.greenchris said:
I hear Flag is awesome, but it IS small, yeah?
as of 2000 they had a population of 52000 but that doesnt include the 18000 students attending the college. yes its a smaller town but for the size the culture is rich there. Coming from chicago myself flagstaff is a nice change but not the same thats b/c chicago is a town like noneother. no insult taken but theres a ton of restuarants i just mentioned my personal favorite
Yup. Flag kicks a$$, but it *is* small. I lived there for 3 months and missed the mountains too much to stay.LordOpie said:
I still can't believe that Biggins didn't move to Flag, the wuss.
I can't believe there are Texans in this thread telling people not to move to Texas.......... 
WTF??
WTF??
I think even Texans really know Texas sucks.SkaredShtles said:I can't believe there are Texans in this thread telling people not to move to Texas..........
Shush! Dang. It's actually below freezing in Colorado all year round, even in the summer.LordOpie said:
Yeah! I don't know WTF Opie is talking about..........Full Trucker said:
You didn't ask for a nice place to live. You asked for a good (best) local for year round RIDING. With that said I would have to place SoCal in the top five. Even on the hottest day of the year here you can ride (take lot's of water!!!), and you can most certainly ride on the coldest day. There is riding of all types everywhere here, except for DH and we are within driving distance to lift assisted riding if that's your thing. It only rains like 10 days a year which can leave things dusty but you'll rarely cancel a ride due to too much dust. Can't say the same for rain or snow. Plus we have hot chicks, awsome mexican food, and we're not Texas. What's not to love about the RIDING.BurlyShirley said:
That being said I don't really like living here and will be moving north as soon as I can.
St. George, UT is fairly good...nice temps in the winter, no rain/snow, in the summer you drive 30 mins north (Cedar City) (hour to Brian Head) to cooler riding. Cheap living, and you're about 2.5 hours from Vegas if that's your thing...
Sb/slo.
btw, i'd have to agree w/ LO's take on the size of Flagstaff...how many touring bands are gonna stop in Flag? if they don't play @ NAU, probably not too many. they will play in PHX instead, on their way to CA. i did dig Flagstaff, but it's certainly not a mecca of cultural activities (unless a lot has changed in the ~5 years i've been there).
BS, what about the Corvallis OR area?
BS, what about the Corvallis OR area?
Full Trucker said:
i talk to people on the trail who've moved from Colorado and California, and although they like the places they've come from, they understand the superior riding is here. i can't qualify this however since i've never lived at the other places, and it's really unfair since there are too many factors to consider when mulling over all the intangibles.
But i would think it's fair to say that you could pit the year-round riding in the area in the Pepsi Challenge with anywhere in the states, and if not win, then come fairly close in my estimation.
That's all i have to say about that....
But i would think it's fair to say that you could pit the year-round riding in the area in the Pepsi Challenge with anywhere in the states, and if not win, then come fairly close in my estimation.
That's all i have to say about that....
Skookum said:
The riding in the PNW is spectacular, judging from the pics you post on here.
Spending most of my life in Arizona, I'm going to have to give another nod that direction. Sure, Phoenix is hot in the summer, but the local riding is great and there are numerous places to go. There are all types of riding from easy XC to 'gnar' DH and in the summer Sedona, Prescott, and Payson are all only an hour or so away. sh*t, here in Virginia, I drive an hour each way to ride both days on the weekends just to get to a halfway decent trail. I'd move back in a heartbeat.
Besides that, you have Tucson at 1.5 hours, Flagstaff at 2.5 and Sunrise at 4, not to mention if your wife likes the beach, San Diego is only 5 hours away.
*And for road trips, you can be in Moab in under 10 hours and Colorado in a bit more.
NO DOWNSIDE. If it's too hot, ride at night or take a trip up north.
Besides that, you have Tucson at 1.5 hours, Flagstaff at 2.5 and Sunrise at 4, not to mention if your wife likes the beach, San Diego is only 5 hours away.
*And for road trips, you can be in Moab in under 10 hours and Colorado in a bit more.
NO DOWNSIDE. If it's too hot, ride at night or take a trip up north.
You live in the wrong part of Virginia. I have 3 places to ride within a 20 minute drive. Drive an hour and I have more trails than I know what to do with.peter6061 said:
I agree with you about living in the wronf part of VA, however, other factors that make this decision easy include close proximity to 'real' mountains for skiing/snowboarding in winter and a lack of rain out west that makes riding easy throughout the year.Westy said:
The ground is so hard out there, I used to be able to ride the morning after we had thunderstorms that produced flooding, and not have to deal with mud or even damp/soft trails.
Also, Phoenix is a metropolitan and offers lots in terms of both cultural diversity and employment. The only downside is the urban sprawl which is making the 'valley of the sun' into a sea of terra-cotta roofs and stucco.
As for my opinion of NoVA,.... it can go suck a d**k.
And on that note, I would love it if you'd show me around some of these 'great' trails you have sometime.... maybe this summer.
Lots of good advice in this thread. So it looks like the great year 'round riding is in:
SoCal
PNW
AZ
Utah
SC
Just wanted to summarize for everyone.............
SoCal
PNW
AZ
Utah
SC
Just wanted to summarize for everyone.............
you forgot Oregon.
I always lump that in the PNW.narlus said:
oh, missed that.
does that include ID too?
does that include ID too?
and what about NM? for BS's criteria, you would need the following:
mountains
moderate to hot climate (ie, no snow in those mountains, at least for the year-long or close to it riding he's talking about)
states which have these features:
WA, OR, NM, AZ, CA, UT, CO, TN, SC, NC
is that about it? i guess it depends on what elevation your mountain must be.
mountains
moderate to hot climate (ie, no snow in those mountains, at least for the year-long or close to it riding he's talking about)
states which have these features:
WA, OR, NM, AZ, CA, UT, CO, TN, SC, NC
is that about it? i guess it depends on what elevation your mountain must be.
Nope. My definition of the PNW does not include ID. That's part of the Rocky Mountain region...........narlus said:
Yes. NM should be in the list. But you can remove CO. CO sucks.narlus said:
SkaredShtles said:
No, NM sucks too... please add TX, AR or OK to that list.