Your favorite place to ride...please describe.

[Pendejo]

From my past life, rural upstate New York, in the Catskills. Endless country roads, little traffic, very hilly, forests, mountain lakes and streams. The mountains were also there for serious climbing. In fact, the first Tour de Dupont went right through my area, and on one of the climbs (Plattekill Clove) all but the leaders (LeMond, et al) were tacking back and forth across the road to keep from having to get off their bikes, and the stragglers were screaming for "push" (which we gave them).

Now I live in Florida where biking like that is just a memory. My favorite ride here is up and down a seven-mile-long key, very narrow with the intercoastal on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other, and $10-25 million dollar houses lining the route, including that of Martina Navrotilova and Stephen King, and the former estate of the infamous John Gotti (with security cameras peering down from the surrounding walls). If I get hit by a car there I know they'll be worth suing.

 

[stlblues]

We ride the MKT or Katy trail. Its 244 miles of reclaimed railroad bed spaning over half the state of Missouri from Clinton to St. Charles. It runs along the Missouri River, through farm land, train tunnels, through small towns, past vineyards and wineries, and through wooded areas. Lots of history along the trail including points of interest being the Lewis and Clark trail. Only bike and foot traffic allowed. Out of state, we love the rail trail on Cape Cod. The River Road in Ill is very nice too.

 

[kdelong]

Well, in the 35 years that I lived there, I pedaled pretty much all across the state, samping a broad cross-section of what it had to offer. This is my conclusion: the weather sucks; the scenery is boring; and the general public is not cycling aware on the road. And to top it off the state has nothing else going for it: next to 'nil high tech industry; **** schools and funding of schools; the Home of Taft (gee, that worked out well....); has the highest rate of "brain drain" in the US; the economy there blows; and the entire state pretty much typifies the antithesis of "forward thinking." Other than that, it's a great place.

As much as I would like to argue with you, I have to agree on all but one point. North of Athens and east of Athens has some great scenery with some nice climbs and descents. Also, Lawrence County across the Ohio from Huntington, WV is fairly scenic too. At least it's better than the endless corn feilds and soybean fields in the rest of the state.

Many of the larger cities are adding a lot of bicycling amenities such as bike only lanes on commuter routes, but the general driving population is still rather homicidal when it comes to sharing the road.

I don't know a lot about Arizona except that it has great weather and that a really strange female that I knew was born and raised in Tuscon. Her name was not Karen or Teresa by the way, but she did like handcuffs. It seems to me that the scenery there would be mostly desert though, and from a trip through Nevada, that is pretty boring to me.

 

[Xsmoker]

Letchworth State Park in NY is my favorite place to ride. With views like this, what's not to like?

 

[HowardSteele]

Anywhere off road,away from the buzzing of the general pop.
Give me mountains,forest trails and open farm land.
my all time fav is my daily ride posted recentlly as
'A great Ride'
Checkout my posted pics on trails in the Cape on this site.

 

[jhuskey]

When traffic allows Newfound Gap road is a nice 17 mile,5000 fft climb.
I usually lose about 3-4 pounds of sweat on the way up but the ride down is a blast.
Some list it as a cat 1 and others as an HC. It is not brutally steep but there ain't no rest until you reach the top as you are constantly climbing.
It's best done in cooler weather IMO.
Otherwise I begin at my driveway and do a 30 mile loop through the backroads of the foothills or a 50 mile loop around Douglas lake. Both nice rides.

 

[cyclefreak43]

Here in Fort Wayne we are lucky. We have 20 miles of trails that follow the three rivers in the city. In addition to that a smaller city is linked by the paths for an additional 10 miles. We are linked to another township by our paths which totals about 50. Most of these trails run right along the side of the river. They are wide enough to fit two rollerbladers next to each other. They are paved nicely and marked with mile markers.

 

[kyperman]

I am pretty sure we disagree on about everything there is politically, but I do share your love of Arizona. I would love to move there someday, if there is any place left to move to after all the development.

1. My semi-usual 70 mile back and forth route through Saguarro Nat'l Park West and back over Gates Past headed East toward Tucson.

2. Edwards, CO to Steamboat Springs.

The best thing about both of those rides is that they're everything that the Bleak, Living Hell of Ohio wasn't/isn't: beautiful; awe-inspiring; replete with great climbs and descents; and completely lacking in the flavor of idiot driver that is common to Ohio.

 

[kyperman]

Been there in the fall, it is very beautiful indeed.

Letchworth State Park in NY is my favorite place to ride. With views like this, what's not to like?

 

[Pendejo]

Letchworth State Park in NY is my favorite place to ride. With views like this, what's not to like?

I don't get it - I grew up and lived in NY State for the first 45 years of my life (Albany/Catskills area) and never heard of this park. That's hard to believe. I'm sorry I missed it.

 

[BigUgly]

Just east of my house in Oshawa, Ontario Canada there are many concession raods that get very little traffic. Lots of hills to play on and nice long flats to get there and back, to toop it all off there are several small bakeries along the way, plus a lot of old tabacco farms that had there laneways from field to field paved in the good days. I wish I was out right now, darn thunderstorms!!!

 

[NewRiderMan]

Just east of my house in Oshawa, Ontario Canada there are many concession raods that get very little traffic. Lots of hills to play on and nice long flats to get there and back, to toop it all off there are several small bakeries along the way, plus a lot of old tabacco farms that had there laneways from field to field paved in the good days. I wish I was out right now, darn thunderstorms!!!

I own a 120 acre spot here that I've converted to a multi-route, multiple intensity, MTN trail. I went well out of my way to make sure I'd never fully "master it" by making hundreds of routes, ranging from barely more strenuous than a city park paved surface all the way up to a trail that I've never been able to actually complete without injury of some sort.

I have a little bobcat earthmover that has come in really handy for tuning this place, as well as general maintenance on it. No matter how gently you ride, running the same groove multiple times will wear down the corners, and they need to be repaired.

I live on one corner of the property, so I'm at privilege to ride most any time I want, and one area I've laid aside just for riding in rainy conditions so I don't have to go in and rework a lot of trail after rain.

I built it so there would be a nice dual track path through the center (which is gravel and also serves as my driveway), and on each side there are little offshoots paths, some lead to very gentle swoopy terrain, others include tougher stuff, like logs half buried for a little hop options, and then the really serious stuff, a 4 foot ledge with a slope beneath. Roll off that sucker going slow, and you will not be on top of the bike at the bottom!

Since I managed to injurize myself quite well on the rougher parts, I've made efforts to lower the ledge a bit, and make the transition a little smoother so the ground doesn't just disappear from under the bike. When I built it, I was very interested in using it for motorbikes, so I did make some areas a lot too tough for a bicycle. It is still a work in progress.

Near future goals; get the hardest areas gentled up a bit, as well as creating a small "park" in the back yard for BMX stuff, just for kicks. Jumps, ramps, tabletops, etc. Should be fun, especially when I get the old Torquemaker out there.

(NOTE: Before anyone wastes their time asking, nobody rides my trails but me, as I refuse to allow anybody the chance to sue me for an injury. And, some would volunteer to sign a statement saying they won't sue, but those statements rarely hold up in court. Sorry folks. )

 

[jhuskey]

I own a 120 acre spot here that I've converted to a multi-route, multiple intensity, MTN trail. I went well out of my way to make sure I'd never fully "master it" by making hundreds of routes, ranging from barely more strenuous than a city park paved surface all the way up to a trail that I've never been able to actually complete without injury of some sort.

I have a little bobcat earthmover that has come in really handy for tuning this place, as well as general maintenance on it. No matter how gently you ride, running the same groove multiple times will wear down the corners, and they need to be repaired.

I live on one corner of the property, so I'm at privilege to ride most any time I want, and one area I've laid aside just for riding in rainy conditions so I don't have to go in and rework a lot of trail after rain.

I built it so there would be a nice dual track path through the center (which is gravel and also serves as my driveway), and on each side there are little offshoots paths, some lead to very gentle swoopy terrain, others include tougher stuff, like logs half buried for a little hop options, and then the really serious stuff, a 4 foot ledge with a slope beneath. Roll off that sucker going slow, and you will not be on top of the bike at the bottom!

Since I managed to injurize myself quite well on the rougher parts, I've made efforts to lower the ledge a bit, and make the transition a little smoother so the ground doesn't just disappear from under the bike. When I built it, I was very interested in using it for motorbikes, so I did make some areas a lot too tough for a bicycle. It is still a work in progress.

Near future goals; get the hardest areas gentled up a bit, as well as creating a small "park" in the back yard for BMX stuff, just for kicks. Jumps, ramps, tabletops, etc. Should be fun, especially when I get the old Torquemaker out there.

(NOTE: Before anyone wastes their time asking, nobody rides my trails but me, as I refuse to allow anybody the chance to sue me for an injury. And, some would volunteer to sign a statement saying they won't sue, but those statements rarely hold up in court. Sorry folks. )

They actually do hold up pretty well here in Tennessee if they are written well and signed by an adult.

 

[NewRiderMan]

They actually do hold up pretty well here in Tennessee if they are written well and signed by an adult.

I've seen several hold up pretty well, but I too have seen a few go right down the toilet, even when conducted between adults. I'd rather not risk losing my place, or a large sum of money due to allowing somebody to ride my trails. Plus, I don't have to worry about going behind somebody else to fix their screw ups this way.

 

[jhuskey]

I've seen several hold up pretty well, but I too have seen a few go right down the toilet, even when conducted between adults. I'd rather not risk losing my place, or a large sum of money due to allowing somebody to ride my trails. Plus, I don't have to worry about going behind somebody else to fix their screw ups this way.

I don't blame you because there is no absolute definitive protection and that's why I have a job.
At least in part why I do.
Either way it sounds as if you have a good set up. Enjoy, as I have to ride the roads but I do have several thousand acres of lake to float on.