Hi,
Last year I visited Denver and had my road bike with me. It was just incredible going up and down the Lookout Mountain road. Many cyclists and well maintained roads. Now I want to do something similar and was wondering of there are more road biking hotspots in the US?
-Is Tucson really that good or is it a bunch of old people going for their afternoon cruise?
-Lake Tahoe seems very cool also but with that many tourists in large SUVs, I feel like this could be dangerous as a solo bicyclist.
I am originally from Europe and live in Pittsburgh now.
Happy for all recommendations. 🙂
by petshu
6 Comments
I’ve seen the finger lakes in NY mentioned as it’s low traffic with challenging climbs. I’m biased to the PNW for summer cycling since it’s so nice out. There are some car free roads before they plow all the way across (McKenzine pass, North cascades highway). Going to the sun is a fun one but that’s about it for the park to ride.
Vermont is incredible for road biking climbs. I rode up into rochester vermont and the climb was challenging but that tiny town was such a great stopping point with a noce brewery and restaurant and the town square had live bluegrass on the weekend i was there. There is also a rope swing into the river just outside of town.
Do the climb up glacier going west then roll down into whitefish for the night. The next day carry on to sand point idaho and enjoy some time on a lake at the base of a mountain. Absolutely beautiful town.
Check out hwy 35 on the west border of wisconsin. Take it north along the mississippi river and then cross into MN. Climbs are easy but views are stunning. Many small towns along the route with great food stops all along the way.
Acadia NP in maine is pretty excellent with many miles of gravel roads (carriage trails) and a paved 20 mile loop called the park loop. However it is very busy, can be congested and expensive, and the rest of the area outside of the park is poor for cycling.
Probably Utah or California I’d imagine
Not sure if the best but the Bay Area of California is renowned for its rides. Cars are mostly cycling conscious and many good and iconic rides such as across the Golden Gate Bridge and into Marin, pacific coast highway to Monterrey, or Napa/Sonoma. Good climbs and good flats, ocean views, and usually good weather.
Tucson is cool .. definitely a lot of old folks on recumbents on the bike path.. but you also got mt lemon which is a really long climb an decent.. very fun tho. Lots of bicycle culture In Tucson.