Cycling in Houston?

[paczki]

How is the cycling? Where would a cyclist want to live if they had to live there?

Thanks!

[Kevan]

having gears there is overrated. Can't offer locations, but I'd say well outside the outer loop.

Not to worry though, you'll work up a good sweat without the hills.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Houston

[cmg]

just google houston, cycling. Here is a link to clubs in the area. http://www.bikehouston.org/content/view/145/60/ Don't live in Pasadena. The refineries always leave an ordor on your clothing or a least they did in the 90's when i lived there.

[texbike]

How is the cycling? Where would a cyclist want to live if they had to live there?

Thanks!

We lived in Houston until about 11 years ago when we moved to Austin. The primary driver for wanting to leave Houston was the lack of quality cycling and outdoor activities such as hiking, etc.

When we lived there, we lived right outside of Memorial Park in an area called West End. For a cyclist, it may have been the best area possible as there was quick, easy access to great MTBing as well as road riding in Memorial Park, into downtown along Buffalo Bayou, Hermann Park, and some of the older, historical neighborhoods.

Until very recently, I was traveling to Houston on a weekly basis for business. I like Houston for a LOT of reasons and could probably increase my income by about 40% if I were to move back. However, cycling is my favorite hobby and I just couldn't live there and enjoy cycling as much as I can in Austin.

On the other hand, Austin was recently ranked the #2 fastest growing city in the U.S. It may only be a matter of time before riding around Austin is just as tough to do as it is in Houston....

Texbike

[RPS]

If cycling is a priority, it depends on how far you are willing to live from the downtown area IMHO. I like cycling to the north of town -- way north -- and would not cycle much if I had to ride inside the loops. I just don't like mixing it up with city traffic.

[fmbp]

I think RPS is right on the money. I currently live inside the 610 loop, and riding here is pretty miserable. As a student, I have a hard time justifying driving an hour in the car, riding for a couple of hours, and then driving an hour back home. That said, the times that I've done this, the riding has been FAR better. Riding on the west side of town is pretty nice, particularly NW of town. I can't really comment on riding north of town, as I've never really ridden up there. There is also some decent riding to the south and SE of the city as well, though like cmg said, you may want to avoid the Pasadena area.

All of this said, I can't wait to move from this city in 2 months! I'll be moving to a bigger :confused: city (LA), but the riding will certainly be better.

[RPS]

I think RPS is right on the money. I currently live inside the 610 loop, and riding here is pretty miserable.After 20 years I've found I prefer north of a line from Kingwood to the Woodlands -- less traffic, rolling terrain, and more trees for occassional shade in summer. Much south of that line I'd probably end up driving north first.

There are other areas also, but I live north to get away from the city so I'd have to drive to the start.

[trophyoftexas]

....is to drive 165 miles NW to a place called Austin!