# VA cyclists....sell me on your state



## jmitro (Jun 29, 2011)

I currently live in rural Oklahoma, am 40 years old with two kids; we are moving out of small town and my wife wants to move back to VA where she lived for 8 years (tri state area).

What do you like or dislike about VA? Where would you live or not live? 

We prefer a medium to larger size city (100,000+) with a decent cost of living. I hear that NoVa is expensive. What about the rest of the state?

What are the cycling opportunities like? I'm an avid cyclist and just moved up to cat4, so interested in the cycling scene there.


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## icsloppl (Aug 25, 2009)

I'm from Northern Virginia, currently live in Portland Or, and have lived in Colorado for many years.

IMO -

Virginia is an amazingly diverse place. There are mountains, the coast, big cities and raral Appalicia. You can't categorize it like you can Oklahoma. Good and bad?

Don't even think about moving to the NoVa megalopolis without knowing what you're getting into. Coming from rural (or urban for that matter) Oklahoma, you'll think you're on another planet. And not a better one. Personally, i'd rather be dead than live there.

Where are there good outdoor / healthy / biking / economy / cost of living / has jobs?

1, Roanoke. It's a big city. It's in beautiful mountains. Home costs are amazingly low. There is a good biking community and all sorts of other outdoor opportunities. Very nice and very overlooked.

2. Fredricksburg. Historic yet modern. Large but unhurried. Well located. A nice place, not a bike destination perhaps.

3. Staunton. Small but very nice. Wonderfully located for riding and hiking in the Shanendoah N.P. A real community. Low crime and cost of living. Good schools

4 Charlottesville. Probably the nicest city in Virginia. Home of U. Va. High price housing and cost of living. Lots of competition for jobs.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

The housing in Cville is much cheaper if you live in the County. Plus better riding right out your doorstep.


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## tsunayoshi (Dec 3, 2009)

icsloppl said:


> 2. Fredricksburg. Historic yet modern. Large but unhurried. Well located. A nice place, not a bike destination perhaps.


I live north of Fredericksburg, but have friends who live down there...no way in hell would I ride a bike on those roads down there...I see people who do it when I visit and think they're crazy (and I ride in the DC metro area).

Western Loudoun County (about 1 hour west of DC) has some of the best cycling in the area IMHO...lots of routes along roads with very little traffic, some nice mountains, proximity to Shenandoah Valley (and Skyline Drive), and if you want some killer mountains go another hour west into WV.

Racing scene in the Mid-Atlantic is pretty awesome, races nearly every weekend within 1-2 hours of the DC Metro from April thru August, and the cross scene is off the hook (35 races available over 15 weekends)


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## MattVA (May 23, 2012)

Howdy,

I live about 10 miles west of Charlottesville and absolutely love it. 

There are several thriving bike clubs in the area, from racing clubs to recreational/social clubs. Within 90 miles there are dozens of events; again, from professional to recreational. Search the USA Cycling website for events in VA. I think there are about eight local bikes shops, a couple cater to high end cyclists, but most cover the entire market. 

But the best thing about where I live is all the routes to ride. I can chose from a short and steep climb that gains 1600' in 3 miles, a 40 mile route with 4000' of climbing, a 104 mile route with 9000' of climbing, a fast 25 mile loop with rolling hills, or anything in between.

For example, this coming weekend I'm doing a century ride with a local club in Harrisonburg VA. The following weekend I'm doing a 75 mile charity ride in Crozet VA. Then in the beginning of Oct I'm riding Skyline Drive from start to finish (104 miles, 9000')

In the Spring I'm thinking of becoming at Cat 5 amateur and doing some of the local events around me and in WV.

Did I mention that the Blue Ridge Parkway is in my backyard. And WV is just over an hour away?

Forgive me if this sounds like bragging, but I find Central VA to be just great for cycling. And like yourself, I grew up in the Midwest.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

I've ridden Bike Virginia the past three years with weeklong rides based out of the Roanoke/Radford, Staunton/Harrisonburg, and Winchester areas. All three rides were great with nice roads, beautiful scenery and lots of climbing. Traffic was not bad but the rides were all based in smallish towns with routes selected to avoid traffic. Virginia also has some great trails like the New River in the SW and C&O Canal in the N, and the DC metro area has an incredible network. Like others mentioned, however, parts of the state are highly populated with heavy traffic so it depends a lot on where you locate. Personally I would check out the Roanoke, Staunton/Harrisonburg, Charlottesville and Richmond areas if thinking of relocating there.


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

I grew up here so I'm used to it all. The ex? Not so much. She grew up in Cheyenne and hated it here. 

1. its expensive
2. there's a ton of people jammed into a small area
3. this is where all the ambitious govt types end up (and they drive like it)
4. did I mention expensive?

Having said that there's some of the best all-round riding out my back door that I've ridden anywhere. (and I've lived LOTS of places) The weather's generally co-operative for year-round riding. There's anything and everything you can think of to do in the DC area. The racing is awesome. Cross especially. (too bad there's no track :cry) 

Almost all the jobs are up here in the DC area. :nod So people live out in Winchester, Front Royal, Culpeper, Warrenton, etc and commute in. THAT sucks, but if you want small-ish town living and need to make the $ to live here, its what you do.

I tell people the DC area is like a black hole with a big accretion disc. It doesn't take much to get you sucked back in. I've left and come back 4 different times now. 

M


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## QQUIKM3 (Apr 20, 2008)

*See this. ..*

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/mid-atlantic/hampton-roads-area-virginia-291725.html


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## frisbie17 (Jan 17, 2012)

I'm from Portland Oregon and now live in Lorton Va. South of the DC Area. I love riding out here. Decent roads, easy to get off the high traffic areas and there are a ton of different rides through beautiful area all with in minutes of me. I can also take off from my door without issues. I ride 125 to 150 miles a week and love it. I still prefer Portland to VA any day... But the Army put me here.


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