# Best state/city for training for a professional cyclist



## bigtex (May 1, 2006)

What is the best state to move to for a full time professional cyclist? I've been told that Colorado near Boulder is fantastic and has a diverse topography that would be perfect for a professional athlete. Arizona has also seemed to be a great area for training, with it's mild winter temperatures and diverse desert landscape. Can anyone here give some input or personal experiences about either states? Can any residents of Colorado or Arizona on this forum provide some insight or advice?


----------



## johngfoster (Jan 14, 2005)

I'll bite. While I'm not a professional cyclist, I have been pleasantly surprised at the great cycling around Billings, MT. There is a lot of wide open space and plenty of variety. The only drawback is that the real mountains are about 90 min drive away, but then this is a 4K+ foot solid climb to above 10K feet. There are plenty of country roads around town where you can put together loops with plenty of climbing in them, or if you want to concentrate on flat routes, those are available as well. The weather is mild to boot (for Montana, at least). We get a few good snows each year, but then the roads dry out after a few days. One can ride year round as long as you dress appropriately. I'm sure there are better places elsewhere, but for those of us who live in Billings, we have it surprisingly good here.


----------



## bmxracer2 (May 8, 2006)

Hey Big Tex.
I used to wrench for pro roadies, and was a pro bmxer. Colorado is great!!!!, no questions about it. Boulder is ausome with a great diversity. I live in gunnison, CO. kinda out of the way but the mtn biking is epic. Tuscon, AZ is great to train in. I used to summer their for bmxing, and did a lot of road biking.


----------



## WAZCO (Sep 16, 2004)

*I lived in both places for over 4 years*



bigtex said:


> What is the best state to move to for a full time professional cyclist? I've been told that Colorado near Boulder is fantastic and has a diverse topography that would be perfect for a professional athlete. Arizona has also seemed to be a great area for training, with it's mild winter temperatures and diverse desert landscape. Can anyone here give some input or personal experiences about either states? Can any residents of Colorado or Arizona on this forum provide some insight or advice?



I'm currently in Boulder right now and love the all the routes, the climbs, and hi altitude riding. I rode year round in both AZ and CO but I would rather ride in warm weather over cold weather. I too love the mild winter and diverse desert landscape. There's some nice pictures in the Southwest forum on South Mtn, where i use to live in Tempe, that shows some great desert landscaping. My biking buddies here in CO, CAT 1 racers, go to AZ for the winter to train. Though I still ride in the winter, I get so jealous that they ride in the warm winter weatherr. From what i read in RBR and from general poplulation of Colorado, Boulder is probably the most hated city in the state. I didn't get that feeling in Phoenix or in Tempe. Just my experiences.


----------



## Colorider-X (Feb 21, 2006)

bigtex said:


> What is the best state to move to for a full time professional cyclist? I've been told that Colorado near Boulder is fantastic and has a diverse topography that would be perfect for a professional athlete. Arizona has also seemed to be a great area for training, with it's mild winter temperatures and diverse desert landscape. Can anyone here give some input or personal experiences about either states? Can any residents of Colorado or Arizona on this forum provide some insight or advice?


At the end of my cycling career I had a home in both Colorado and Arizona. My home in AZ was very cheap in the Ahwatukee neighborhood just south of South Mountain. Excellent for mixing up Mtn biking and Roadie. Now that I'm retired, I live in Boulder but now thinking of selling my house in Boulder and move my Coaching career to AZ. This is typical pattern for post pro cyclist. If you can do both state, great, but if I had to choose one, it would be AZ.


----------

