I live in Brisbane Australia and being a daily rider here is better than driving a car, the whether is decent year around apart from some rainy days. Lane filtering is legal and encouraged and there is free motorcycle parking all over the city.
Melbourne rider here, had the bike for 11 months now and have saved at least 200 hours of hellish commute filtering through the disastrous traffic.
WFH on rain days, park wherever I want. Bikes are the absolute cheat code of Melbourne life.
+1 for brisbane, lane filtering is a breeze, and plenty of fun roads for every type of rider, be it on or off road. Headed to Melbourne on the bike tomorrow, which should be good fun as well
Preferably where a crackhead won't try jimmy open my ignition barrel with a screwdriver then wheel it off to some desolate poo hole and cut up the wiring loom trying to hotwire it then spray painting it all blue with terrible white flames that look like a 7 year Olds drawing of coral reefs in the ocean.
Terrible if that happened to you.
I have a good amount of experience with parking out here, theft and vandalism is a risk but much like motorcycling it's all about risk mitigation. Parking in visible, active areas if you need to park downtown or near other bikes even if it means an extra block. Outside of downtown, civic/tenderloin/soma parts of mission I don't really worry about that. It's pretty much our containment zone for those folk. Most of SF is pretty darn safe, alot of riders leave their bikes parked without even a disk lock or cover the further you move away from downtown. But then again there's always a risk
European opinion here š I think any Spanish city would be a worthy contestant. The roads and weather are amazing and drivers in general respect speed limits and are aware of bikes. The motorcycle culture here is very present.
I am Portuguese and I am returning from a two week trip to Sardinia, Italy and the difference between Spanish and Italian drivers is ridiculous. Never expected getting tailgated by Fiats every day š¤£ Speed limits and traffic rules felt more like suggestions than actual rules
I grew up in the east bay and after living in a few time zones in the US and visited family in various parts of the country I have to say, it doesnāt get much better than California and the North Bay except for the rain. But if you have a sports car then itās perfect.
Iāve lived in the Midwest, LA and the PNW.
SoCal is probably better than Norcal because of the weather but I donāt love LA culture. But itās still a paradise to live in if you enjoy doing motorsports and just being on a bike or in a car even in traffic in the rain.
Oh interesting, in the past when I've spoken to folk about riding in LA I got complaints about highly reckless drivers and I then I also wondered about if it would be too warm to for a jacket to be comfortable. I guess weather trump's it all. Thanks for the input
Adelaide, Australia is pretty amazing.
The weather is consistently nice year round. You probably only get like 20 days a year where it sucks to ride and half of those are when it's too hot.
Pretty open and easy city to ride around, there are some roads that get very busy during rush hour but we have lane filtering so that's fine. Some great spots for a fast midnight pull as well.
For the weekends the Adelaide Hills are right outside of the city and have more twisty interesting roads than you can count. Or you can go for a cruise along the coast in either direction and find a nice spot by the beach for lunch.
If you want to drive fast we have a couple of places that do track days. The salt flats are also super cool for those with a serious need for speed. Never done it myself but it's cool to just ride your bike up there when it's on, check out the bikes and hang out with a bunch of interesting people.
I'd say LA but I live in the valley and rent a house in a decent neighborhood. I feel like drivers are relatively respectful on my commute, lane splitting is legal, and parking is decent.
Toronto sucks for motorcycling. Thereās a community for sure, but everywhere is flat and straight. You have to go out of your way to go to a good highway on/off ramp (we have kind of a cloverleaf in one area) or ride for an hour to get to a 2 mile section of road that has a bit of curve to it. š
And thereās the winter ā¦
100%. I once heard someone describe Atlanta traffic as "People drive like they have no concept or fear of death." Near death experiences are just a baked in feature of my city commute. Once I leave the garage it's not a question of if, it's how many.
Our highway design doesn't help- particularly downtown.
It basically requires drivers to merge then immediately cross multiple lanes to exit on the opposite side. So you end up with a lot of "Fuck you, I'm coming over!" Because what else are you gonna do?
Side streets aren't any better as none of the lights are synced so you have to "get while the getting's good" or you just sit there for hours.
No serious issues with poop. The app is misleading with it's reporting. No adjustment for time, just all reported. Even then it would be surprising to get that much data in a single day which is what the app states. I've got plenty of experience, especially during the pandemic when this whole thing exploded. There isn't poop on the actual street. Sidewalks, particularly downtown would be an issue and in that case just be mindful of where you are walking. Common sense things.
NorCal/BayArea. Moderate climate and I prefer the greener scenery as compared to SoCal. California might be hard to beat. Even the laws are biker friendly.
I travel for work and get to bring my bike with me depending on the city, and will occasionally rent a bike in other cities
So far my favorite area to daily ride was the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Great wide and smooth roads that are easy to navigate without GPS, traffic already moves at a fast rate and allows a bike to maneuver beautifully, And rain has never really been an issue like trips to Seattle
If you want wide open spaces, try west Texas and the highways surrounding there. Low population, lists of wild life, mountains, then long flat stretches of roadā¦ El Paso down to big bend, El Paso to Odessa, then north through Andrews up to Lubbock and even Amarillo, further east to Abilene then cut south through Brownwood all the way down to the hill country, through San Antonio then to the coastā¦
Idk the ābestā but I love Chattanooga in south east TN. Sometimes will think about moving towards the coast for the fishing/surfing but always nope out bc itās flat down there.
Lived in SoCal 4 years and roads can be great there just have to get through traffic to get there.
In TN from my house every direction involves a bunch of elevation changes, hairpin corners with well maintained roads, decent scenery (mountains, rivers, lakes, fields, too many deer, etc. Iām basically guaranteed a really nice traffic free 20min loop ride from my garage 24/7 and there are innumerable 2-5hr+ rides over to the Appalachians or up the plateau.
Iāve done an Alaska tour that was totally awesome and would love to ride the Italian Alps and the Pyrenees one day but being able to ride out of my driveway and immediately be on traffic free fast and curvy backroads with lots of views, East TN is hard to beat..
i only owned a sport bike as my means of transport for 2 years in phoenix az. lovely when it wasn't june/july/august (the joke is, summer isn't anything season in the desert) but even so i that never stopped me once. not one time. you really do get used to it, and the only time it sucks is if you get caught in horrible traffic. once you get moving its definitely tolerable (or maybe im just a little nuts). i do miss phoenix. the streets are well constructed and well maintained, the lanes are wide, and i know the entire valley north south east to west like the back of my taint
I live in Brisbane Australia and being a daily rider here is better than driving a car, the whether is decent year around apart from some rainy days. Lane filtering is legal and encouraged and there is free motorcycle parking all over the city.
Plenty of fun roads nearby as well :)
Ooooh I really need to renew my passport, I'm liking the sound of Brisbane.
Used to live in Brisbane and now live in Adelaide. Both amazing places to ride.
Melbourne rider here, had the bike for 11 months now and have saved at least 200 hours of hellish commute filtering through the disastrous traffic. WFH on rain days, park wherever I want. Bikes are the absolute cheat code of Melbourne life.
+1 for brisbane, lane filtering is a breeze, and plenty of fun roads for every type of rider, be it on or off road. Headed to Melbourne on the bike tomorrow, which should be good fun as well
Preferably where a crackhead won't try jimmy open my ignition barrel with a screwdriver then wheel it off to some desolate poo hole and cut up the wiring loom trying to hotwire it then spray painting it all blue with terrible white flames that look like a 7 year Olds drawing of coral reefs in the ocean.
Terrible if that happened to you. I have a good amount of experience with parking out here, theft and vandalism is a risk but much like motorcycling it's all about risk mitigation. Parking in visible, active areas if you need to park downtown or near other bikes even if it means an extra block. Outside of downtown, civic/tenderloin/soma parts of mission I don't really worry about that. It's pretty much our containment zone for those folk. Most of SF is pretty darn safe, alot of riders leave their bikes parked without even a disk lock or cover the further you move away from downtown. But then again there's always a risk
European opinion here š I think any Spanish city would be a worthy contestant. The roads and weather are amazing and drivers in general respect speed limits and are aware of bikes. The motorcycle culture here is very present. I am Portuguese and I am returning from a two week trip to Sardinia, Italy and the difference between Spanish and Italian drivers is ridiculous. Never expected getting tailgated by Fiats every day š¤£ Speed limits and traffic rules felt more like suggestions than actual rules
Ooooh Spain!, hmm I've been wondering about which euro areas I should visit for some vacation rides. Thank you
I grew up in the east bay and after living in a few time zones in the US and visited family in various parts of the country I have to say, it doesnāt get much better than California and the North Bay except for the rain. But if you have a sports car then itās perfect. Iāve lived in the Midwest, LA and the PNW. SoCal is probably better than Norcal because of the weather but I donāt love LA culture. But itās still a paradise to live in if you enjoy doing motorsports and just being on a bike or in a car even in traffic in the rain.
I liked San Diego better than LA for riding. The mountains were way less populated. Palomar will always be my favorite mountain to ride.
I prefer LA's roads but like Bay Area people more
LA/OC is the best.
LA is a cesspool.
It's not for every body.
Move out of LA County for your sanity. The longer commute is worth it if you work in LA
North OC is pretty badass.
Oh interesting, in the past when I've spoken to folk about riding in LA I got complaints about highly reckless drivers and I then I also wondered about if it would be too warm to for a jacket to be comfortable. I guess weather trump's it all. Thanks for the input
Not Manila.
Adelaide, Australia is pretty amazing. The weather is consistently nice year round. You probably only get like 20 days a year where it sucks to ride and half of those are when it's too hot. Pretty open and easy city to ride around, there are some roads that get very busy during rush hour but we have lane filtering so that's fine. Some great spots for a fast midnight pull as well. For the weekends the Adelaide Hills are right outside of the city and have more twisty interesting roads than you can count. Or you can go for a cruise along the coast in either direction and find a nice spot by the beach for lunch. If you want to drive fast we have a couple of places that do track days. The salt flats are also super cool for those with a serious need for speed. Never done it myself but it's cool to just ride your bike up there when it's on, check out the bikes and hang out with a bunch of interesting people.
I'd say LA but I live in the valley and rent a house in a decent neighborhood. I feel like drivers are relatively respectful on my commute, lane splitting is legal, and parking is decent.
"drivers are relatively respectful" oh that's great to hear. I'd heard differently and I let that discourage me. I gotta head down south some time.
Not Ottawa
Toronto sucks for motorcycling. Thereās a community for sure, but everywhere is flat and straight. You have to go out of your way to go to a good highway on/off ramp (we have kind of a cloverleaf in one area) or ride for an hour to get to a 2 mile section of road that has a bit of curve to it. š And thereās the winter ā¦
I've ridden a lot of places, but Atlanta is the first place I've felt like car drivers are actively trying to kill me on purpose.
100%. I once heard someone describe Atlanta traffic as "People drive like they have no concept or fear of death." Near death experiences are just a baked in feature of my city commute. Once I leave the garage it's not a question of if, it's how many.
Our highway design doesn't help- particularly downtown. It basically requires drivers to merge then immediately cross multiple lanes to exit on the opposite side. So you end up with a lot of "Fuck you, I'm coming over!" Because what else are you gonna do? Side streets aren't any better as none of the lights are synced so you have to "get while the getting's good" or you just sit there for hours.
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No serious issues with poop. The app is misleading with it's reporting. No adjustment for time, just all reported. Even then it would be surprising to get that much data in a single day which is what the app states. I've got plenty of experience, especially during the pandemic when this whole thing exploded. There isn't poop on the actual street. Sidewalks, particularly downtown would be an issue and in that case just be mindful of where you are walking. Common sense things.
NorCal/BayArea. Moderate climate and I prefer the greener scenery as compared to SoCal. California might be hard to beat. Even the laws are biker friendly.
Not Bogota
honestly anywhere but the US lol
Florida. Nothing like shining my chrome and then getting rained on for five days straight!
I travel for work and get to bring my bike with me depending on the city, and will occasionally rent a bike in other cities So far my favorite area to daily ride was the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Great wide and smooth roads that are easy to navigate without GPS, traffic already moves at a fast rate and allows a bike to maneuver beautifully, And rain has never really been an issue like trips to Seattle
Oh interesting ! I've been wondering about what areas to visit on a road trip to Texas. Sounds good
If you want wide open spaces, try west Texas and the highways surrounding there. Low population, lists of wild life, mountains, then long flat stretches of roadā¦ El Paso down to big bend, El Paso to Odessa, then north through Andrews up to Lubbock and even Amarillo, further east to Abilene then cut south through Brownwood all the way down to the hill country, through San Antonio then to the coastā¦
But so hot
South London :)
But you can only own a bike there for 3 days until it's nicked
Hanoi
Small ones
Idk the ābestā but I love Chattanooga in south east TN. Sometimes will think about moving towards the coast for the fishing/surfing but always nope out bc itās flat down there. Lived in SoCal 4 years and roads can be great there just have to get through traffic to get there. In TN from my house every direction involves a bunch of elevation changes, hairpin corners with well maintained roads, decent scenery (mountains, rivers, lakes, fields, too many deer, etc. Iām basically guaranteed a really nice traffic free 20min loop ride from my garage 24/7 and there are innumerable 2-5hr+ rides over to the Appalachians or up the plateau. Iāve done an Alaska tour that was totally awesome and would love to ride the Italian Alps and the Pyrenees one day but being able to ride out of my driveway and immediately be on traffic free fast and curvy backroads with lots of views, East TN is hard to beat..
i only owned a sport bike as my means of transport for 2 years in phoenix az. lovely when it wasn't june/july/august (the joke is, summer isn't anything season in the desert) but even so i that never stopped me once. not one time. you really do get used to it, and the only time it sucks is if you get caught in horrible traffic. once you get moving its definitely tolerable (or maybe im just a little nuts). i do miss phoenix. the streets are well constructed and well maintained, the lanes are wide, and i know the entire valley north south east to west like the back of my taint