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tuscon arizona or austin texas
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DreamChaser
Nov 2, 09 15:16
Post #1 of 35 (990 views)
tuscon arizona or austin texas
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For winter training which is better to live and train. I am looking for warm temperatures, low traffic rides where cars are nice to you. Does austin have any great climbs? i am looking for a big tri community in the south that i can train and race with throughout the winter months. people who have been there what are your thoughts? are the lakes warm enough to swim in during the winter?
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Karaya0321
Nov 2, 09 15:23
Post #2 of 35 (983 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [DreamChaser]
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Austin
Lots of good terrain and roads to ride on, more lakes, larger tri community and a much cooler(i don't mean temp) city than Tucson.
Better natural food selection in Austin too and a more active community as a whole.
Tucson isn't bad but to me it is a no brain call for Austin.
gleveq
Nov 2, 09 15:40
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Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [DreamChaser]
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No comparison. Tucson has it all over Austin. You don't see Austin getting all the kudos for best tri training ground, do you?
Weather is fabulous. Rides and runs are epic and Tucson is plenty cool.....if you need that, too. And if you want to talk Mexican food, not that TexMex crap, well, Tucson IS all that.
The only thing that Austin has over Tucson is open water swim opportunities.
No brainer......go to Tucson.
G
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STJay
Nov 2, 09 15:59
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Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [gleveq]
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Gail is right on. The beauty of Tucson (and I may be biased since I grew up there) is the ease of escape from cars and noise. You can drive from the center of town 15 minutes in any direction and be dealing with only stop signs, one or two cars every 15 or so minutes and loads of gorgeous scenery riding or running. Get away from the din of the city and you can really focus on your training. Easy to get to airport, a few good pools and tons of training groups, and you're set.
That and the variety. Riding or running mountains, flats, rollers, technical, easy, it's all there, all within that 15 minutes.
Glad I have a vote in my mag as to what the top cities are. I've been all over and nothing anywhere beats the beautiful black rolling ribbon of Kinney Road in the morning with saguaros and vistas as your visual spread. Tucson takes it.
Jay Prasuhn
Senior editor, Triathlete magazine
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austin79
Nov 2, 09 16:21
Post #5 of 35 (921 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [DreamChaser]
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Tuscon. it gets pretty darn 'cold' here in the winter. I don't enjoy winter training in Austin. Plus, good rides and roads are getting scarce.
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pjcampbell
Nov 2, 09 16:25
Post #6 of 35 (913 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [austin79]
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I do not know about Austin but I know that Tucson has Mt Lemmon. you can ride up hill for 2 hours.
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kemp
Nov 2, 09 16:48
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Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [DreamChaser]
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I've spent time in both, and really it comes down to whether you want year round training opportunities or not. From an environmental aspect I prefer the city of Austin, but it does rain a lot over there and gets quite cold. Tucson rarely has snow so you can ride pretty much year round.
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jonny bonk
Nov 2, 09 17:51
Post #8 of 35 (843 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [DreamChaser]
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if you are looking for a place to live, go to Austin. great food, people & music and other amenities. The hill country offers great rides; hell, Lance lives here.
But for winter training, i'd go to Tucson. Better winter weather & less traffic.
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istanford
Nov 2, 09 18:04
Post #9 of 35 (831 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [DreamChaser]
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Tough call. I have lived in Tucson and have went down every winter since. But, the last time I realized that things are beginning to get a bit more sketchy there. Sure, great rides on Mt. Lemmon, out to Madera Canyon, Kitts, behind Gates Pass, but the roads are getting pretty chewed up. Mission Rd. is turning into "the hell of the south" and some of the small towns outside of Tucson are finally starting to "grow up." Personally, I am giving Austin a try this winter. Had a great time there and ran into some pretty nice riding. More traffic in Austin but better roads, heavy traffic in Tucson (City) but some quiet time out on the roads even if they are very rough. Get some good training tires like Bontrager Hard Cases and carry two tubes. I have never flatted in Tucson on a Bontrager Hard Case in 4000 miles. That is a milestone for tires in Tucson. Stay in north or northeast Tucson. Hit IN & OUT Burger of course.
TBinMT
Nov 2, 09 18:08
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Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [DreamChaser]
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I like Tucson a lot and there are so many cool things to do there and/or within a 1-2 hour drive: A huge city & all that (PHX), mountains, woods, Mexico! The climate is more guaranteed in Tucson, I think. I mean there's some cold mornings (25-40) but I think most afternoons are in the 50s and 60s Dec.-Feb and very little rain or snow. Austin weather is probably more all over the map.
Will132
Nov 2, 09 19:06
Post #11 of 35 (785 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [DreamChaser]
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Just throwing it out there, but I doubt anyone will take it serious. Just south of Tucson is Sierra Vista. 5000 alt, endless roads and no distractons. You can easily do 100+ mile rides with hitting two stop lights and they can be avoided if that's too much. Running is great and a pool that is pretty dead in the winter. Usually I go and wth the 8 lanes there are only three occupied.
Nothing else to brag about, but if you want training, this is it.
115InTheShade
Nov 2, 09 21:48
Post #12 of 35 (719 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [Will132]
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Just throwing it out there, but I doubt anyone will take it serious. Just south of Tucson is Sierra Vista. 5000 alt, endless roads and no distractons. You can easily do 100+ mile rides with hitting two stop lights and they can be avoided if that's too much. Running is great and a pool that is pretty dead in the winter. Usually I go and wth the 8 lanes there are only three occupied.
Nothing else to brag about, but if you want training, this is it.
Sierra Vista is about 15-25 degrees colder than Tucson. They get more snow (although it is infrequent) and you have to like riding the same 5-6 roads! Now a great ride is Tucson to Vail to the frontage road to the Sonoita highway to Sonoita to Sierra Vista to Tombstone over Mule Pass then into Bisbee...do the opposite the next day. Lots of fun! 120 miles (+or- depending on where you depart in Tucson) each way with a few nice climbs along the way.
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Francois
Nov 2, 09 22:33
Post #13 of 35 (711 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [115InTheShade]
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And if for some reason you want to XC ski, flagstaff isn't all that far. Never been to Austin so I can't say which is best, but Tucson is really nice, be it for winter training, or to live.
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pjcampbell
Nov 3, 09 4:48
Post #14 of 35 (641 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [Francois]
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Where else (anywhere, not necessarily South west) has good warm weather training in the winter and hills?
I was trying to figure this out based solely on a map and came to the conclusion of northern Georgia (albeit in the middle of no where... and I've never been there so not sure what it is like).
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Patrick
Next up: 2010 FL 70.3
hgrong
Nov 3, 09 5:03
Post #15 of 35 (632 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [kemp]
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I've spent time in both, and really it comes down to whether you want year round training opportunities or not. From an environmental aspect I prefer the city of Austin, but it does rain a lot over there and gets quite cold. Tucson rarely has snow so you can ride pretty much year round.
Anyone who tells you that Austin gets cold does not understand the meaning of the word cold.
The average temps in Austin in the winter months is around 50F. If you think that is cold you need to venture north of the Mason-Dixon. I hear Austin occasionally gets below freezing; that's when I start to think about putting on pants.
That was just a rant as a long way of saying that neither Austin or Tuscon get cold. So don't worry about that when choosing between the two.
EBrown
Nov 3, 09 6:09
Post #16 of 35 (598 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [DreamChaser]
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I'm hitting up Tucson for winter training. I've heard from a number of sources how awesome it is - Cliff English has a good group out there. There's group rides that leave from the University and a couple solid masters swimming programs.
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MarkyV
Nov 3, 09 6:50
Post #17 of 35 (570 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [EBrown]
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When are you heading down? Where ya staying? I'm thinking of getting a group together for something in JAN/FEB.
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gleveq
Nov 3, 09 11:45
Post #18 of 35 (485 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [hgrong]
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Ok, you're right. It doesn't get below-zero-cold in Austin, but it sure as hell gets wet-icy-sleety-windy-nasty-uncomfortable-40-degrees way more often than you might think.
I moved from NorAZ to Texas and was really looking forward to going to Austin........but, like a lot of things in TX, I found it was rather over-rated. So it goes....
G
It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.
www.gorillamultisport.com
archistu
Nov 3, 09 12:45
Post #19 of 35 (443 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [pjcampbell]
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Palm Springs, CA.
115InTheShade
Nov 3, 09 13:13
Post #20 of 35 (408 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [hgrong]
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Anyone who tells you that Austin gets cold does not understand the meaning of the word cold.
When you are acclimatized to 115 degree summers, anything under 65 is freakin cold! : ) Kind of like when cold weather people come down here (Tucson) in the middle of summer.
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Aus(Justin)tin
Nov 3, 09 13:24
Post #21 of 35 (396 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [gleveq]
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Ok, you're right. It doesn't get below-zero-cold in Austin, but it sure as hell gets wet-icy-sleety-windy-nasty-uncomfortable-40-degrees way more often than you might think.
I moved from NorAZ to Texas and was really looking forward to going to Austin........but, like a lot of things in TX, I found it was rather over-rated. So it goes....
G
Actually we didn't have any wet-icy-sleety-windy-nasty-uncomfortable-40-degree days the last two winters in Austin. Last time that happened was Jan. 1997.
Personally, I think Austin has some of the best weather in the world in the Fall/Winter/Spring. Summer can suck it!
FWIW...
Longest climb in Austin is 5 minutes, but there are a lot of them, and some are really, really steep. We can do and are doing a 102 mile ride in two weeks with over 10,000 feet of climbing that never leaves the Austin city limits!
Never ridden in Tuscon, so I'm not comparing, but for Austin:
Lots and lots of triathletes. Lots and lots of serious cyclists/bike racers. Lots of places to ride on quiet roads. Flat, rolling, scenic, or lots of short climbs. Take your pick. Very expensive compared to the rest of TX. Lots of traffic when you are unfortunate enough to be in your car.
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Danno
Nov 3, 09 13:36
Post #22 of 35 (379 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [Aus(Justin)tin]
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Quote:
Never ridden in Tuscon, so I'm not comparing, but for Austin:
Lots and lots of triathletes. Lots and lots of serious cyclists/bike racers. Lots of places to ride on quiet roads. Flat, rolling, scenic, or lots of short climbs. Take your pick. Very expensive compared to the rest of TX. Lots of traffic when you are unfortunate enough to be in your car.
And, the city just passed a 3-foot passing ordinance requiring cars to be mindful of, and provide space for cyclists on the road. In conjunction with that, they are designating a LOT of downtown and neighborhood street lanes as shared lanes for bicycles and automobiles. They're painting "Sharrows" in a ton of right lanes. Hopefully, this will help Austin become more cycling-friendly.
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gleveq
Nov 3, 09 13:42
Post #23 of 35 (367 views)
Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [Danno]
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Bike lanes in TX? They can do that? ;-) Probably only in Austin.
But you forgot to mention the chip seal......bane of my post-back surgery existance.
The "rough" roads in Tucson don't even come close to what TxDOT provides.
G
It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.
www.gorillamultisport.com
115InTheShade
Nov 3, 09 13:52
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Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [gleveq]
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The "rough" roads in Tucson don't even come close to what TxDOT provides.
G
Ridden Mission road south lately? Was nice that they took "the worst road in Pima County" and "fixed" it...making it worse. Now instaed of pot holes there are lots of mini speed bumps/humps! Fortunately (or unfortunately) I ride Mission often so have all the worst spots figured out. : )
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Aus(Justin)tin
Nov 3, 09 14:04
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Re: tuscon arizona or austin texas [gleveq]
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Bike lanes in TX? They can do that? ;-) Probably only in Austin.
But you forgot to mention the chip seal......bane of my post-back surgery existance.
The "rough" roads in Tucson don't even come close to what TxDOT provides.
G
Apparently you haven't ridden in Oklahoma much! Austin roads are butter smooth by comparison. Having ridden lots of places, the quality of the roads is not something I'd complain about in Austin.
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