How much it sucks? I am possibly relocating to The Woodlands (just N of Houston) or close to it. Should I be worried that it is going to be the end of good safe bikerides and good training in general?
I don’t know how the training is where you come from but I have heard the Woodlands is very bike friendly. But being from Houston, not the woodlands, I could be mistaken. I know there are good training routes just north of the Woodlands in Montgomery, TX. Head out there early Sunday for good, long, hilly training rides.
did you just say hilly rides? I would not expect that but I hope you are correct. I am coming from the west side of Fort Worth. I dont know I just feel like Huston is only for shoppers and golfers and people used to be stuck in traffic.
thanks
Well don’t expect to get good training rides in inner-city Houston. That won’t happen. If you are in Houston go to the picnic loop at Memorial Park. It’s a 1.1 mile loop that is shaded and twisty. Good for doing a quick 10-20 mile ride, anymore and you begin to go crazy. Katy, TX, 30 min. west of Houston, is good for flat rides.
here ya go
http://woodlandscycling.org/
plus there is a tri group in the woodlands,
plus www.houstonracing.com in houston.
traffic is worse in dallas/FW than houston.if you’re living/working in the woodlands area you’re in better luck, except for soccor moms on saturday drag ravin up and down woodlands parkway, traffic isnt too bad…
there are a LOT worse places to live than the woodlands area.
I live and train in The Woodlands. Here is the website for the Tri Club in The Woodlands. http://www.lonestarmultisport.org/ There are weekly runs and rides scheduled. There are also maps for bike rides that are safe listed in the website. The Woodlands is very Tri friendly.
Lower your expectations and you’ll find happiness. Seriously. If you have to live here (I’m in Houston proper, SW side of town) you will be happier if you move into the pain and except that you’ll either have flatter rides on shoulderless roads, or have to drive 30-60 minutes for rolling hills, actually considerably shorter drive from Woodlands. I’ve had some really nice rides starting from Conroe. I can do upwards of 100mi right from my door on weekend mornings, but getting out of the city by bike takes some getting used to.
A masters swimmer friend of mine raves about the Woodlands swim center.
Zippy,
The Woodlands is a great place to live. I am from TX (live in TN now) and have lived there. Outstanding swimming facility. About 100 miles a paved trails for running. Your only 5-10 miles from rolling hills to train in. As far as big cities where you are considering is not too bad.
I will warn you its HOT as hell in the summer. But it will make you stronger.
Lastly, you will have tri races and other running races right in the woodlands with a 1/2 IM in Conroe - 10 minutes away.
I am coming from the west side of Fort Worth
If you are talking about the rollers out near Weatherford, then I think you will find the hills on the roads between Montgomery and Anderson to be somewhat comparable. I would add that out near Weatherford, you will find the ‘steps’ to be bit longer for the step climbs and you are going to have to head out to the far side of Austin to find climbs like those near Palo Pinto/Mineral Wells.
Like others have said, it’s all relative. I used to live in Austin and thought it was a great cycling town, until I moved to San Diego. Compared to SoCal, everywhere I’ve been in Texas is generally full of aggressive redneck pickup drivers that could give two shits about a spandex-clad pussy on a bike. I’d also have lower expectations in regards to availability of bike lanes. And you can forget about ever doing any decent climbs unless you drive 150 miles. But at least in Houston the weather is great…oh, wait, nevermind. The Woodlands really is a nice area to live though.
bike on the tollways b/c nobody seems to drive on them
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How much it sucks? I am possibly relocating to The Woodlands (just N of Houston) or close to it. Should I be worried that it is going to be the end of good safe bikerides and good training in general?
True story:
My dad was recently working as an attorney for Halliburton in Houston. Apparently he was located out near a bunch of chemical refineries, and when he asked his co-workers what they thought of the constant terrible smell in the air, one of them took a big deep breath and said, “smells like money.”
I live in Dallas and used to live in Houston. yeah, other than Memorial park, there’s not much riding in the city per say, but I don’t know of many place where that’s true anyway (never lived in SD, etc.). But, in the Woodlands, or in Katy, or Northwest (check out Northwest Cycling Club) there is plenty of good roads, out in the country, low traffic. I rode 80-100 mile loops off some of the NCC rides for 2+ years and never had any issues w/ riders, etc. In fact, folks out in the country were super nice - those people others refer to as “rednecks” would always stop to offer help when I was changing a flat, drove 20 miles out of their way when I double-flatted and was walking back, gladly offered food and water when I ran out 20 miles from my car on a brutally hot and humid day…
And like others have said, the woodlands swim club and trails are excellent. Houston is hot and humid but it makes you tough. No “real” hills but the Texas wind is just as tough as a climb.
I spent 10 years in Spring, next to the Woodlands, and my folks still live there. The Woodlands is very suburban, but a nice place. Great riding around Montgomery County & Lake Conroe. The swimming scene in and around Houston, and especially in the Woodlands, is awesome. Some of the best high school swimmers in the nation come out of the club programs around there. A previous poster already mentioned this, but the Woodlands has a great swimming facility complete with 50 meter pool and 10 meter diving platform.
Get ready for heat and humidity in the summer, but you can train all through the winter without getting below freezing.
toothless, any recommendation on living in Spring? I need to relocate somewhere close to the airport where my company is located. I am trying to find the best mix of SW, BK RN area.Where is the longcourse Woodlands pool located? Any masters teams or tri clubs in that region?
Zippy, go to www.lonestarmultisport.org and go to Training, Swimming this will link you to the Woodlands Masters Swim Team. The currently swim at the Woodlands Athletic Club, which also has long course. However, this may close soon but already under construction is a nadatorium right across I45. If you register for the site and PM me I can give you access to some of the ride maps. I am also happy to help introduce you around to some folks that you might want to train with. Just like all locations we run the spectrum of recreational athetes to world champions and Kona Qualifiers so you should be able to find good training. So, in summary, your training life is not over. If you are in the area on May 19th come to the club meeting, details on the site. If you move closer to Houston proper (e.g. West U) or on the west/southwest side, Houston Racing Triathlon club is also very well established.
Thanks, there is a high chance I will be there on the 19. If you give me more info I will try to come to the meeting. I have my interview on the 20th.
zippy, if you’re working near the airport, the Kingwood, Humble area is real close (On the other side of the airport than The Woodlands/Spring). The Woodlands is hard to beat tho, its pretty nice. Theres a tri club in Kingwood http://www.kingwoodtriathlonclub.com/ which may be able to discuss training in the area. Its a much smaller club than the Woodlands and Houston Racing, but they may be able to give you some info. I know theres swimming with Blue Tide Aquatics but don’t know what they’re facilities are like. Think they utilize a number of local venues. Swimming scene in Houston is, as a previous poster noted, strong.
“zippy, if you’re working near the airport, the Kingwood, Humble area is real close (On the other side of the airport than The Woodlands/Spring). The Woodlands is hard to beat tho, its pretty nice. Theres a tri club in Kingwood http://www.kingwoodtriathlonclub.com/ which may be able to discuss training in the area. Its a much smaller club than the Woodlands and Houston Racing, but they may be able to give you some info. I know theres swimming with Blue Tide Aquatics but don’t know what they’re facilities are like. Think they utilize a number of local venues. Swimming scene in Houston is, as a previous poster noted, strong.”
Am a member of KTC mentioned above. There are several swim venues plus we have an open water swim couple of times per month in Lake Houston. Decent riding routes close to Kingwood although no hills to speak of. Can go 30 miles up US59 and get some good hill training in the Cold Spring area.
Think you will find the Houston area overall is a pretty good tri town.
fal7 in Houston
I just moved to Houston from the midwest (Peoria, IL) about 7 months ago. I had the same doubts about it that you do, but, I was able to join the Houston Triathlon club (great group of people). We typically organize a ride most every weekend. We usually end up going out to Montgomery or Chappell hill area which provide plenty of good hills to ride. So far I’ve really enjoyed it here,although I haven’t been here through a summer yet…and it seems like somewhere around the area you can find a race almost every weekend! I live on the northwest side though so i’m not too familiar with the Woodlands area.
Tim