What is the best city/town for biking and healthy food in the midwest?

[joosttx]

I am thinking Columbia, MO.

[Nierman]

Shakespeare's is pretty healthy.

[joosttx]

Shakespeare's is pretty healthy.

Shakespeare's gets a pass as well as Booches. That $hit is some good 'za. I heard it moved from Broadway?

[cash]

Not far from Columbia ... I'd suggest Lawrence, KS. The riding is surprisingly good (not at all the flat expanse one typically thinks of when one thinks of Kansas), endless rural roads, rolling terrain, lots of green, little traffic. The town is fairly progressive (especially considering that KS is insane). The cost of living is absurdly affordable. It's close enough to Kansas City for reasonably convenient air travel, shopping, sporting events, concerts, etc.

My sister has lived in Lawrence since college (she commutes to the big city but prefers to raise her kids in a college town; her husband is a luthier and the arts/music community is much better in Larry than KC). Check out LFK on Facebook and the interwebs.

[doomridesout]

You know what I'll say... I'm FROM Lawrence. Not a bad place to wind up but nothing like Marin trails. Tons of good dirt roads to ride on little kicker hills, though.

Edit: Although, I will say that KC itself has come up considerably in recent years.

[theflashunc]

The one with the least Clamato?

[Nierman]

Shakespeare's gets a pass as well as Booches. That $hit is some good 'za. I heard it moved from Broadway?

It's healthy for me because of my dairy allergy. Half of our editorial staff went to Mizzou so it comes up often. Hadn't heard it moved, but stopped by one time years ago on a Katy Trail spur adventure and I ate my pb&j outside while buddies got their slice on. Smelled good.

Another cool river town is Omaha NE. Big gravel adventure scene and not too far from the best mtb riding in the heartland down here in KC.

[Noteddy]

College towns. Add Iowa City and Madison to the list. St Paul.all with strong cycling communities and good or blooming food scenes.

[Steve-O]

College towns. Add Iowa City and Madison to the list. St Paul.all with strong cycling communities and good or blooming food scenes.

Pretty hard to go wrong with Midwest college towns... I would through Ann Arbor, MI and Madison, WI in the mix. Both have a great cycling scene and plenty of healthy options (watch out for brats and cheese curds in Madison though)...

[alexstar]

I saw the thread title and came here to post in support of Columbia, MO. Great town, great food, great beer(Flat Branch...), friendly people. Riding there is interesting. Close to the Katy Trail. Low cost of living, too. I'd live there.

[Matthew Strongin]

I saw the thread title and came here to post in support of Columbia, MO. Great town, great food, great beer(Flat Branch...), friendly people. Riding there is interesting. Close to the Katy Trail. Low cost of living, too. I'd live there.

My sister went to Mizzou. I always enjoyed visiting. But, and this won't matter to many of you, that winter...no thanks!

[Saab2000]

Madison, Wisconsin must be high on anyone's list for cycling. Don't know about the food. I assume all the major brands of good food (Hostess, Little Debbie, etc.) can be found in Madison.

I am biased, having grown up in Wisconsin but it's no lie that the cycling is fantastic to the west of town. All the way from Madison to Lacrosse and beyond it's simply excellent 9 months of the year. The rest of the year, well, there are Packer games.

[Mabouya]

Midwest = cr@ppy weather for a significant part of the year, whether you're talking north, middle or south.

I live in St Louis and we get the worst of both worlds - cold winters and hot & humid summers. I've been here for 29.5 years, and knowing what I know now if I had to do it all over again I don't know if I'd choose to live here.

[Saab2000]

Midwest = cr@ppy weather for a significant part of the year, whether you're talking north, middle or south.

Weather is only a part of the equation. I'll grant that there are challenges and a rider might be off the bike for a few months, but it's not nearly as bad as people think IMHO. Today I did 45 miles in Williamsburg, VA. It was 42ºF and windy. Madison, WI is today reporting 39º. Not much difference in the real world. I always roll my eyes when folks in Virginia ask me how miserable it is in Wisconsin or Minnesota or when they wince when I told them I lived in Michigan and loved cycling there 9 months out of the year.

There are few perfect places and Joost may be asking about cycling in the Midwest from a near perfect cycling locale - Northern California.

Weather is always going to be an issue for a cyclist but I think the Midwest is manageable with the right equipment and the right attitude.

[Vlad Luskin]

Living in Marin, why would ever ask such a question?

[jscott]

I claim Columbia, MO as my hometown, and I passed through there in August on my way out to Colorado. Shakespeare's is occupying the former Los Banditos building while their new digs are under renovation. Having hung out at both Los and Shakespeare's as a high school kid in the 80s, that combination blew my mind a little. The new digs are across the parking lot on 9th from their old digs. The old digs are gone.

Anyway.

CoMo is a good place to live, and the terrain is challenging. No big hills, but no flat anywhere (unless you're on one of the rail trails). Also, 90F daytime temps and 100000% humidity from July to September. I guess I don't miss that much.

I have family in Lawrence. It's a cool town, and it has a cycling scene, but I don't think it would be my first choice. I'd put Madison, Ann Arbor, and Columbia ahead of it.

And based on my recent experience, I'd expand my definition of Midwest to include Colorado and put Fort Collins at the top of the list.

[Mabouya]

and 100000% humidity from July to September

THAT is the killer.

Dewpoints above 70* are very, very common. Anything above 60* is not that great, and above 70* is miserable.

[alexstar]

I've also heard good things about Bloomington. Never visited though. It does seem that college towns are the way to go.

[Mabouya]

It does seem that college towns are the way to go.

Perhaps, but why not Corvallis or Eugene, OR instead? They must be better than Columbia, MO.

I know the OP asked about the midwest, but I'd think long and hard about that first.

[Nierman]

Not sure the question posted by the OP was hypothetical or for personal inquiry, but if one was to originally be from the area then spend a few years working hard earning a California living, then have an opportunity to still get paid in those dollars and move family back nearer to other family -- the fraction in cost of living alone goes a long way toward the scenery and weather exchange. Two or three new Lionel bikes every year plus two weeks in Mallorca and you're still in the black. Colorado is right down the road past Ellis. Any direction you go feels like a vacation.