Hello NC'ers

Looking for any heads up you might be willing to impart. My wife and I are moving to W-S area soon and any advice on what part of that city or surrounding area to live in would be great. (trying to avoid the "bad" neighborhoods...if you all have any) Also any cycling routes or clubs that you would recommend or avoid would be appreciated.

thanks in advance

I think you'll like the W-S area. Plenty of riding, nice weather, good people. Take a look at the Lewisville area. It's a small suburb outside of W-S. Many of the road rides leave from Lewisville. The LBSs in the area are really good. Regardless of which you choose, you'll most likely be happy. I'm the Pres. of the Piedmont Flyers, a local bike club. Check out the website. piedmontflyers.com. One of our many projects is to give away new bikes to needy children at Christmas. Last year we gave away 20 bikes with helmets. This year's goal is 50. It's getting late and I'm rambling. Ask any questions, I'll try to answer quickly and honestly.

Konaken

Thanks for the reply.
I think our placement agency is going to place us right in W-S. Would you know what area of the city is good vs bad? Will definitely be looking up your club for some group rides...do you guys out there ride all winter? Night rides and such?

Thanks again

I would still recommend Lewisville as the town square of Lewisville is about 5 miles from the Winston City limit sign. I live 14 miles from downtown Winston. If Winston-Salem is the must have, I would look into the Buena Vista area, the Sherwood Forest Area, or the West End area. All are good places and housing prices will vary widely between them. On to the riding...We ride all year. Unless there is snow on the ground or cold rain, we ride. Once you get into town, get in touch with me and we'll get some riding going. Hope this helps,

Konaken

Konaken,

Thanks for the info...see you when we get there.

I've been in Winston Salem about 3 years. I really love the riding. it is possible to go on nice long flat rides, group rides, solo rides, hilly rides, and if you are motivated, there are serious mountainous rides within really close distances.

There are lots of good groups to ride with in the area. I'm not the president of any- so I don't have the mojo that konaken does. :-) Still, I second the recommendation for the Lewisville area. If you are working directly in Winston Salem, the Country Club road area is a good compromise. Easy to connect to downtown, and depending on where you are, 5-7 miles to get to the main parking lot in Lewisville where many nice rides originate. That adds 10-14 miles to the total ride, and it is tight around rush hour - but it is fun too.

There are at least 15 or 20 charity rides in the area every year - rides for cancer, ms, diabetes, etc. Some of them are pretty large. I'd guess there were 1200 or 1500 riders in this years MS150 Tour to Tanglewood. I think there were only about 100 riders in last year's "polar bear ride for courage (http://www.gopolar.org/) for cancer services"

If you are going to be here by October 14th, here is a nice ride to start things out: the 2006 Cycle for Life for the NC Stroke Association. (http://www.ncstroke.org/biketour2006.html) It winds around the local countryside, and ends at a local vinyard. It was really great last year!

Lots of local companies have some amount of sponsorship for various bicycle events. I think that BB&T, VF Corporation, Allegacy, Tri-stone, Wachovia and maybe another half dozen companies have teams or support teams in one form or another. I don't think that Krispy Kreme has a team though. :-)

There are better places in terms of support, but I really love the riding in the Winston Salem area.

When you get here, go to one of the local bike shops... any one of them, really, Paceline, Ken's Bike Shop, etc. They have a little 5"x8" book called something like "bicycle routes in the Winston Salem area" Ken (the owner of Ken's) is a co-author, I think, but they all sell the book. I got my copy at Paceline. Anyway - I HIGHLY recommend that book.

There are some great clubs and bike shops in the Winston-Salem area. If you are looking for some nice rides at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains and beyond please check out our club's website www.ridgerollers.org. There are several nice cue sheets for some training rides in and around Mount Airy.

Good luck with your move.