Bicycle towns near SLC (Ogden, Layton: house, construction, closing)

[Trebek]

Are there any smaller towns (10,000 - 30,000) where a person can get around by bicycle alone. I'm looking for a town that is on the rail system so I can still work in SLC.

Also, can people take their bikes on the train?

Thanks,

Trebek

[Trebek]

Cricket....Cricket....Cricket.....

anybody out there???

[powerlumina77]

I don't think this area is on the cuttintg edge of being bike friendly, but you should definitely know about Frontrunner, which is scheduled to be a rail link all the way through the Wasatch front. We live in Ogden, which is a pretty centralized, bike friendly town. Frontrunner should connect us to Salt Lake sometime in 2008. I think as long as you investigate living in the center of town (and there are many along the Wasatch front!), you should be within a reasonable distance from a Frontrunner station. You can google Frontrunner, although the website isn't too developed yet. But it is nice to see the track already laid out along some of the highways around here.

[Trebek]

Excellent, Ogden was at the top of my list. Is traffic pretty laid back there?

Thanks,

Trebek

[powerlumina77]

Well, by Philadelphia standards, definitely yes. But I-15 can get pretty busy along stretches where there's construction, and commuting down to Salt Lake will definitely be rough in the mornings as well as the trip home evenings. I would guess it would be an hour maybe more each way from Ogden. So hopefully the train will be a great alternate for a lot of people.

We've been in the area for about a month now so we're still learning a lot.

[Trebek]

Oh no! Not commuting to SLC by bike. I plan to take the train/bus/motorcycle.
I will do most of my errands around town by bicycle. Its fun, green, a great way to see little things your liable to miss driving a car, and it keeps one in reasonable shape.

Congratulations on your move. Did ya'll move to Ogden? Where did you move from?

[Trebek]

Just read your first message. So you are in Ogden how do you like it so far?

[bijagirl]

Most areas are bike friendly in Utah. There are a lot of roads with bike lanes throughout. What kind of work do you do? That would make a big difference on where you want to live. My hubby is a computer guy, so the south valley was a great place for us. We're gearing up to move in a few months to be near family, though. I can tell you where we live currently there is a commuter bus that picks up a block from the house to downtown SLC. There is a great grocery store within walking distance and a biking trail that my husband uses most mornings before work. The only problem with the trail is that the occassional deer jumps out when he least expects it. I think if you search you can find the right area for you.

Good Luck!

[Trebek]

Thanks Bija,

I'm starting to get a picture of the Utah bike scene. I'm really not wanting to live in the big city, smaller places in the outskirts are what I like. Ogden really looks good at the moment. I'll be checking it out in person in a couple weeks.

It's better to hit a deer on a bicycle than in a car or on a motorcycle...(personally hit two of them so far)!

[powerlumina77]

Hey Trebek- Actually, we're in Layton temporarily, but closing on a house on June 26 in Ogden. We seriously TRY to run errands into town we like it so much. A lot of people outside of Ogden go to 25th street to eat at Roosters or Union Grill. Their food is awesome. Ogden also built a fantastic river walk following the river out of the canyon. All along there are sports fields and botanical gardens, and then in town you pass by some bigger parks including a pool and skate park. The river walk is bike friendly and is about 3 miles.

Feel free to private message me, we've been here over a month and can find info if you need it. People at work are super friendly and can answer anything I can't