Seriously; where should a bikie retire?

Matt O'Toole wrote:

SW Virginia really is terrific. There are great cycling towns all through
the mountains of VA, NC, TN, and SC. I've heard Lance Armstrong has a
house in Boone, NC. George Hincapie is from Greenville, SC.

I was thinking somewhere roughly between Greenville, SC and Brevard, NC
might be the ideal. Close enough to the mountains to go ride in the
summer, far enough south that the lowlands should only be snowy or icy
5-10 days a year.

But not SW Virginia. No, too much snow, roads are too windy and narrow,
traffic density keeps going up, coal trucks. Phone service by (my
uncle's name for it) InterMittent Telephone.

(Former resident of Damascus and Wise)

Wind in CenTex varies a lot, and most of the time it's pretty still.
It's rarely strong, but sometimes plays into rides. Not the 10mph/40mph
upwind/downwind split mentioned in Dallas. It's more of a 16mph/28mph
difference when it's strong.

It's not as bad as Boulder in April -- I got blown right off of HWY 93
one time there

-Mike

Pat in TX wrote:
I was just about to suggest Central Texas as well. I grew up in
Colorado, and raced there for years. I live in Austin now, and they
cycling here is great.

But what about wind? Here in the Dallas area, the wind is usually 15-25 mph
daily. I get so d@#$%d tired of the constant wind even if the weather is
otherwise nice.

Pat

OCTOBER
i rolled down the hill into texas proper.
there on my right
was a rest stop
i stopped
crawled from the volvo
laid in the grass and gasped
pouring water over my body
to forestall certain death
and wistfully remembered , miamuh in august
but eagle is terrific, alpine also. try alpine!!
or el paso!!!
interviewing mexican construction workers on texas life v miamuh brings
lotsa eyeball rolling

In article 6PYwf.8626$jR.1764@fed1read01, Jim
wrote:

Wrong forum I know, but the other rec.bicycles forums are now inhabited by
trolls...
Anyone here know a USA destination with well-paved mountain roads, thin
traffic & pleasant weather? I'm looking to buy a vacation/retirement home
fit for a bikie.
No pricey ski resorts needed, just good road riding.
Best,
Jim



I'm surprised no one's ventured this proposal, so here goes. Forget
about a house; invest in a luxury motorhome and you can have your pick
of locations. Summer: the Shenandoah or the Adirondacks, how about
Vermont or the Pacific Northwest? and winter, anywhere in the southern
U.S. - or beyond!

Touring the U.S. northeast a couple of years ago it was a revelation to
encounter these roving retirement communities. Legions of land ships
piloted by latter day blue-haired hippies migrating en mass across the
continent. When you want to move; turn the key and press the
accelerator...

Luke

Matt O'Toole wrote:
On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 03:41:16 -0800, Ron Ruff wrote:

I also liked the Temecula, CA area and north San Diego county. Great
weather and lots of good roads... but traffic is getting worse all the
time. Also, it's very expensive.

It's also really, really hot. Get just a few miles from the coast in
southern CA and you're basically in a desert climate. It's over 100F in
Temecula all the time.

As a southern CA native and lifelong cycling enthusiast, I think I can
honestly say that southern CA has little to recommend it for Jim -- unless
he already has friends there, or there's some other attraction.

If he thinks a ski town is overpriced, I don't think he'll be too turned
on by hyper-expensive yet mundane suburbs in CA (like Temecula), let alone
the places in southern CA truly worth living in.

I am a lifelong San Diegan and I have to disagree. Not all of SoCal is
look-alike suburbs. I would like to move from the city up to the
hills, some place like Pine Valley, Descanso, or Julian (all in eastern
San Diego County). The elevation is ~4000 feet so even on the two
weeks a year that Temecula is 100 deg these communities are still
nice. Development hasn't gotten there yet and it is (to me) cycling
paradise. There are plenty of quite, well paved country roads with
lots of challenging hills.

I don't know what Jim is after but it has what I need. The only
drawback (and this is a big one) is the cost of housing.

Tom

In article ,
Mark Janeba wrote:

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
One of the most beautiful places I've been to (and, unfortunately, not had
a
chance to ride) was the high desert area of Oregon (which actually extends
up into Washington). Doesn't rain very much there, and it's got mountains,
valleys, you name it. Not too crowded yet, but retiring Californians are
beginning to change that. The lack of jobs helps keep costs reasonable
though.

I'm thinking about retiring there myself (well, a long time from now).
I have ridden there a fair amount, and liked it, for the most part.
Living in eastern Oregon, you'd be a short ways from Western Oregon and
the Willamette Valley, which is wonderful cycling territory in late
spring/summer/fall. (That's where I live now). Not too bad outside of
the very depths of winter, either. If I could somehow afford two
houses, I'd like in Western Oregon April through October and Eastern
Oregon November through March - but that's just a not-well considered
pipe dream.

Name some towns. I'd like to live near a decent sized city for shopping,
medical and other services. Ideally, be able to ride all year round,
have a lot of acreage (relatively cheap), near a national forest for
mountain biking and have world class road biking out my front door.

--
Mike DeMicco

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In article ,
(PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Pat in TX:
wind is usually 15-25 mph
daily. I get so d@#$%d tired of the constant wind even if the weather is
otherwise nice.

Are there any windsurfable lakes in the vicinity? If it's not too gusty/shifty,
15-25 almost very day would be world-class windsurfing.


_ I tried a few places on my way to South Padre Island on a
Windsufari I took in '87. They were all pretty dreadful,
gusty shifty winds that only blow in the afternoon... All
those lakes are man made reservoirs in valleys that cause
lots of nasty wind shifts. They often dry up as well...

_ I did a lot of small plains mudhole sailing when I
live in Colorado. It can be fun and blow as hard as
anywhere, but there's a reason all the MidWesterns flock
to South Padre in the spring....

_ Booker C. Bense


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I live in Bend Oregon, which is considered Central Oregon. Biking here
is absolutely fantastic, road and mountain biking, but only from about
April through October. The rest of the year we're apt to have snow on
the ground. Then you can put on the snowshoes or X country skis.

I've lived here for 25 years and it is indeed a wonderful place to live
for outdoor recreation. Within a few miles you have desert and forest,
canoing rivers and spelunking caves, wilderness hiking and a world class
ski area. Air is clean, water is clear, and too many Californians moving in.

Q

Mike DeMicco wrote:
In article ,
Mark Janeba wrote:


Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

One of the most beautiful places I've been to (and, unfortunately, not had
a
chance to ride) was the high desert area of Oregon (which actually extends
up into Washington). Doesn't rain very much there, and it's got mountains,
valleys, you name it. Not too crowded yet, but retiring Californians are
beginning to change that. The lack of jobs helps keep costs reasonable
though.

I'm thinking about retiring there myself (well, a long time from now).
I have ridden there a fair amount, and liked it, for the most part.
Living in eastern Oregon, you'd be a short ways from Western Oregon and
the Willamette Valley, which is wonderful cycling territory in late
spring/summer/fall. (That's where I live now). Not too bad outside of
the very depths of winter, either. If I could somehow afford two
houses, I'd like in Western Oregon April through October and Eastern
Oregon November through March - but that's just a not-well considered
pipe dream.


Name some towns. I'd like to live near a decent sized city for shopping,
medical and other services. Ideally, be able to ride all year round,
have a lot of acreage (relatively cheap), near a national forest for
mountain biking and have world class road biking out my front door.

G.T. wrote:
Matt O'Toole wrote:
On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 03:41:16 -0800, Ron Ruff wrote:


I also liked the Temecula, CA area and north San Diego county. Great
weather and lots of good roads... but traffic is getting worse all the
time. Also, it's very expensive.


It's also really, really hot. Get just a few miles from the coast in
southern CA and you're basically in a desert climate. It's over 100F in
Temecula all the time.

Bull****. My parents have lived in Temecula since 1987 and it has
rarely been over 100. I ride there year round, it may be warmer than
Orange County but it's considerably cooler than where I live and areas
further inland. And Temecula/Fallbrook has lots of little traveled yet
steep roads, and there are tons of SD north county rides nearby.
Temecula and Fallbrook are a lot closer to the ocean than you think.

The average high temperature in Temecula, CA in July and August is 98
F. See
http://www.weather.com/activities/other/other/weather/climo-monthly-graph.html?locid=92592.

--
Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley (For a bit?)

" wrote:

You might consider the Bay Area. The weather is pretty good . The
motorists are relatively benign. Lots of choices in the East BAy and
North BAy

The best thing about the "Bay Area" is that you can live almost
anywhere in the country and be there...

Mark "like there's only one?" Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame