Seriously; where should a bikie retire?

[Jay Beattie]

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > 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
>
> 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.

Bend is great for riding and skiing. Good bicycle shops, too --
Sunnyside is a big Trek seller and owned by some really neat
people. The town has swollen with retirees from Ca. but it is
still a nice place to live with only light traffic after you get
out of town. In town, the traffic can be dreadful. During
spring, you can alternate between skiing and riding depending on
your budget. The only down side is the distance from a major
airport. It's about three to four hours over the mountains to
Portland. I always hope one of my clients gets sued in Deschutes
county during the winter so I have an excuse to go Bend for some
skiing on Mt. Batchelor. -- Jay Beattie.

 

[Ron Ruff]

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.
>
> ********. My parents have lived in Temecula since 1987 and it has
> rarely been over 100.

It is pretty hot in the summer. As I recall it can be over 100 degrees
fairly often, but the humidity is very low, and it usually gets down to
60 at night. The normal weather pattern is for 60 degrees in the early
morning, warming to 90-100 by noon, with a strong and cooling sea
breeze thereafter. Just a few miles to the south or west, the hot temps
rarely happen... north SD county is more ideal. Lots of paved roads
snaking through estate areas with little traffic. Busier roads tend to
have nice shoulders.

The toughest one to find is a *good* year-round climate for cycling...
pretty much need to go to California, or southern Arizona- New Mexico
for that. The area of the Carolinas near the mountains is cold in the
winter (mid 40s), and precipitation is high all year. I don't know
about you, but I'd rather not be riding in the rain... especially if
it's below 50.

I still think Silver City is tough to beat... *if* cost of living
matters, and you don't mind being a long way from a big town. Ruidoso,
NM is another good choice, and it is close to Alamogordo. Sierra
Vista- Bisbee AZ are good, too.

 

[Pat Lamb]

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)

 

[[email protected]]

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

 

[[email protected]]

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

 

[Luke]

In article <6PYwf.8626$jR.1764@fed1read01>, Jim <[email protected]>
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

 

[[email protected]]

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

 

[Mike DeMicco]

In article <[email protected]>,
Mark Janeba <[email protected]> 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 <[email protected]>

 

[Booker C. Bense]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article <[email protected]>,
(PeteCresswell) <[email protected]> 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


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2

iQCVAwUBQ8WjWmTWTAjn5N/lAQHH7wQAtNtO4C8ezGkI8IGLYJKXxNxffiU7dPIM
DVrdtjBPkfW7ErTxrQ2rrFkpl3fbzyH1de/e8pLIS3ORut76mZOnbW8bN/ScDMSs
fB8CzCqJF8yf5J8nlZM/hfyB+n83E17eobWehHrYjNULqJ4TysZbcEbtVP3iDdxS
anmVTg+mehs=
=2N16
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

 

[Q]

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 <[email protected]>,
> Mark Janeba <[email protected]> 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.
>

 

[Johnny Sunset]

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.
>
> ********. 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?)

 

[Mark Hickey]

"[email protected]" <[email protected]> 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

 

[G.T.]

"Johnny Sunset" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> 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.h
tml?locid=92592>.
>

There must be some serious differences in microclimates in the area or those
temps weren't taken anywhere near Temecula. My parents live in the avocado
covered hills about 4 miles west of Temecula and it's only been over 100
once in the dozens and dozens of times I've visited them in the summer.

Check this for Fallbrook, CA right next door:

http://www.weather.com/activities/other/other/weather/climo-monthly-graph.ht
ml?locid=USCA0366&from=36hr_bottomnav_undeclared

84 average high. Absolutely perfect.

Greg

 

[Sorni]

Mark Hickey wrote:
> "[email protected]" <[email protected]> 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...

It's near "The City", you know.

Bill "still lookin' for a rolling eyes emoticon" S.

 

[[email protected]]

Jim wrote:
>
> 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.

Too much personal taste involved to make specific recommendations, I'd
say. Especially weather! But here are the general characteristics I'd
look for:

Lots of roads. I'd never want to be in, say, the Montana countryside,
where it's 20 miles or more between roads.

Not too much rural traffic. So avoid a trendy place where housing
developments are popping up on former farm roads.

Stay away from big bodies of water. If you're on a shore, you've got
half the territory to ride compared to someone who's a good way inland.

Look for a place where the geography changes - say, foothills of some
mountains, or where the glaciers stopped (flat north, hilly south).

Get in a small to medium-sized town. Traffic will be less, biking for
utility will be easier.

And make it an "older" town. Older towns have more grid streets,
rather than suburban spaghetti-maze cul-de-sacs. Much nicer for biking
around.

Pick a town within decent driving distance (say, 30 - 45 miles) of a
major city. You won't want to bike _all_ the time, especially as you
get older. Museums, sporting events, theater, music etc. are all
better in big cities.

Consider getting fairly close to a university. They generate lots of
cultural life.

Remember, if you're retired, you can choose to live where the economy
isn't booming, because you (presumably) don't need a job. Benefits are
the cost of living will be lower. Detriments are that good economy
really does help the community afford better roads, culture,
entertainment, etc. So choose carefully.


Having said all that, I can't imagine moving away when I retire. I've
lived here for over 25 years, and I've built up a wonderful network of
friends. I've contributed to the community, I'm involved in several
community organizations. How could I leave?

Of course, I live in a small town, close to a medium-sized city with a
university, not far from three major cities, right where the glaciers
stopped, away from (but not _too_ far from) a major body of water, in
an older area with hundreds of farm roads.

After over 25 years, I still haven't explored all the farm roads.

But I plan to!

- Frank Krygowski

 

[Johnny Sunset]

[email protected] wrote:
> You might consider the Bay Area....

Hudson Bay, Canada?

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

 

[Mark Hickey]

"Johnny Sunset" <[email protected]> wrote:

>[email protected] wrote:
>> You might consider the Bay Area....
>
>Hudson Bay, Canada?

Naaaaaah, gotta be Tampa Bay.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame

 

[Michael Press]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Sorni" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Bill "still lookin' for a rolling eyes emoticon" S.

Tough one. Maybe this: @@
or this

@@
__

Soon it becomes ascii art.

--
Michael Press

 

[Johnny Sunset]

Mark Hickey wrote:
> "Johnny Sunset" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >[email protected] wrote:
> >> You might consider the Bay Area....
> >
> >Hudson Bay, Canada?
>
> Naaaaaah, gotta be Tampa Bay.

Or Green Bay, Paper Towel Capital of the World.

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

 

[Matt O'Toole]

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 13:49:38 -0600, Pat Lamb wrote:

> 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)

None of that here, although the climate is the same. Country roads around
Blacksburg still offer world class riding. Topography and good planning
will probably keep it that way, despite healthy growth.

No communications problems here either, being a major university town and
high-tech center.

It does get a little warmer as you go south, but the disadvantage of that
is more rain and ice instead of snow.

These days the web makes it easy to keep an eye on the weather in a
particular town. It's worth doing that over the winter for several towns
you may be thinking about.

There have been some other good suggestions about OR and NM.

Matt O.