Fifty Plus (50+) - Snowbird recommendatations?

My wife and I are newly retired. We live in Seattle, WA and love the road cycling opportunities here, but would like to spend part of the winter where the cycling and weather are good. We especially enjoy riding riding paved, mixed-use trails and not-too-hilly, quiet, low-traffic streets. We also enjoy relaxed group rides and usually ride about 30 miles at 15 mph. We were thinking about cycling in Arizona or So. California. Suggestions?

You might think of Florida. There are some areas with good bike trails like the Withalacoochie Trail (sp?) which goes through Inverness, FL. Also in Florida, our rivers have water in them.

Also in Florida, our rivers have water in them.

:roflmao2::lol::innocent:

You might think of Florida. There are some areas with good bike trails like the Withalacoochie Trail (sp?) which goes through Inverness, FL. Also in Florida, our rivers have water in them.

are there any hills? To me, nothing is more boring than a 30 mile flat ride - and I'm no animal. I'm curious because the wife and I are approaching snowbird status. I would love to live somewhere for 6-8 weeks in the middle of the winter to take a break from XC skiing and do some cycling.

If you want southern CA without so many people try Paso Robles.

I live in Southern California and we do have good cycling here all winter long. If you are looking for areas where the population is not so dense, you may want to look in Ventura County, Santa Barbra County or even farther north like Monterey or Santa Cruz.

Ojai is in Ventura County and there is some nice riding there. The attached link will show you a topo map and photos from a century ride.


http://www.ojaivalleycentury.org/

Southern AZ is good for wintertime riding. Variety of terrain/scenery but not boringly flat.

Anywhere along the Chief Ladiga trail. The final 9 mile section is completed joining the Chief Ladiga trail to the Silver Comet trail in Georgia providing almost 100 miles of paved rail trail. If you like steep hills we have them as well. You can take a few climbs along the trail using very low traffic back roads or you can do the Cheaha Challenge course any time of the year and even participate in it. You may even meet a few professional cyclists training on the course or the Chief Ladiga and Silver Comet trails. It's not uncommon to see them on and around roads along side the trails training for competitive events. Be sure to visit this site and view the video.
http://www.cheahachallenge.com/
Alabama has very low tax so costs are also low. You can purchase or rent a home along the trail for less than the property tax your paying now. Winters are very mild. We enjoy a few days of below freezing temps to kill off bugs so the following seasons will have reduced populations of them.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2110/1524739328_2a2ed3a6b4.jpg?v=0
http://www.chiefladiga.com/
If you looking for groups to ride with you can join the North East Alabama Bicycle Club or join groups associated the College in Jacksonville. Everyone is welcome to join these rides and friendly riders that enjoy quiet and bike friendly country roads year round.