I grew up in Little Rock and I swore that I would never live in a place with harder Winters. Little Rock's real extreme season is of course Summer. I can remember biking in the extreme heat and humidity... especially up the steep hills there, and having to race home with the approach of a sudden thunderstorm. Winters there were just cold enough to convince me that I didn't want to live any farther North, but I did live in St. Louis for many years. St. Louis Summers are just as bad as in LR, and the Winters are much colder and snowier. For a long time I wanted to move to Southern California, but ended up eventually in the Puget Sound area. I definitely love the mild weather here - rarely below 45 in Winter or above 75 in Summer. It doesn't rain as much as people think, but the extremely short days can make Winter here kind of tough. Then again if you're into Winter sports we have some of the best skiing and snow-boarding in the country just 1.5 hours away.

I don't know if I'll ever live in Little Rock again even though I have family there. I do love it there though. It's a beautiful and challenging place to ride a bicycle. I miss riding around Lake Maumelle, along the river, and mountain biking the many trails. The quality of life is also very good in Little Rock, and I think the economy is doing better there than in many cities.