Okay, probably most of us are living in a northern location where winter is at the door. And that means a big challenge to bike riding.

How many of you have actually considered moving to a southern location, with year-round bike riding in mind?

I get around a lot in my business. But right now, I find myself caught in eastern Nebraska where the leaves have fallen, the nights and many days are cold or chilly, and there has been a lot of high wind lately. It's gone quickly from hot, humid and buggy riding to cold, windy and downright uncomfortable. Soon there will be lots of snow and ice.

I'm suddenly really motivated to get a new management job in a southern latitude somewhere. As much for comfortable bike riding as anything else. Actually, to be honest about it - MUCH MORE about comfortable winter time bike riding than any other reason!

I'm wondering - have any of you actually MOVED so you can ride? Have you let your bicycle take control of your life to the point that you have actually packed up and relocated?

I have not applied for jobs due to their location because it meant that I'd have to buy a car and still increase the time of my commute. I value my family time and commuting takes away from that. I don't think I would ever consider moving to a distant location to support my riding.

Growing up in Florida and southern California, that hasn't been question. Now that I live in Arkansas its colder but not enough to get me to go south, after all, Little Rock is at the same latitude as Barstow.

However, I do know a lady who wants me to move North, and my experience in Little Rock definitely gives me pause about adding more cold to my riding schedule.

My wife and I have considered moving to Minneapolis. I will bike no matter how far north I move. The important part to me is living close enough to work and shopping to use the bike.

I went the other way, from Southern California to Reno--I never saw a flake of snow or a temperature much below 50 degrees until I was 29 years old. I loved the new area and the job, but the novelty wore off snow and ice pretty damn quickly. The first time my windshield froze up overnight, I had no idea what to do about it. I really didn't know windshield scrapers existed.
Riding, though, turned out to be at least as much fun in winter as in summer. You have harsher conditions in Nebraska than we have here (the snow melts off between storms, and we rarely have prolonged periods below freezing). I miss the beach, but I wouldn't go back to Santa Monica.
As for the move, though, I'd say that if riding is that important to you, go for it. It's an adjustment, but if it doesn't work out, you can always go back. My son moved to Denver a couple of years ago for a job--he's 1000 miles from the family, and everybody misses everybody, but he has new friends and a new life there and i doubt he'd return.

Nah. I love it here.

as a 6th generation chicagoan, this town is in my freaking DNA. i'm afraid i'm one of those "die within 10 miles of where i was born" types of people, for better or for worse.

i suppose you can never say never, especially given my age (34), but the only thing i could imagine ever pulling me away from my beloved chicago would be a woman.

I'm strongly considering it now. Ever since I've lost weight I've had sensitivity to the cold. PA winters are getting old for me.

What is this big challenge of which you speak? Overcoming wussiness?

Although I know you have other reasons for considering leaving PA, the sensitivity to cold should pass.... eventually.

I've definitely considered it, but keep in mind that there are many factors that can facilitate or interfere with cycling. I lived in Washington, DC for ten years and the pollution made my asthma so bad that it seriously interfered with my cycling - and everything else. Now I live in the Pacific Northwest and don't even need asthma medication out here. I sleep better, feel better, and ride better. There were a lot of weeks in the Summer - Code Red air quality days, when I wouldn't ride in DC. Code Red days don't exist where I live now. I also find that the Pacific Northwest is pretty nice for year-round cycling. It doesn't rain as much as people think, and it rarely gets below 45 degrees in Winter. Even Summer you can bike around in normal clothes without getting too sweaty since it is usually 70 degrees and dry.

I grew up in the South (Little Rock) where we had both hot & humid Summers and pretty cold Winters (though nothing like Nebraska). Personally... although I do love biking in the Little Rock area... I think the Puget Sound area is better for year round cycling. But places like the Gulf Coast, Florida, and Southern California would certainly be nice... as long as you aren't near a really smoggy area.

On top of air quality and climate, you also need to consider lifestyle. After all... you can get used to biking under a variety of conditions if you dress appropriately, but finding the time to ride is another thing. Moving to paradise only to have a job and a commute that leaves you very little time for real cycling wouldn't be a very good move. My wife and I did move across the country for a better lifestyle, and part of my criteria included a job that would facilitate bicycle commuting... and a job that would leave me some free time.

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.

I go on holiday to France and I love the place. The terrain- the people and the weather. Favourite area is any where there are mountains or at least hilly country to test my riding on. But I also lived in France 35 years ago. Those areas that I love to go to for a couple of weeks in summer also have some pretty grotty weather at other times of the year. I once spent a month at Marseille in the height of the summer. You couldn't do any physical activity after about 10 am. Too hot- too humid and the thunderstorms that would roll across the area meant that you had to carry a good waterproof all the time. Then there was the time I went to Paris --In late July. Why do you think the Parisiens re-locate in that month. For the same reasons as I found in Marseilles.

I'll stay where I am where I can get a good summer's riding and put up with the wind and the rain and the frost for the rest of the year.

I've considered it, but ended up chickening out and staying where I am. I love cycling, but probably not enough to just give up my equity, friends, job, and short commute.
Besides, the only places that have better weather than here in San Diego, don't usually have our excellent, excellent roads...

I spent most of my life living in various parts of Canada ... especially Alberta and Manitoba where the winters are long and cold. Cold ... like minus 40C/F sort of cold, with lots of snow and ice.

In June 2009, I packed up and moved to Australia. June was probably not the best choice when thinking about weather because it is, of course, winter in Australia ... so I ended up with 12 months of winter. But the winters here in this part of Australia do not involve much at all in the way of ice and snow ... they're cool and rainy. That cool, rainy thing gets a bit wearing, but this past winter there were enough nice days so that I was able to get out on my bicycle at least once or twice a week in relatively warmish, dry conditions ... which is quite different from what I experienced in Canada! And we're only a hop, skip, and jump from the ocean where it is usually about 5 degrees warmer than where we live, so we weekended down there a few times.

My decision to move wasn't just about the bicycle. I met and married Rowan, an Australian, and wanted to be with him. It was easier for me to come here than for him to go to Canada at this time. But I met Rowan through cycling.

Ideally, at some point, we'd like to spend 6 months or so during the northern hemisphere summer in Canada and 6 months or so during the southern hemisphere summer down here in Australia, combined with travel to various other countries, but for the time being where we are is good ... decent place to live, close to work, a fair amount of cycling options, and green winters.

A set of photos of cycling in and around the area where we live during the Autumn/Winter 2010: https://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7623817713101/

Taken on July 25th, right in the middle of winter here ... you can tell it's winter by how green it is. In the summer everything gets a bit more brown.

I have considered moving for better outdoor activities in general. I live in michigan. In the summer, i cycle and I run, winter, i snowboard/xc ski, fall is cyclocross, and spring/summer is also golf. I also kayak, and enjoy trail running/hiking.

Michigan, as crappy as it is, is like a cyclocross bike, can do lots of things, but is not GOOD for anything. If i moved, it would be to colorado, where i could do all of the same activities on a better scale. We have beaches, woods, trails, but no good mountains for snowboarding or fun riding.

Unfortonately, i made an agreement with my wife that i would live in michigan as long as she found a job she enjoyed (im just glad she has a job). She found it, so my dreams of joining the navy or moving to the mountains have been shattered at this point. In the next 3-5 years, kids are comming, and that will concrete us in the midwest, because thats where grandma/grandpa will be.

Ahhhhh... Women. Women can complicate a man's life. Bicycles do the opposite. Unfortunately, bikes aren't as much fun to sleep with!

If I loved Hunting as much as cycling I would move to someplace like Cortez Colorado. If I loved Skiing I might move to Utah. So yes I would move to be close to something I enjoyed as much as cycling. And now there is no reason to move, I can cycle without fenders just about 12 months a year.

I work in Panama about half time with a small outfit that builds affordable housing for poorer Panamanians near the Canal Zone is a town called Arraijan. Many Americans come and go through Panama thinking the weather is like the Caribbean. It is not.

Although warm, Panama has weather dominated by the Pacific currents on the south and by the gulf on the north. It runs like a sideways "S" from west to east as it connects North and South America. There are mountains in the middle and the clouds hit them and release all their water on the ground.

In the south, the Pacific coast gets rain of as much as a foot a day between mid May and mid December. It comes as showers, followed by very hot and humid periods. It takes a certain kind of rider to enjoy the steam bath. Drivers near Panama city are not very courteous to cyclists, so that is another consideration. The highlights are the nice rides outside of town and in the old Canal Zone where the wildlife and flora are awesome.

It is very hot and dry in the south the rest of the year but it can be very pleasant, especially in the early AM. The Azuero peninsula near Pedasi has great riding as does the Chiriqui province highlands near Baru volcano.

The north coast is rainy all year. It is lush and green but has few roads. A lot of muddy dirt traks. It is a mountain bikers dream. Mostly XC terrain. If you don't mind sweating it can be very rewarding. This area is particularly poor and there is the occasional drug smuggler around but it is generally ok for gringos. Just watch out at night because drunk drivers are common.

Central America can be loads of fun if one brings the right attitude but it is a poor area with lots of social issues. You can't leave ANYTHING unlocked or unguarded, at any time. To a poor person your bike represents 3 or 4 months wages. You do the math.

Personally, I would not move just to ride. But then again, NC is lovely in its own right. As a touring fool, I'd rather visit and enjoy each place for what it has to offer, then come home and enjoy it for what it has to offer.

Of course, YMMV.

Good luck. RJ

That "June Gloom" is a b**ch.

I think it is worth considering, if cycling is an important part of your life. I've been in Texas over 10 years and just got back into riding a bike about a year ago. This is a pretty good place, just last weekend it was in the low 70's and sunny. Many miles of roads to ride on. Not many (ok, none) hills around my area (Houston) though.

Yes.

But it was more than just cycling that was a motivator... I have lived in both northern climates and in Texas, and I managed to move to southern California some 35 years ago. I have moved to different locations in the San Diego area to best suit my job and commuting situation... but really, overall, the job takes precedence... without work and thus income, everything else sort falls to the wayside. (as without income, eventually you don't have the means to dictate where you want to live...)

Currently I am working in a location that is not very conducive to bike commuting... although I may eventually figure out how to bike commute somehow... but at the moment, it was far more important to simply be employed. I do have great gym facilities available to me through work, so I do still exercise, but being a hamster on a wheel is not the same as bike commuting.

Oh please... compared to the constant drizzle of parts of the PNW, I'll take "June Gloom" any day.

It doesn't. I have lived in PA/NJ my entire life and still feel colder than everyone else in the room. Some people just aren't made for cold weather. That said, i just bundle up more and ride anyway.

I lived in California for 30 years, now that I live in Indiana I think about moving back all the time, but my job needs me here and wife wants to die here.