I have seen a lot of articles rating various cities as "Best place to live", "best place to retire", etc. One thing all those articles forget is how good of a place is it to ride. I know that people live where they do for a variety of reasons but personally I refuse to live somewhere that the riding sucks. I have been there and done that. Never again. I would not be living where I do if it wasn't a good place to ride. Riding was high on my list of important things when I chose to live where I do/
So my question is how do you rate where you live from a riding perspective and did that play any part in your deciding to live where you do.
Lets keep the politics out of this discussion.
I'll start. I moved to Huntsville, Alabama over 9 years ago from Marietta, Georgia. I moved to Marietta back in 2002 specifically because it was near some of my favorite riding areas. I thought I would stay there but moved to Huntsville for work. I thought it would be a step backwards from a riding perspective but I was wrong. Huntsville has turned out to be a great area from a riding perspective. So why is that?
First is that we can ride year round here. Sure it gets a little hot in the summer and a little cold in the winter but overall the weather here is very good for riding.
Second is the actual riding. We have some very good roads nearby. They aren't the best but still very good. This is true of both paved and unpaved roads. Another plus is that is is fairly painless getting out of town and to those riding areas. The closest dirt roads are only 5 miles away and I live in the City limits, not out in the country.
Third. People to ride with. We have an active group of riders around here. I can easily find people to ride with, on and off road. Many of the local riders have become friends and we do out of town trips as well as local rides.
Fourth. Motorcycle dealers. Huntsville is not a big city so we don't have the selection of dealers found in the larger cities but we do have a couple of good, locally owned shops as well as a Harley dealer and a big powersports dealer that I doubt I will ever buy a bike from. We also have a Cycle Gear. Nashville, Chattanooga, and Birmingham are all about 2 hours away and they have dealers for the brands not found here.
Fifth, Location. Huntsville is not far from my favorite riding areas in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a little far for a day ride but I can get there easily for a weekend or longer trip.
Sixth. Riding in town. This might not be important to some but I ride almost everywhere I go around town whether I'm going shopping, hiking or to the doctor or dentist. Huntsville is actually a pretty nice city to ride in. The drivers are better than average, the traffic less than big cities and the roads surprisingly entertaining for urban riding.
Bottom line: I am very happy to be living here. I wouldn't rate it as the best place in the country to live from a riding perspective but I'll rate it as very good.
OK, who's next?
So my question is how do you rate where you live from a riding perspective and did that play any part in your deciding to live where you do.
Lets keep the politics out of this discussion.
I'll start. I moved to Huntsville, Alabama over 9 years ago from Marietta, Georgia. I moved to Marietta back in 2002 specifically because it was near some of my favorite riding areas. I thought I would stay there but moved to Huntsville for work. I thought it would be a step backwards from a riding perspective but I was wrong. Huntsville has turned out to be a great area from a riding perspective. So why is that?
First is that we can ride year round here. Sure it gets a little hot in the summer and a little cold in the winter but overall the weather here is very good for riding.
Second is the actual riding. We have some very good roads nearby. They aren't the best but still very good. This is true of both paved and unpaved roads. Another plus is that is is fairly painless getting out of town and to those riding areas. The closest dirt roads are only 5 miles away and I live in the City limits, not out in the country.
Third. People to ride with. We have an active group of riders around here. I can easily find people to ride with, on and off road. Many of the local riders have become friends and we do out of town trips as well as local rides.
Fourth. Motorcycle dealers. Huntsville is not a big city so we don't have the selection of dealers found in the larger cities but we do have a couple of good, locally owned shops as well as a Harley dealer and a big powersports dealer that I doubt I will ever buy a bike from. We also have a Cycle Gear. Nashville, Chattanooga, and Birmingham are all about 2 hours away and they have dealers for the brands not found here.
Fifth, Location. Huntsville is not far from my favorite riding areas in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a little far for a day ride but I can get there easily for a weekend or longer trip.
Sixth. Riding in town. This might not be important to some but I ride almost everywhere I go around town whether I'm going shopping, hiking or to the doctor or dentist. Huntsville is actually a pretty nice city to ride in. The drivers are better than average, the traffic less than big cities and the roads surprisingly entertaining for urban riding.
Bottom line: I am very happy to be living here. I wouldn't rate it as the best place in the country to live from a riding perspective but I'll rate it as very good.
OK, who's next?