Triumphrat

KAR 120C

I am semi-retired and looking to relocate in the U.S. I'd prefer a small to medium size walkable city i.e. no need to jump in a car to purchase necessities (groceries, a bookstore/newstand that sells UK bike mags) in proximity to challenging roads and, ideally, no more than 70 miles from a Triumph dealer. Revenue driven cops and humid summers are turn-offs. Climate and other factors eliminate southern states. Vancouver, BC pushes all the right buttons. Unfortunately immigration laws prevent me from spending more than six months out of the year there.

davidc

Very close to his bike.

mistermellow001

If you like Vancouver, B.C., then why not Seattle? Very walkable; I've lived in 4 different neighborhoods in Seattle and never had to get in my car for anything, including everything from eggs to door knobs.

Second thought, Bellingham, Washington. There's a small (but very cool) Triumph-only dealer who's owner rides year-round, a very cool downtown and satellite neighborhood (Fairhaven). It's a college town on a beautiful bay, lots of great restaurants, parks and hiking trails. It's 20 minutes to the Canadian border (then 20 more to Vancouver), the gateway to Alaska via the Alaska State Ferries, lots of islands in the Puget Sound to explore, short distance from skiing and hiking in the Cascades, and for geographic diversity it's about 2 to 4 hours from the open and drier side east of the mountains. Oh, and it's in the shadow of an active volcano.

If I had my choice (meaning $$$), I'd pick Santa Barbara, California. It's beautiful, low-humidity, not too hot in Summer (subjective, I realize, but I lived in a steam-bath Southern state for 6 years), coastal mountains, just far enough from L.A. to visit but not live there, and year-round riding.

Best of luck relocating. There are plenty of websites that deal with choosing a city to live in, like bestplaces.net (I think). Fun to enter different criteria and see what you come up with. I don't think Triumph dealer proximity is one of them, though.

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Guy

hill8586

Eastern Oklahoma or Western Arkansas....great roads, weather and very reasonable cost of living ( hey , it is the home of Walmart) ...... lots of folks sell average homes in other parts of the country and can take the money and buy a "mini-mansion" here.......

denman13

If you can afford it, I'd think about California wine country. Lots of small towns, beautiful country side and hills, great riding roads (there are roads where the LEOs leave you alone), major cities not too far away and mostly great weather. Four Triumph dealers within an 80 mile radius (two within 40 miles) and oh yeah, all that great wine (albeit often over-priced.) The only thing that can really hamper people's plans to go there is that this region of the country is just so dang expensive. Premium gas is over $4.20 p/gal now. But if $$ were of little or no concern, I'd certainly have a place there.

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Lucid

Click the link to find biking heaven.


http://www.cityoftemecula.org/temecula/Visitors/

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Mods.- BC Superbars, Predators, Nark'd, Ikons front & back, Dart Screen(blacked-out), K/Q Seat, Renntec Grab Rail, Fork Gaitors and Knee Pads

Sal Paradise

Here's where my Bonneville is spending summer vacation.
There is even a ferry to block island and fishing and lobster boats for me.Lots of shoreline cruising 2 lanes, lighthouses, beaches and surfing. And a local british bike club!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/08/10...+summer&st=nyt

mistermellow001

Wow! When I lived in Oceanside in the 70s, Temecula was just a junction on US-395 (which wasn't even I-15 then). Nice area.

Sal, very cool. But the cat's out of the bag when the NY Times reveals a best-kept secret. Hope you get to enjoy it before the masses arrive.

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Guy

HiDesert

Sounds to me like you're describing Santa Fe. Small enough to be walkable, good roads all over the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains, 45 miles from PJ's Triumph in Albuquerque, and very low humidity. Fantastic climate overall, actually.

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GoinPostal

+1 On what denman13 says.
It sounds like you may be looking for a town like Sonoma, CA, not cheap, but small enough to fit your needs and it's right in the middle of some great riding. The Pacific Ocean is approx 1 hour west, the Sierra Mountains a few hours east with hundreds,and hundreds and hundreds of miles of some great riding. Very mild climate not too hot and never too cold, low humidity.
But thats just my opinion!