What kind of riding is available around Walla Walla, WA (one of the "best places to retire")? I do mostly road rides of 20 to 50 miles, sometimes longer, preferably with a choice of mountains or rolling countryside. A few towns nearby with little cafes or coffee shops would be nice; maybe some dirt roads. In other words I want everything. :)

I presently live near Boulder CO. Riding's good here but I am prone to altitude sickness and am seriously considering moving to a lower altitude location when I retire.

i was born and raised in walla walla...and left as soon as i was able to.

seriously though, it is a nice town that is trying to grow up. the dropping price of wheat has brought about a little wine growing explosion. there is some nice riding to be had on the local roads in the wheat fields but there arent a whole lot of them. there are also some fairly good climbs into the blue mountains, though not all the roads are paved. the more major roads in the area can nice, but drivrs arent really used to bikes on the road, so you might get a less than ideal reception out there.

mdgcolorado: check with reggie at the bicycle barn. they do a lot of group rides in that area and are a good bunch to get acquainted with. i got a great bike fit from him just before i rode the stp.

cheers

cole

Thanks for the info folks. This decision is a good 5 years down the road but I'm so ready to retire.

so, umatillawheelman, which bike would you suggest I pack with me when I visit friends in Walla Walla later this month? They have a few acres out on Mojonnier Road, and I'd like to get in a few miles if possible. That is if I don't party too hard with them.:wink:

At this point, I'm torn between the road bike and the old Schwinn Moab MTB (with road/path tires). Of course, I could take the Schwinn Suburban for making the runs to the store for more beer.:rolleyes:

Walla Walla "best place to retire?" Sure if you like the smell of onions. Well, been a while since I've been there. But, eeeeh, no way. The Palouse country over into Idaho is nice. Think Pullman, Wa area and into Idaho. Not cheap though. I think you can find better places than these, though for what you're looking for.

Yeah, Endicott, you make a good point. AARP mag recently listed Atlanta as one of the best places to retire. No way. I lived there 17 years, and if you like traffic congestion & long humid summers, it's paradise.

I'm skeptical of all these "best" magazine articles. How many of whatever it is have they actually tried? I'm 53 years old and at my age, I know more than most of the people writing these articles.

All right, then. Lower altitude and mountains?

Well, I've travelled extensively in western U.S. and lived a few places as well. LIke you said, You "could write better articles than these."

While Wyoming, and Co. were my fave places to live, I can't knock where I'm at now. Errrr, and it just got voted "one of the best mountain towns in U.S." by National Geographic. Ha.

Anyway, it's Wenatchee,Wa. area. Definitely sounds what you're looking for. Also check out Leavenworth (which was voted U.S. best Christmas Town... sorry...) and Lake Chelan/Lake Wenatchee, which are all right in the area. There's white water rafting, several rivers converging into the big Columbia River, wineries, pretty good snow at the ski area, and a very active cycling community. But, Wenatchee itself is only about 800 ft elevation or thereabouts. Winters are about two months shorter than Co/Wy. Otherwise similar weather patterns (we're quite sunny on this side of the Cascades).

Here's link to Chamber Comm., fish around on the site and you'll find pics of the area as well. http://www.wenatchee.org/

MDGColorado, I know this is an old thread, but incase you haven't already experienced WW riding, check this out:

http://allegrocyclery.com/?page_id=13

I came here in 1991 for college, and at that time WW was not a place to stick around. Since then, the wine industry has exploded and WW has turned into a nice destination spot. We have a lot of tourism, and a lot of people moving in from the cities.

With sunny weather through October, it's also fantastic for road cycling. Mountain biking is decent too, but you have to drive a bit to get in the blue mountains. we have a small ski hill, but it's nothing to write home about.

Fortunately our cycling community is quite active, with a 3 day stage race in the Spring- cat 5 through pro (Tour of Walla Walla), and one leg of the Inland Northwest Cyclocross Series in the fall.

I live on the western side of the state (Miles north of Seattle) I travel all of Washington State and the Wenatchee area is awesome just beautiful. All the way up to Omak then you are only 40 miles from Canada. The only drawback I can say about the area is that in the summer you almost certainly will be affected by the Wildfire smoke. and it can get bad. That is the only drawback. Another awesome area is Northern Idaho (but very very expensive). The area would be Couer D' Alene and North up hwy 95 to Bayview and Sand Point. But again we are talking a lot of houses in excess of 1 million.
I can never see myself moving out of Washington State or Norther Idaho.

Ray Still

Agreed- you just can't go wrong cycling in Wa. state.

Basically if you perfer a milder, coastal climate (i.e. wetter), go to the West side, if you prefer more extreme temperatures and defined seasons, go to the East.

My only complaint about Eastern Washington is that you're a 4 hour drive from major cities like Seattle and Portland.

The other nice thing about Washington is that you're close to British Columbia, which has fantastic cycling and skiing.

Thanks for the info folks, these are exactly the kind of rides I'm looking for. Retirement is still a good 5 years off, and I'm still not sure where we'll go, but this makes it worth looking forward to. I rode the ACA northern tier route in 1990 and I did like the eastern WA area.

The northwest looks promising. My wife is from Norway and would like to live closer to the ocean though, so we may end up in the western part. There is a community she likes in sw OR not far from Ashland, whose name escapes me at the moment.

Mark

... There is a community she likes in sw OR not far from Ashland, whose name escapes me at the moment.
Does Talent, or Phoenix ring a bell? How about Jacksonville or Ruch? (Both a little further from Ashland). :wink: