I moved to the dry side a few years ago. I lived in Spokane until last May. The Centennial Trail is a roadie's dream when it's not clogged with users.

I'm now living in the Palouse. It is a cyclist's dream or nightmare, depending upon your viewpoint. There's little traffic, not much rain, few steeps, and if you're craving a good burn there is always wind. On the down side, there are a lot of gravel roads, few roads have shoulders (and those that do are narrow and gravel), many of the paved roads are chip sealed (as a tax payer, I think chip sealing is great; as a cyclist, I loathe chip sealing), the heat almost defies description, there are no kids with lemonade stands and no mini-marts, and there is always wind.

I think the worst of it is the high percentage of gravel roads. There's so much territory I'd love to explore, but I can only handle so much gravel. (I keep telling myself "Paris-Roubaix, here I come!")