Your city/hometown

[DirtDiva]

Very soon, tis true, the public houses far outnumbered the churches...

Well, it is Australia...

[crazycanuck]

Bikerchick...(i'm going to get hit for this....) be careful of the drop bears & hoop snakes...

*ducks n runs...***



c

[Lise]

bikerchick--we have black squirrels in the northern suburbs of Chicago--I grew up seeing them cavort, so they're normal to me. They're rarely seen "down here" (50 miles south) in the city. A friend saw one recently, and it really freaked him out. He decided it was a sign of the apocalypse. So far, so good, but you never know.

Arnaew--if I'm still single, I may need to fly > halfway across the world for those World Police and Fire Games! Sounds like some good viewin' and shoppin' !

[VenusdeVelo]

Hometown is Chicago, but lived in Milwaukee since 1985 (except for last few yrs in Europe). I second what SJCzar said, Milwaukee gets a bad rap for it's beer and cheese notoriety. They have a great lakefront -- the east side of the city is very nice. Ethnic restaurants, many of them and quite good, abound.

I still love Chicago, always will, but Milwaukee is a nice city to live and close by to Chicago.

And SJCzar, if you need riding partners, a couple of friends and me will likely startup our women's only riding club (once a week, after work) again as I am moving back in June. Was based on the Terry Bicycle's "Betty" group, but we're now half Velo Bella... We go for the cute jerseys.

Let me know, send a PM!

Renee

[bentforlife]

I grew up in Thomasville, GA. It's a small town in SW GA about 40 miles north of Tallahassee, FL. I've been living in Fort Worth, TX about 26 years now. I love this city. It has history, the Stockyards, a world class Art museum, a beautiful performance hall, and a small town feel to it, friendly people, nice neighborhoods.

What I wish is that it was friendlier to bikers. There are no bike lanes and very few bike trails. The drivers around here "own " the road and aren't afraid to let bikers know it. I do live in the the suburbs and can find safe streets to bike on but it is challenging. The one main bike trail along the Trinity River is nice but there are pedestrians, roller bladers, and dogs that have to be avoided. And with my long recumbent that can be hard sometimes.

I can't image living anywhere else right now.

Donna

[bikerchick68]

Bikerchick...(i'm going to get hit for this....) be careful of the drop bears & hoop snakes...

*ducks n runs...***



c

oh lord... do I need to google these two to find out what they are??? cause what I'm picturing is bears dropping down onto the sidewalk to grab me and snakes wrapped around me like a hula hoop

LISE- HAHAHHHAHHA! A sign of the apocalypse... oh my... too funny! Glad I'm not the only one who was completely caught off guard by those... once I thought about it, it made sense that in a cold region the animals would have darker colored coats to absorb any and all heat from the sun... but I was not thinking about that when it came scampering over the first time

ok... off to google snakes and bears...oh my!

[yellow]

So unglamorous...

I grew up in a coastal town (Pacific Ocean) with a name when translated is "Big Ditch" (Arroyo Grande). Actually, our house was in the gap between the Arroyo Grande and Oceano (so that would be the gap between the big ditch and the ocean), in a little hippie enclave called Halcyon. But my folks weren't hippies. It was and still is a very strong agricultural community. I am (was) a 9th generation Californian. My ancestors settled on a Rancho in Nipomo, California, back in the 1700s when I believe CA still belonged to Mexico.

I don't think there's much notable about the Ditch other than it's proximate to Pismo Beach, once famous for its clams (and mentioned by Bugs Bunny in at least one cartoon). I spent my childhood in or near the water and with one ear infection after another.

maillotpois...did you participate in any sports in El Paso de Robles? I'm wondering if we were ever at the same swim meet or water polo match...

Since I have only been in Salt Lake for about 6 months, it still doesn't feel like "home" to me. And I certainly don't need to elaborate on all that is Salt Lake. I do love the mountains, and we have lots of those. I don't think I'll ever live too far from skiable terrain ever again.

[SadieKate]

Lessee, born in Albuquerque, Nuevo Mexico. When I was 2 yrs old, we moved to Oxnard, Ventura County, California. At the time it was the lima bean and strawberry capitol of the world, plus the largest drug "port" on the west coast. Coast Guard would get tired of chasing the guys by then.

After a multi-city tour of colleges, I settled in the Republic of Davis, California, which is, as I recall, the USA's first declared nuclear-free zone, has built toad tunnels, and requires all it's citizens to wear Birkenstocks. Davis is a university town (vet/med/wine/law) and is the League of American Bicyclist's (previously League of American Wheelmen) only platinum level bicycle-friendly community.

Within a couple years, my hometown will be a bronze-level city that would be platinum if the only criteria were the mountain bike trails - Bend, OR.

[maillotpois]

maillotpois...did you participate in any sports in El Paso de Robles? I'm wondering if we were ever at the same swim meet or water polo match...

Wow - that's funny. What a small world! Actually until college I was a complete anti-athlete, so I would not have seen you at any sports. Basically all I did was ride horses. They put me in remedial PE in elementary school, and that sort of scarred me for life and prevented me from doing any team sports because I was fat and uncoordinated. (Basically I am an endurance athlete and NOT a ball sport person. I probably would have done well in swimming or water polo - well maybe not with the ball there - but I really wasn't encouraged.)

I think we spent a great deal of time in Arroyo Grande at the Solvang double - but that part of the ride is a bit of a blur!!!

[miffy'sFuji]

Here's the scoop:

http://tinyurl.com/s8zcx

I did this last year, and although I have a pretty good fear of heights, I had a little fun. The guides were cool. I like how they mixed some eco talk in with the "fun" of zipping across the ravine. The platforms and bridges were very neat.

[yellow]

Basically I am an endurance athlete and NOT a ball sport person. I probably would have done well in swimming or water polo - well maybe not with the ball there - but I really wasn't encouraged.

Ah! Missed opportunity! You probably would have been a swimming star. I was 15-20 pounds heavier then than I am now, most definitely not a ball sport person. Back then there were no girls' polo teams, so we played with the guys. You had to be burley to put up with the crap that went along with that whole scene...

[bikerz]

I've bounced around a bunch - born in NYC, lived outsude DC until I was 3, then my parents, baby brother and I all moved to Kampala, Uganda for 5+ years (my parents were in the US Public Health Service). That was a wonderful place to grow up, and my two youngest sibs were born there. Thankfully my parents sent us to the public school, not the American embassy school, so we didn't have to live in a little American bubble! I remember Kampala and our travels all around East Africa very well. I was 8 when we were forced to leave because Idi Amin getting ready to expel Americans and Europeans, having already expelled the Asians, and there were tanks going up and down our street. That guy was an evil evil man, and did so much damage to a beautiful country and its people.

We lived in Rockville in suburban Maryland (which I didn't enjoy so much) and then I went to high school in Bath, Maine (another place I really loved), and finally landed out here at UC Santa Cruz for college. I moved to Oakland after college and I've been in the Bay Area ever since.

San Francisco gets all the press, but I really love living in the East Bay - especially Oakland. Oakland gets a bad rap, but it is a very tolerant and open city - and all the neighborhoods have such specific identities. And the weather is generally better than SF, and if you live in SF, you don't get to see the beaufiful views of SF! Plus there's great cycling - loads of good hills!

[arnaew]

Well, it is Australia...

Oh, tlkiwi, way harsh! I could respond, is the Australian predeliction for the grape/hop/malt barley the reason that so many Kiwis live here? But I shall not. I shall simply say that, when faced with some of the best fermented grape juice on the planet, coupled with one of the best family breweries (Cooper's Brewery - if you haven't tasted the beer, you haven't tasted beer) ever to celebrate the true value of the hop... well, what's a gal to do?

PS I have of late developed a predisposition - in terms of white wine only, let us make that clear - for NZ Sauvignon Blanc. You are getting it so right! (I shall deny that statement if called upon publicly - I'm trusting you here).
A

[DirtDiva]

Well, you know, arna, a settlement in NZ is not reguarded as a town until it has a petrol station, a tearooms and a pub!

P.S. NZ SB is indeed pretty freakin' good. We also make a pretty damn good pinot noir (esp. in Canterbury and Central Otago) too, if you're up for broadening your horizons...