Where are you from? Where do you live?

Dover, Delaware; the good part is that Winters aren't bad; the bad part is that it's too close to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland.

Jersey shore. No good riding here. Usually head West and North to Pa to ride.

West Central Illinois.
Good - Very rural area. Only 60 miles to MO.
Bad - Taxes! Constant bridge repair. Corn sweat is a real thing!

Neenah, Wisconsin. Birthplace of the Kimberly Clark Corp and Neenah Foundry. You'll see our manhole covers and bathroom tissue worldwide. Low crime & good schools. Seasonal weather with four distinct seasons. Famous people from the area; Rocky Blier, Joe McCarthy, and Willem Dafoe.

Apex, NC. Apex's slogan is "the peak of good living". This is a town just outside of the Raleigh area. Best thing about living here when you own a bike is that you are 3 hours from the beach and 3 hours from the mountains, with lots of good riding roads in between. Biggest problem is that everyone is moving here. After doing my cross country trip last month, I can see why. We also have temps that will allow you to ride all year round.

From Connecticut, with a second home in Maine.
What's great: four seasons of weather, able to ride most of the winter. But when it's too cold for the Spyder, we go snowmobiling in Maine. Great riding area and curvy hilly roads. CT is more suburban and rural than you might think. A lot of small farms, old Colonial houses. Fun to ride to the wealthy towns near NYC and see the real Mansions, not the McMansions. Easily get to NY, MA, VT, NH and Maine for riding. Great restaurant choices and of course the best pizza anywhere!
Bad: Taxes, overall cost of living, politics.

blacklightning said:

Apex, NC. Apex's slogan is "the peak of good living". This is a town just outside of the Raleigh area. Best thing about living here when you own a bike is that you are 3 hours from the beach and 3 hours from the mountains, with lots of good riding roads in between. Biggest problem is that everyone is moving here. After doing my cross country trip last month, I can see why. We also have temps that will allow you to ride all year round.

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No kidding about everyone moving there, I lived in the very Southern part of Raleigh near Lake Benson and absolutely hated the drive through Apex when I was working at Cisco. I was so glad to get out of there when we left. I live in Frederick, Md. now, and it is growing as well, but I made sure I was right next to the mountain so I can just drive 5 minutes up Hamburg Road and I am on top of Catoctin Mountain, which opens up to the undeveloped Valley and choice of open roads to the mountains in Western Maryland, W. Va., and Pa.

I can go East if I wanted to go to the beach or Chesapeake Bay in a little under 3 hours, but the further you go East and South of Rt.15, the more traffic and danger you run into. The rear end that happened to me was on Rt. 13 in Delaware. So I very rarely now go East or South of 15 unless I am headed to NC or Georgia to see Family. I used to go to DC late at night and have fun on the parkways when they were empty, but those A$$holes down there are shooting at everything that moves. My wife's uncle lives a couple of blocks away from Nats Park and I quote him as saying "I am afraid to even go out to my car after dark anymore because I am afraid that there will be an 11 year old outside waiting to shoot me for my keys". And if you see some of the news stories coming out of DC, he's not exaggerating.

Pros:
In the forest above Reno, Nevada, moments from my driveway are the Sierra Nevada passes. (MANY to choose from) Great summers up here, 5700 ft. Winters aren't that cold compared to some. It's 12 minutes to Mt. Rose/Ski Tahoe, still skiing at 78 years young. (46 days last winter). Many outdoor activities to choose from and lots of wildlife. Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe, just over the pass. No state income tax!!! Not crowded...

Cons:
Flatlanders driving in the mountains (both summer and winters).

Lew L

We live full time in our RV traveling the country. Been doing it for about 2 1/2 years now and wouldn't trade it for anything!! Just left the Black Hills area and in North Dakota now. It's been great traveling and riding all the cool spots in America!

Started out in the San Francisco Bay Area (the OTHER end of the Golden Gate Bridge). After 27 years in the US Navy ended up in a sleepy bedroom community North of Huntsville AL. Great place to live and have watched it grow for thirty years. Now Huntsville is the largest city in AL. Bad: too hot in the summer to ride. Good just 5 miles to TN border and great riding roads.

CRSpyder3 said:

As the title states. I'm interested in how widespread the Spyder community is. Country, State, Town. Don't give me your address, unless you are serving dinner. Maybe a little line about why your area is so great.

What is so great in Tampa, FL- The beaches, weather, nature, sports, 365 days of riding.

Not so great- Traffic, bad drivers, and traffic. Did I mention the traffic.

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Regarding bad drivers, when I was transferred to MacDill AFB in the mid-eighties, I was advised to keep clear of any vehicle that appeared to be propelling itself down the road. It most likely meant the vehicle was being driven by a little old lady looking through the steering wheel rather than over it. In like manner I was to avoid any vehicle in which the driver wore a floppy hat because it was likely an eighty-plus year old man who, for the safety of the general public, shouldn't be driving.

One day a friend was unacceptably late to work. When he finally arrived, he told us he was involved in a traffic accident with an elderly couple in a huge old Cadillac. The driver pulled out of a side street without determining the road was clear, causing my friend to strike the passenger's side of the car just ahead of the door. He leaped out of his car to check on the occupants by moving to the driver's side and tapping on the window. The elderly man in the driver's seat was staring directly ahead with both hands on the wheel. His wife was waving her arms about and vocalizing in an animated fashion. The driver lowered his window, turned to acknowledge my friend, then nodded toward his wife, shrugged his shoulders while his wife loudly ridiculed him for being an idiot who going to end up killing her because of his bad driving. He then raised the window and waited quietly for the police to arrive. Apparently, his wife was still lambasting him when the police arrived.

My memories of Tampa, such as they are.

Where am I from? I grew up in Jefferson Parish in an area called Little Farms but it is now called River Ridge. I left there in 1965. I lived in Argentina for a while and in Puerto Rico. I didn't get to ride in either place, but I wish I had. I now live in the wilds of Central Utah, have done since about 1968. Riding to some of the most beautiful places in the US on some of the most interesting roads is literally across the street. The worst thing here is the cold winters. I don't ski any more, so winter is just long. People are discovering Utah, so it is getting more crowded. I used to be able to drive from Salt Lake South on I-15 and be out of traffic by Springville. Now it never happens on the I-15. Secondary roads are still pretty nice and many are almost deserted.

Oregonian, Live in Coos Bay

Seems like I will be the first overseas entry on this thread.
I am from Norway and my hometown is "Kristiansand", a coastal town all the way South in Norway.
I have lived here all my life and mostly worked in the municipal harbour, first as a longshoreman, and then moved over to operate container cranes and also doing the maintenance on these.
Retired at 62 and really enjoy life doing what I want when I want.
Hobbies: Astrophotography, boating, and traveling.

Clark said:

We live full time in our RV traveling the country. Been doing it for about 2 1/2 years now and wouldn't trade it for anything!! Just left the Black Hills area and in North Dakota now. It's been great traveling and riding all the cool spots in America!

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I would love to do that but I can't seem to get my wife to agree.

CRSpyder3 said:

Thank you for sharing. Norway is quite the hike from here. I hope to get to visit your beautiful country one day.

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My pleasure, and do come over sometime, Norway is worth a visit and we have many good mc routes.

racoon said:

Greetings, Neighbor!
I grew up in the Covina/West Covina area, escaped to Indiana in 1991, and now live near Cookeville, TN.

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Greetings fellow escapee!