San Diego

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Lar Dog

LOL...that was MY first choice, but the program there did not have the stuff she wanted. It had the stuff I wanted though :)

Nashville has some really good road riding. I lived there for 2 years while my wife got her masters at Vanderbilt. Trail running in Percy Warner park is pretty good also.

Kerry Classen

I know Atlanta has a really active cycling scene, a huge club, the Silver Comet trail, etc. But I hear horror stories if you're very close in that riding has become almost impossible. I'm sure an Atlanta local will chime in here shortly. If you want to talk to someone about the tri club there, call someone at All3sports (www.all3sports.com). They're an awesome tri shop just north of the city.

I don't know much about Augusta, but I do know Aiken a bit (which is 15 minutes away from Augusta) just across the Savannah River valley. That valley makes for some surprisingly challenging terrain for cycling. Aiken has a really good little club. Strangely, Augusta hasn't really popped up on my cycling radar screen. I'm only an hour away from there and I go to Aiken a lot. But nothing much ever seems to be happening in Augusta.

You could easily live in Aiken and work/school in Augusta. They're almost the same place. But Aiken is a really interesting place. If you're into horses at all, it's a phenomenal place. Many of the thoroghbred race horses from up north are trained in Aiken in the winter and there are some triple-crown horse farms. There's a very active polo scene and lots of other equestrian activity. I don't participate in any of that, but it really gives the area a unique and pleasant character.

As for the tri scene, you might check out www.set-upinc.com. They have a series of events in South Carolina and GA. Events you'll see there in Greenwood, Hickory Knob, Elberton and Clemson will be easy drives. I'm sure there are other events. Those just pop to mind.

Good luck.

Bob C.

As someone else mentioned, Atlanta has some great cycling available, but you might not be able to utilize the resources if you live anywhere near the city and work 'normal' hours. Traffic is awful everywhere for many miles outside the city. Even if you have a flexible schedule that allows mid-day riding during the week, the window between the end of the morning rush hour and evening rush hour is smaller than most places. However, two positives that you can't ignore are the opportunity for year-round outdoor training and the extremely late sunsets during the warmer months. It can be a great place if you find the right logisitics.

Baltimore can be great for riding if you live and work in the right place. Lots of rolling terrain around the city, with some better climbing in western maryland and smooth flats on the eastern shore. What qualifies as the "right" place for cycling is getting pushed further and further away from the city as the metropolis grows. Be aware that you can't ride year round as a few snow and ice storms are inevitable during the winter.

Nashville is great. Natchez Trace is fantastic for cycling.

The hip, cool, downtown Baltimore area is pretty dreadful for cycling.

Heading north toward Butler and Hunt Valley is very good riding but it is VERY pricey and they don't want anyone building more houses ot let the proletariat move in.

The western suburb of westminster and other parts of carroll county have good riding and you can find reasonable prices.

Same thing with parts of Columbia which is south of town.

It comes down to what part of town pretty much.