I have to agree that rural areas can be great places for living and training.

Northeastern AZ has been perfect for me.....

In my little burg we have...........a full service fitness center; a indoor 25 yd pool (a tad too warm, but can't really complain); a nice all weather track at a nearby high school; tons of trails for mtn biking and running; a nice lake for OW swimming about 6 months of the year; decent roads with all manner of hills; 5500'-10,000' elevation (train high - race low); 3 hour drive to either Phx OR Tucson for races; group training, coaching, etc.; a local sprint race and new this year, the inaugural Deuce's Wild Tri Festival being put on by TriSports.com :-), a LBS owner who, if not tri knowledgable, is nice as pie and willing to learn; a small, but rapidly growing multi-sport community to train and travel with.

There are a few downers.........increased travel expenses; unpredictable weather (cold, wind, snow) for about 4 months of the year; rednecks in big trucks; wandering canines.

But generally, I can't complain!

G

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It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Mike,

I also reside in SD and agree with your assesment.
I just moved here from the SF bay area and have to say, although traffic here can be bad, it's not as bad as the bay area or most major cities I've been to. I think people here freak out about traffic more than most places because they still can't accept that san diego IS a major city (just like they can't accept that it rains ocassionally!). I can't think of how there could be a better place to live and train. People are saying Arizona but it's like 115 in the summer. No thanks!

Cheers,
Kevin
www.triswimcoach.com

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"Laugh At the Water and Make The Swim Your Friend"
http://triswimcoach.com
http://triathlonsprinttraining.net

Hey Dirtball,

Where is this oasis of serenity? I ask only in that I live in a VERY small town outside of Montreal that is similar to your summary.

cheers CM

is it on the south side of Montreal?
I love Montreal. It's a great place to live in...

... Seems the best place to train and race would be the same places where you would find a high percentage of golf courses.

The key is outdoor weather. Climate weather would be a key indicator of good training environment. Among those weather conditions that seems most appropriate is dry weather, moderate temperatures and clear skys.

If climate is a key advantage... then the coastal or high plains areas of the desert South West would be the best location that comes to mind. There would be other considerations but the limiting factors would be climate (IMHO). There are other micro-climates that propably meet the environment limitation... but, humid, extremely cold and rainy climates doesn't seem to fit into the "best" category.

FWIW Joe Moya

I love it here as well, I am just west of the "mega" city. A small town with the city just minutes away.

Likely not considered the perfect tri city due to the winters, however, I enjoy and make do with indoor trainer and snow shoes.

The other side of the ST. Laurence river. (US side) Closer to Kingston . You do Tupper Lake half ?

I have done Lake Placid the last two years and am registered for '04. I was looking at the Tin Man but have not registered yet. Seems like a reasonable double.

"Closer to Kingston . You do Tupper Lake half ? "

Know Kingston very well. Parents and brother live there although we didn't grow up there. Lived there myself for about six years. Used to cross the border and ski Tupper almost every winter weekend back in those days. Do you ever do the Kingston tri?

Dude. $200 million. I can't believe you're talking about the perfect tri-city. For that you could buy a house in the bahamas, then buy a jet and a pilot to fly you to your spring training camp in France/Italy, spend march-may traing across the U.S., and still make it ovber to Hawaii by September to get ready for the "big one." Then you can take a nice quite cruise boat from Kona, back to your house. And who knows, you could maybe even purchase a house next to Tim DeBoom, or Peter Reid, that'd be a nice conversation starter at tri's.
"So...........sometimes I train with Macca........... how bout you?"

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I don't work here, I just live here

Bad news, turns out that someone else won the Powerball. Damn waste of $5. Thought it was a sure thing. Enjoyed the dreaming, though.

Reading all the prior post, I have to say that thus far, San Diego sounds like the winner if you have the money.

Guess I'm staying in NOLA a little while longer. Works out good though, as I get to see my Tigers thump the Sooners on Sun. in the Sugar Bowl - - the real and only National Championship Game.