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#91
03-29-2017, 06:53 PM
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#92
03-29-2017, 06:59 PM
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[QUOTE=fuzzalow;expressed.
I'd like to ask, whether in specific or general terms, what does it mean when things "start to suck"? [/QUOTE] Ok, I'll play  We sold our house and are moving, partly because things are starting to "suck" here. 1. Large population of people without employment, or the possibility of future employment, has moved into the area. Bringing with them a drain on the social services provided to longer term residents experiencing a round of "hard times". Along with this has come a documented increase in drug arrests, assaults, burglaries, etc. 2. Lower performance from school system, attributable to many causes, some of which are linked directly back to #1 above. 3. Increased property taxes with no corresponding increase in services provided, ours have gone up 120% in the last 3 years. 4. Increased congestion on the roads, higher daily traffic count, guessing this is due primarily to the increase in population. Arterial road construction has not happened, we are squeezing more through the same funnels. 5. This is a perception, not empirically derived, the general attitude is much more aggressive and significantly less friendly. This opinion is shared by our friends who have lived here for a long time. Granted, we are a large university town, therefore, having a large portion of the population as transient is inherent, but these changes are new in the last few years.
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#93
03-29-2017, 07:11 PM
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After living in Chicago (the city, not the suburbs) for 30 years, I moved to Bend about six years ago. To quote the locals' favorite bumper sticker: Bend Sucks. Don't Move Here. (And I recognize I'm a new arrival to the town so am part of the problem for long-time residents.) Now that I've done my civic duty, here are some random views of Bend.
It is a paradise for year-round recreation unless you cannot handle any sort of winter weather. Bend's climate is similar to Denver except Bend usually receives less snow in town (this past winter was an exception) and fewer of those glorious winter days when it is 65 degrees and sunny (as Denver enjoys). You can XC ski in the morning and ride your bike in the high desert east of town in the afternoon. The road biking is terrific, lots of good climbs and many country roads without much traffic (but also without big shoulders). The CX scene is great. You can get passed by pro riders, and they are friendly. And, you do see Chris Horner every so often. (After living in what has to be the flattest area of America, I finally can handle climbing.) You can hike all year, the high desert in the winter and the mountains in the summer. Hiking is getting more and more crowded. Visit Bend (the local tourist board) has done its job well. Last summer the trails were packed with tourists. (What is wrong with people that they can't pick up their trash in a wilderness area? It is not only tourists who are polluting; there are lots of local yahoos who think it is their right to trash the wilderness.) Bend has economic diversity, but there is little racial or ethnic diversity. It is a progressive place but not too new age-y/woo woo, and the surrounding area is solidly red state. The town itself could use some better management to handle the growing pains. I can attest that there are jerks everywhere, even in a small town. (A population of 85k seems small after living in a large city.) The jerks on the West Coast do, however, tend to be slower on the draw than those in the Midwest and East.
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#94
03-29-2017, 07:29 PM
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Am following with interest. I used to live in Flagstaff and Sedona many years ago but was not a cyclist. I did love it though. Albuquerque sounds tempting. I did a cycling vacation around Boone and Asheville two years ago and was great. This past Spring break was in South Carolina between Greenville and Asheville. Some great cycling there, for sure.
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#95
03-29-2017, 07:58 PM
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Going to take a trip out to denver later this spring with my other half and stay with a friend out there for a long weekend. Its been a few years since I've been out there.
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#96
03-29-2017, 09:07 PM
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Now, having said that... if you ride the forest service roads, things open up in an amazing way. Many many many more miles of dirt/gravel/off-roading than road riding. Didn't live in Sedona. Visited a few times, but was running more than riding back then HTH M
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#97
03-29-2017, 10:07 PM
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 I had no idea...
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#98
03-30-2017, 06:29 AM
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#99
03-30-2017, 08:37 AM
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 . In some fashion, I guess it speaks well to the ideal of home ownership, which is still looked at as part of the American dream. Owning as opposed to renting allows participation in capital growth which is IMO not to leverage against that asset as many did during the housing bubble/crash but rather as a means of stabilizing living expenses against rising popularity in attractive neighborhoods & cities. Renters are forever at the mercy of the prevailing market.Quote:
But as politically incorrect as it may sound, that experience always left a lasting impression on me of the sheer pathos and disgust of people that have no remorse or compunction in destroying what and where they themselves live. Goddamn animals. Ah, the NYC of the 70's that some may look back on fondly while probably never having lived it. What you describe above sounds more like a rise in homeless which I couldn't explain as other than from economic dislocation and hardship in the area. Between income inequality and the rise in the cost of housing in many areas, there is the inevitable squeeze going on and that is some very real problems all local governments have to deal with. BTW I Googled for homeless statistics and looked at the first hit: Poverty: 10 Cities With the Most Homeless People. NYC has the highest number of homeless in the nation. A lot of homeless kids make their way in and out of the NYC Public School system although not in the NYC public schools located in the desirable zip codes. Quote:
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#100
03-30-2017, 09:06 AM
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Examples might be Bend OR, Bozeman MT, Seattle, Portland, i.e. areas that have experienced enormous growth and whose character has dramatically changed as a result. To someone that has lived in that area a long time and seen the changes, it's not a positive. To the newcomer, they really only see the present situation, and there is no suck. As I mentioned before, when we were in the Bend area we liked it a lot. It was small, but offered a lot for us. We could also see the growing pains it was having and could understand a longtime Bend resident saying it's starting to suck. Just my 2 cents, Murph
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#101
03-30-2017, 09:09 AM
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It's not the homeless in Seattle that are the issue - it's a big city that has gotten really expensive and working/service class folks are struggling to say the least, mostly invisibly in the close-in suburbs of Kent, Renton, etc. - what sucks about Seattle (and Portland) are the feral, professional homeless who have completely abrogated their role in the social contract and are only interested in drugs and crime. Google "the jungle Seattle". For a cyclist, this matters. The feral population ends up living in tent encampments along cycling trails, in the woods, in areas we commute through - and that makes for a very unsafe situation. There have been rapes and random attacks in Portland on cyclists and runners. Parts of the city are no-go zones at this point - parts that used to be what made Portland a great place to live. Now you can't go anywhere close to downtown without finding needles, feces, and trash. I understand the laws of dependent origination that led these people to where they are today, and I donate to causes trying to help them, but I still have to think about my safety and that of my family/friends. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Io non posso vivere senza la mia strada e la mia bici -- DP
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#103
03-30-2017, 09:13 AM
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Well, don't come here. We have many days of sunshine, great car-less roads ( well, for a bicycle) and the cheapest housing in the country.
But I feel our lifestyle slowly changing as people are discovering the charm and cost of living. The lack of traffic is one of our biggest attributes. But on the flip side, the roads are in bad shape, rednecks abound, the summers are miserable hot and humid, and the schools suck. Zillow price compare here to most places and zow wee you can get some bargains.
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#104
03-30-2017, 09:40 AM
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People are jerks everywhere, exhibit A:
There was a trail-rage incident the other day on my little trail system in Golden, CO. MTBiker comes up on a trail runner who's wearing headphones. Biker rings bell, runner can't hear. Biker decides to pass, and shakes his head, disapprovingly at the runner. Runner says something like "shake your head again and I'll beat your a$$". Biker comes across runner later on his ride in a different area of the trail system. Runner grabs him by the throat, pushes him on a rock, punches him numerous times, stomps his bike, throws it off the side of the trail, and runs off. *** is wrong with people? I wouldn't classify Colorado as Starting to Suck, but it seems that almost everywhere is trending towards StSS (Starting to Suck Status)!
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IF Planet X | Kona Ti SS 29er | Scott Fatbike | Turner Flux
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#105
03-30-2017, 09:46 AM
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I ride with a couple of buddies now & then, one of whom was high level LEO (recently retired). Both almost always ride with small concealed carry in bag mounted on bike. And, the retired LEO has actually had a couple of incidents where it might have been needed, but cooler heads prevailed...along with a swarm of p.d. on scene quickly.
Sad state of affairs to even think that such a scenario could exist while riding a bike. A friggin' bike. Quote:
Last edited by 54ny77; 03-30-2017 at 09:48 AM.
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