"...but it's a DRY heat!" (LOL)

[HardAspie]

I used to love the cold. I loved snowy Williams. Then I developed Reynaud's Disease and my internal thermostat reset and I far prefer heat. (to a point)

[rodekyll]

Me? I dig it.

Keeps the whiners at pikers at bay. I look forward each year to the flight of the snow-birds. Their shrieks of terror as the thermometers in their Buimobilecuries start to read three digits is a sweet sound to me. I wish they'd pay as much attention to their left turn signals which seem to be engaged when they get here about November and never rest unless the bulb burns out.

{snip}

They come from here.  The problem for a wingshooter is is that they return.

[Yukonica]

Those numbers aren't even in our alphabet.   

Thankfully.

[Sasquatch Jim]

  At least you don't waste money cooking eggs.  They probably come out of the chicken boiled.

[HardAspie]

Hard boiled!

[SteveAZ]

What part of Calif. do you live in?   That state has about any kind of weather you could want.  I live in Az. and my weather is nothing like Phoenix.   I know better than to live in Phoenix.     But the same can be  said about parts of Calif., where I used to live, depending on your preferences..

I'm in Laguna Beach these days. I love the climate here. I ride out to the Borrego desert occasionally and get a taste of the old summer/desert climate.

Funny thing is I find the Sonoran desert in AZ to be one of the most beautiful ecosystems around and I do love AZ. Far prettier than the Cali scrub in coastal socal (minus the ocean part). I'm a native AZ desert rat and it will always be in my blood but after a few decades...the summers can get tedious.

It was always fun watching the snowbird migration out of AZ that Cruzzi is talking about. Some areas seem to lose half their population around May every year.

[JJ]

IMHO, the best weather on the planet, outside of the Mediterranean, is NORCAL and SOCAL.   

I lived in NORCAL twice and warm days and cool nights are the best and I miss riding with a leather jacket on!  That being said, housing is unaffordable, taxes are high, and there are just too many people / cars - 6X more than Arizona in fact. 

The second best place I have even lived was Aachen, Germany.  It has 4 seasons, and the monthly rain cleaned out the air, and the winters were mild, in general.  Beautiful riding through the Eiffel forest as well.  But again, you need a reasonable amount of money to live there comfortably.

No place is utopia, and every state has its pros and cons.  Like one poster said, "it's what you get used to..." 

My wife wants to retire in or near Asheville, NC, and we have been there a few times and it looks nice.

We'll see, but for now, I have to endure the Valley heat yet again for another long summer.  Time to plan another trip north to Flagstaff and/or San Diego!

[SteveAZ]

I lived in NORCAL twice and warm days and cool nights are the best and I miss riding with a leather jacket on!  That being said, housing is unaffordable, taxes are high, and there are just too many people / cars - 6X more than Arizona in fact. 

snip

Socal is the same. People everywhere and the rent on my apartment is more that the home I used to "own" (pay the bank montly) in AZ.  .....pays yer money and takes yer choice.

For me these days it's being near the ocean and the things that offers...surfing, fishing and the same "you can stare it it for hours" deal as a good campfire.

Who knows where I'll end up once the kids are grown. The GF and I go to Louisiana  every year and I love it there. Talk about some summer weather though 

[JJ]

JJ , Ashville NC is a great town , good riding in the area , but I might visit in the Summertime . The humidity might be tough for a desert
rat .

  Dusty

Hi Dusty - I grew up in northern Dutchess county, New York, near the Catskills,, so I am very familiar with summer humidity and long, cold, wet winters.  "Temperate" overall climate is OK for me in my old age.   

[charlie b]

I never cared for Flagstaff.  Parents had a place in Munds Park, just south of there.  It was ok, but, even it has become crowded.  Show Low/Pinetop used to be nice too, until more people moved in.  Same with Prescott.

Now days we are satisfied just to go camping in the White Mountains (in the RV).

Right now, in the mountains just east of Albuquerque it is supposed to get to 90 today.  We rarely get over 100F up here (7000ft).  But, it does get cold during the winter.

[Penderic]

I am very happy with the mild summers on my little Island .... 

 

[Arizona Wayne]

Obviously you prefer the cold, Penderic, and all that comes with it. 

[Penderic]

Cold? Love it as long as it stays above freezing and is less than 72 hours duration! 

Usually the winters here are very, very mild (but wet) for Canada. We have a few palm trees to prove it!
Cold limits shown in the graphic below show the extremes for our country .... too damn cold!  Cept here!

I'm just east of Victoria on the above map.

[HardAspie]

About 2200 now, and still quite warm. Cloudless though and seeing is okay. Therefore I am outside more than on the laptop. NextStar 4 is set up and I saw Jupiter down in the mud before it fell below the horizon...looked to be showing 4 moons too. I could sometimes make out lines on the big J. Saturn was nice, saw rings boot could not make out moons: I think it is not only the muddy atmosphere from the day's heat but also the moon's presence. Been a weak night for Messiers.

[Muzz]

We have a 6deg C high predicted for tomorrow with -5deg C overnight.   With rain and sleet down to sea level.  I just LUUURVE working on the outdoor heatpump units in conditions like that!

[HardAspie]

Whoa! Our night is predicted to fall to about 63F and I am looking at roughly 105F tomorrow.

I finally managed to reel in a few Messiers. And I love the Lagoon. Balmy night for glass and stars.

[Arizona Wayne]

Penderic, any where in Canada is not acceptable to me.  I spent 11 years in Portland, Oregon area and cold rain 9 months a year I don't consider convenient for a MC rider.  Had to move south to keep my sanity.   Sold my LM IV to a Guzzisti who belongs to the 'wet leathers club' in Portland.    Your definition of acceptable MC riding weather and mine are not comparable. 

[rodekyll]

ATGATT is more comfortable in cooler weather.  I get nervous as the temp approaches freezing, but if I waited for 60s I'd never get any riding done.

[JJ]

Just for perspective...and not to beat a dead horse...it was 105 degrees IN THE SHADE on our outdoor patio this afternoon!!!

The forecast for the week?!?  110-111 for the next 7 days!!!  (That's nice...)

Welcome to..."The Forbidden Planet" - aka, "The Valley of the Sun" in the summer time!

Only one word sums it all up (IMHO) - - "Dreadful!"

[Arizona Wayne]

Had a Dr.s appointment in Bullhead City today.  Left N.  of Kingman @ 11:30 am.  By the time I got to Kingman it was 104F on my scooter gauge.  When I left BC it read 117F, but those readings are road temps.  The temps. the weather people use are in shade.  By the time I got home @ 4pm my scooter gauge was reading 114F, but in the shade it was 105F.   Yeah, it was warm but the whole way there was a breeze and I didn't have to pee 'cause all the liquid intake I consumed evaporated on the way.  But I was tired by the time I got home after 120 miles of that with 1 break.  Would I do it again?  Sure.   In fact it was a short test to see if I'm still up to riding up to Wash. State for the deep forrest Guzzi campout next month.   Leaving from Kingman to there is brutal(and back) the 1st couple of days.   But I like a challenge.   

Beats freezing my ass off and/or getting soaking wet too.   

[rodekyll]

It got to 64 here today.  I took a long ride.  T-shirt riding weather.  Sandy beach (not to mistaken for an actual beach composed of sand) was teeming with kids and dogs.  More than the usual flashes of pasty white legs along the sidewalk, and the weeds are growing like kelp.

Good start to the summer!

[davedude]

I worked outside in the valley of the sun every day for 5 years back when I had hair, and it stayed blond (it used to be brown). the highest recorded temp that I remember was 117 at Sky Harbor. There were tons of 115-116 days. I don't know how I lived through it! I still miss it though.
DB

[JJ]

The mornings, (starting at sunrise...), are fine, up to about 9AM  

It's just when it get over 110+ that I start to call it:

"SILLY HEAT!!"

[SteveAZ]

JJ your posts on this are bringing up all sorts of memories of AZ desert rat life....good ones actually in spite of me talking earlier about being tired of it and exiled.

Midnight mountain bike rides on the trail under a full moon,  late night swims,  getting up at 4AM to start a ride and seeing all the Coyotes, Bobcats and Javelina out on the streets (mind you this was central Phoenix near Paradise Valley so it's wild to see those critters around...not to be confused with the Scottsdale Cougar, whole different and far more dangerous species).

Good times and AZ was a fun place to grow up with more outdoors space than I could fathom as a kid, hunting and fishing etc.

Pop a cool one and pray for October my friend.

[SteveAZ]

Oldbike54,

No season and the tags are sold over the counter (see your local high end euro car dealership). Poulation was already out of control when I left in 2009. Many a sad tale has resulted from young ASU males, out on the town and drunk, getting abducted and put through the paces in ways they'd never imagined. Poor guys are never the same.....lucky bastards....

If you're heading out in search of them, train up in preparation

[MG McANICK]

I remember being in a motel in Scottsdale several years ago in August.  My wife and younger son  went for a dip in the pool.  The 11:00 o'clock news was on.   When they got to the weather (Why bother? It's hot and sunny and will be till October.)  they said it was 115F.  At one time we thought we'd like to retire in AZ.  That trip convinced us otherwise.

[JJ]

I remember being in a motel in Scottsdale several years ago in August.  My wife and younger son  went for a dip in the pool.  The 11:00 o'clock news was on.   When they got to the weather (Why bother? It's hot and sunny and will be till October.)  they said it was 115F.  At one time we thought we'd like to retire in AZ.  That trip convinced us otherwise.

I came to AZ for work in 1980. In between, I lived in NORCAL, Texas, and Germany, total of 9.5 years, but the rest of the time, here in the Valley. 

In AZ, there are no BIG natural disasters, like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, etc.  The cost of living is reasonable and they have affordable housing.  There are also 6X less people / cars here than in CA, for example.

Eight months of the year is lovely, warm days, cool nights, and there is a LOT to see an do around the state.    The roads / motorcycles riding is superb, overall.

However, make no mistake about it, 4 months is "SILLY HEAT" and by August, is almost unbearable. 

The scorching summer heat keeps many people away, but if you can live through this, it's not so bad, and there are certainly worst places on the planet to be living.

However, after all these years of being a desert rat, my wife has had enough of the heat, and we may wind up in Asheville, NC for retirement.   We'll see...

[charlie b]

I left in 1971.  Went back for a couple of years in 80's.  Decided it was not where I wanted to live.  I do not go there in summer, even to visit my mother and one brother, who still live there.

Every now and then I have to go to Tucson on business.  It is hot enough to remind me why I don't want to live in that part of the country (Tucson is usually 5 to 10 deg cooler than Phx).

[Lannis]

I came to AZ for work in 1980. In between, I lived in NORCAL, Texas, and Germany, total of 9.5 years, but the rest of the time, here in the Valley. 

In AZ, there are no BIG natural disasters, like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, etc. 

Just unbearable misery 4 months out of the year.

Doesn't sound sustainable to me.   Water, electricity for air conditioning .... if anything starts running short, you'd have to move anyhow.

I've been in Phoenix, June 1990.   Our B-737 couldn't take off because the temperature on the runway was 127 degrees, and the 737 was not certified for takeoff at that temperature at that altitude.   Hell on Earth, as far as I'm concerned ..... 

Lannis

[charlie b]

Just unbearable misery 4 months out of the year.

Doesn't sound sustainable to me.   Water, electricity for air conditioning .... if anything starts running short, you'd have to move anyhow.

I've been in Phoenix, June 1990.   Our B-737 couldn't take off because the temperature on the runway was 127 degrees, and the 737 was not certified for takeoff at that temperature at that altitude.   Hell on Earth, as far as I'm concerned ..... 

Lannis

And that altitude is only 1700ft.  :eek: