General Cycling Discussion - When you've ridden them all?

So ... when you've ridden all the paved roads in your area (and by "your area" I mean within about a 100 km radius of the place you live), and ridden many of them several times ........ then what?

I've got two more roads to ride, and I'll have accomplished just that. To ride in other areas, exploring other paved roads, will require vehicular transporation and/or more than one day.

I'm left with a vague, unsettled feeling of "that's it?"

Maybe it's time to move to a new area.

It's easy for me: I have such lousy visual memory that I can ride the same road over and over and over again - and "discover" it afresh every time. Unless I deliberately concentrate on remembering things about an area, it probably takes me about 10-15 visits before I start getting the vague feeling that "I must've been here before"... :D

Do you like map-making? You could make a map of all the roads, in whatever detail you like, which might both entertain you and be useful for others. And it could be an excuse to but a GPS.

What is wrong with riding the same route repeatedly? I ride through town with a few variations at least a couple of hundred times a year, there is different sights every ride, different cars trying to kill you in different ways, different yelled comments (99.9% positive).
Try riding a different bike, do intervals on different hills, somedays try to beat your best average, try for best max speed, take a cruiser style bike for a slow ride.
Or for the ultimate change get into recumbents there is dozens of totally different rides. :)
Only joshing about the 'bents, but I really don't get sick of certain routes over and over but do ride different routes for different challenges/destinations when the urge strikes.

I mix and match: take part of one route and link it with part of another. And I reverse routes, in effect, giving me twice as many roads to ride. That is, I don't think of the "road" so much as the route, the full effect--and these variations are, if not endless, then certainly numerous enough to keep me from getting bored. Cheaper than moving.

...now ride all the sidewalks :p


J/K :D

Different seasons, different weather, different times of day - it's really never the same ride twice.

So ... when you've ridden all the paved roads in your area (and by "your area" I mean within about a 100 km radius of the place you live), and ridden many of them several times ........ then what?

I've got two more roads to ride, and I'll have accomplished just that. To ride in other areas, exploring other paved roads, will require vehicular transporation and/or more than one day.

I'm left with a vague, unsettled feeling of "that's it?"

Maybe it's time to move to a new area.
Try commuting. It's a challenge every day. No exploration accomplishment points though.

Time for a winter tour!! :D

Dirt roads

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/th_dirtroad2.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/dirtroad2.jpg)

Different seasons, different weather, different times of day - it's really never the same ride twice.

+1

For me it's not about finding new roads. If it were, I would go by car and find a lot more of them, a lot faster. I'm happy riding the same roads over and over which i do nearly every day.

No. The OP's right. Once you have used a road once, you must wait until it is paved anew before using it again.:)

After you have ridden all the roads, ride them again the other direction!

Some rides are worth repeating. Some rides are totally different if done in the opposite direction. Some rides are different enough between morning and evening or winter and summer. In the TDF some of the climbs are cat 1 one year and OC the next because of where they are in the stage. Same might apply to your local riding, you can put togeather a differetn ride even though you have done all the parts.

Oh and as others have said, dirt roads and trails. And after that all the roads again of the MTN bike.

I think this should hold you for a while.

Oops almost forgot, riding partners. Change the partner(s) and you change the experience. (and of course if you find riding partners you get on well with a weekend mini tour becomes a more managable thing as you don't have to do all the planning every time.)

So ... when you've ridden all the paved roads in your area (and by "your area" I mean within about a 100 km radius of the place you live), and ridden many of them several times ........ then what?

I've got two more roads to ride, and I'll have accomplished just that. To ride in other areas, exploring other paved roads, will require vehicular transporation and/or more than one day.

I'm left with a vague, unsettled feeling of "that's it?"

Maybe it's time to move to a new area.

Tour.

While you were conquering all the local roads, you had to turn around at some point. At that point you probably asked yourself... "gee, what is around that next bend or over that next hill."

Touring is the answer... it is an amazing feeling to suddenly find out what is around the next corner/over the next hill and to continue on "discovering." If you do a long tour, the feeling of discovery continues, and you meet new people, plus you start to roll into a routine with your camping/eating/sleeping modes.

Tour.

While you were conquering all the local roads, you had to turn around at some point. At that point you probably asked yourself... "gee, what is around that next bend or over that next hill."

Touring is the answer... it is an amazing feeling to suddenly find out what is around the next corner/over the next hill and to continue on "discovering." If you do a long tour, the feeling of discovery continues, and you meet new people, plus you start to roll into a routine with your camping/eating/sleeping modes.


Have you looked at my website (see signature line below)? :)

After you have ridden all the roads, ride them again the other direction!

I've come very close to doing that as well!! I've been in this area for 2 years now, and have covered quite a few kms in that time through all the seasons. I probably know the area better than some who have lived here most of their lives!

Have you looked at my website (see signature line below)? :)

had not looked previously... you obviously have done more than 100 km locally. Now get some panniers and keep going.

I don't have a website... I have toured the California coast, the length of Baja, and from California to Texas.

Personally, I would love to tour France.

Tour.

While you were conquering all the local roads, you had to turn around at some point. At that point you probably asked yourself... "gee, what is around that next bend or over that next hill."

Touring is the answer... it is an amazing feeling to suddenly find out what is around the next corner/over the next hill and to continue on "discovering." If you do a long tour, the feeling of discovery continues, and you meet new people, plus you start to roll into a routine with your camping/eating/sleeping modes.

:roflmao:

You're telling MACHKA she should tour???? :roflmao:

had not looked previously... you obviously have done more than 100 km locally. Now get some panniers and keep going.

I don't have a website... I have toured the California coast, the length of Baja, and from California to Texas.

Personally, I would love to tour France.


I've toured England, Wales, a small part of France, Australia, as well as several bits and pieces of the US and Canada. I have covered just about all the roads within about a 100 km radius of where I live, and most of them many times ... as well as many of the roads outside that range ... say within a 2000 km radius of where I live. :)

I'm just sort of grasping at straws to find new places to go locally ... where I can go with the limited amount of time I've got for cycling these days. Or ways to make the old familiar routes more interesting.

I've toured England, Wales, a small part of France, Australia, as well as several bits and pieces of the US and Canada. I have covered just about all the roads within about a 100 km radius of where I live, and most of them many times ... as well as many of the roads outside that range ... say within a 2000 km radius of where I live. :)

I'm just sort of grasping at straws to find new places to go locally ... where I can go with the limited amount of time I've got for cycling these days. Or ways to make the old familiar routes more interesting.

You could try something new like riding a fixed gear. That might make a bit of a challenge. It would be different at the least.

If you can convince some friends to start cycling long distances, you can ride with new people.

How about getting a mountain bike and riding trails or exploring unpaved roads in your area (assuming you haven't already)?

Riding all the paved roads around here could take some time -- I live in a city of 500,000, with another city of 2 million just down the road. It could lead to some very boring suburban riding. Then there is the fact that cyclists are "officially" banned from riding the M1 motorway -- not that the police would be likely to care, but that's another thread.

Personally, I'd start on the dirt roads in the area, or start riding all the paved roads at night. Actually, I've undertaken something similar to this over the last two years (although it hasn't really been planned).

Riding all the paved roads around here could take some time -- I live in a city of 500,000, with another city of 2 million just down the road. It could lead to some very boring suburban riding. Then there is the fact that cyclists are "officially" banned from riding the M1 motorway -- not that the police would be likely to care, but that's another thread.

Personally, I'd start on the dirt roads in the area, or start riding all the paved roads at night. Actually, I've undertaken something similar to this over the last two years (although it hasn't really been planned).


Well, I wasn't referring to paved roads within the city limits ... I'm thinking of paved rural roads. Although, I've probably covered most of the paved roads within my city's limits anyway ... it isn't a very big city.

The dirt roads in my area are gravel ... you know the kind with the large rocks and deep drifts of smaller gravel which make it really hard to ride on with the equipment I currently own.

Canada. With the scenery Canada has to offer. SO many options. YOu have to stick to your neighborhood? AMong biking activities I like to do with my touring obsession, hop on a train and ride back home. Maybe northern Ontario just offers the same old wooded terrain? Well, I like wooded terrain.
Scenery has unmentionable detail. Each ride I find new business to take my wife back to. Slightly different deviations of a common path to where ever. New people , animals, restarurants to stop for. And the scenery is so incredible where we are , seeing it once is not enough.
Another activity I find interesting, just completing errands. DOn't drive to that nearby city, ride. Save on gas. The bike can be a functional activity, not just recreational.

Canada. With the scenery Canada has to offer. SO many options. YOu have to stick to your neighborhood? AMong biking activities I like to do with my touring obsession, hop on a train and ride back home. Maybe northern Ontario just offers the same old wooded terrain? Well, I like wooded terrain.
Scenery has unmentionable detail. Each ride I find new business to take my wife back to. Slightly different deviations of a common path to where ever. New people , animals, restarurants to stop for. And the scenery is so incredible where we are , seeing it once is not enough.
Another activity I find interesting, just completing errands. DOn't drive to that nearby city, ride. Save on gas. The bike can be a functional activity, not just recreational.


I'm on the other half of Canada from Ontario! Right where I am, the scenery isn't anything overwhelmingly beautiful ... it's nice, but not breathtaking or anything.

If I can afford the time to travel about 200 kms west, however, I've got the Rockies ... and cycling through there is great!! :)

Sorry Machka. I had the impression you lived in northern Ontario. The river snap shot looks pretty neat. So you live in BC. How about the coast. THe Vancouver islands are supposed to be incredible. I still love my hop a train idea. Doubles your potential trip distance from where ever to home. It is a little challenging to think you are that far from home. Might be a wise idea to take a credit card in case you don't make it in one day.

Have you hit most of bc?...There are 2 or 3 routes through the rockies to Vancouver. Some split off and make even more. Maybe its time for a good road trip...Do the mountain tour. Golden -> Kamloops (through a few towns) -> Lilloet -> hope -> Merrit -> Kelown ->

well you get the idea :)...I don't know if you have hit up a lot of bc...but there seems to be a vast choice of terrain and it would not be a boring ride.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/popular-topics/maps/2105-06.jpg

Sorry Machka. I had the impression you lived in northern Ontario. The river snap shot looks pretty neat. So you live in BC. How about the coast. THe Vancouver islands are supposed to be incredible. I still love my hop a train idea. Doubles your potential trip distance from where ever to home. It is a little challenging to think you are that far from home. Might be a wise idea to take a credit card in case you don't make it in one day.

I think she is in alberta...and really now that I see her last response...my opinion was pretty much useless anyways...

She is east of me...and west of ontario..she has BOAT loads of flat land in between her and ontario to play in though :)

I guess the plains are pretty uneventful. Even the forests are pretty rare?

I guess the plains are pretty uneventful. Even the forests are pretty rare?

If I were to head south about 75 kms, the trees would all vanish and I'd be in the middle of barren, rolling, brown terrain. <<yawn>> I've cycled there ... I've done several brevets in that area, but it is NOT inspiring at all.

However, where I currently live, there are scattered forests ... and as I head north and west, the forests get more plentiful. That part is nice, but the problem is that it is all pretty much the same. Until I get into the mountains everything is nice, but nothing is spectacular.

It's funny ... I lived and cycled in Manitoba for 13 years, and it was really easy to ride all the paved roads in the province (not just within a 100 km radius) because there are only 24-ish of them in the entire province of Manitoba (outside the cities), and the scenery in Manitoba is even less inspiring than here ... but I don't recall being quite as bored with it all back then.

I am planning to ride the two "local" roads I have not yet ridden this coming weekend ... maybe there will be something fascinating out there ... maybe they will become new favorites! :)

for me, some of the thrill of riding, is just riding. I like scenery, it really enhances my ride. Yet, I still just enjoy the ride. Hope I always feel the same.

I hope I have that problem someday. I've been exploring lots of new roads for a few years and I keep finding more to try. There must be a million paved roads in rural middle Georgia and a gazzillion dirt roads. I won't stop until I'm familiar with them all.

I hope I have that problem someday. I've been exploring lots of new roads for a few years and I keep finding more to try. There must be a million paved roads in rural middle Georgia and a gazzillion dirt roads. I won't stop until I'm familiar with them all.


The "joy" of riding in the Canadian prairies: most of the roads aren't paved. :rolleyes:

I've been by some roads that look really interesting, but the boulder-sized rocks they use to "gravel" them with is a bit of a deterrant.

Perhaps try a different style of riding for a while. I've made transitions between XC mountain biking, touring, back to XC, urban commuting and most recently to road biking. I'm about to move back to more technical XC.

Each has involved completely new experiences and each has been very enjoyable in a different way. Mountain biking is a fun technical challeng, touring is a great way to see new places and road biking is just so fast. Even learning about the different types of equipment for each activity is fun (though that really does need a strong inner geek).

Sell your house and move 100km away.

Back in the 70's I lived in Red Deer and was part of the Alberta Hail Project in Penhold. I love the roads out towards Caroline. Have you ridden the Forestry Trunk Road? Back when I was there it was a good place to ride on weekdays. A bit too much flying gravel on weekends. My touring bike, recently destroyed in a fire, used 600B wheels and was great for gravel road touring.
Wells

The "joy" of riding in the Canadian prairies: most of the roads aren't paved. :rolleyes:

I've been by some roads that look really interesting, but the boulder-sized rocks they use to "gravel" them with is a bit of a deterrant.

AHA! Machka, you have just anwsered your own question for you. You HAVEN'T ridden all the roads in your region, just the paved ones!

how big is this gravel- grapefruit? even grapefruit sized riffraff is ridable on the right bike.

or are you really getting bored with where you live? Its family and school that is keeping you in the plains, right? Maybe someday you can move westward to BC? It's really, really nice there.

but to take advantage of the unpaved will open up a whole new aspect for you. might I suggest a cyclocross bike, or a touring bike, outfitted with some fast 700x37 semislicks. you can take advantage of ALL the roads then.

Think of gravel road riding as training for the "508 club". Associated with the Fitchburg, MA Cycle Club. Back in the 1980's one became a member by riding the club 300 miler, 200 miler, and the 8 miles up Mount Washington, NH all in the same year. So think of it as you training for the final leg!
Wells

I have commuted the same route 200 days a year or so, for the last three years. I almost got it memorized.

I was browsing through maps last night and suddenly noticed a road I hadn't seen before! And then another one! So now I have three loops I haven't ridden yet. That'll do me for the next three weekends.

As for riding on gravel .... I hate riding on gravel. In fact hate is probably too light a term! :D I had a bad accident on gravel and still bear the scars on my left knee, over pretty much my entire left knee. So until those roads get paved ... or until they are packed down enough so that there are no loose rocks ... I will continue to avoid them. :)

Yes, I'm "stuck" here for another .... hmmmm ... several months anyway. But I'll have to move by Sept 2007!

Kind of depends on why you ride, M. Are you riding to see new stuff? To get in shape to the ride and see new stuff? To get in shape for Brevets? If you are only motivated to ride to see new stuff, then it sounds like time to move to me. I ride for different reasons though. I value the solitude of a solo ride, the comradary of a small group ride, the views of the mountains, seeing a fox in a field, that type of stuff. So I have found certain local rides meet my needs for riding, so those are the routes I ride day in and day out. It is sad how few paved long road rides there are available in southwest Montana.

I find it hard to believe one feels stuck in Alberta! Where are you pondering to restick yourself?
Wells

pick your favorite ones and enjoy them? or try an alternative to your alternative transport? like a skateboard, roller blades? recumbent? handbike?