So, How many of you are lucky enough to have bike-accessable roads all the way to and from your house?

I live out in the country just a bit, and I have about 3 miles of 55mph 2-lane, no should deep rocky ditch road between me and anywhere worth riding. I have my neighborhood...but even if I make the whole trip (down every road, in each cul-de-sac) its about 2.5 miles...

So i have to Drive to where I want to ride...which is just another excuse for the begginner (me) to not ride every day. Today, I didnt ride because I did 4 hours of yardwork (HARD yardwork) and another 2 of painting the walls. I really wanted to go today too. Most of the places I feel comfortable riding (i dont really like road-riding yet without a dedicated bike lane) are public spots, and have strict sunup/sundown rules...

So how 'bout you...how many of you just jump on and go from the house? And how many of you are like me, and have to take the bike somewhere to ride it?

Yep, I can hop on my bike and hit a trail within half a mile, on a rideable road, which will connect me to the greater Denver area Metroplex trail system. Its really SWEEEEEEEEET:D

I have to go on 50 mph roads CONSTANTLY. I hate* them. A lot of times there's a nice shoulder, but this disappears near the freeway.

What I* can't figure out about these roads is how to ride them. There's a right hand turn lane almost every block, and I can't take the lane because the traffic is nose to nose. I can't keep* a lane position because, well, because the traffic is crazy and it's 50 mph! And sometimes there's a constant stream of cars turning right, and all I can do is stop and wing it.

I am fortunate enough to work near a bike path so I can ride during lunch. On the weekends I used to drive the seven or eight miles from my house to that path, but I found a route that is safe enough for me to take from my house to the path without getting smeared. :)

Both. Depends on where I want to ride. Most of the time I ride form home, but there are a couple of locations I have to drive to first.

Most of the time I ride from home on the streets. I ride early enough, so traffic in not usually a factor. If I want to go explore a trail or MUP, I have to drive.

I also do both - just depends on what I want to do. I live in Orange County, CA and roads here are very bike friendly. There are lots of bike trails and bike lanes to use. Sometimes I'm don't have all that much time and want to get someplace, say the beach, so I might drive alittle closer and hook up with a bike trail. I especially do this after work as I hate to ride in evening traffic. Those people are crazy! On weekends I tend to start out from home. I'm only 15 miles from the beach so that makes a nice morning ride. I can literally do about 50 miles on bike trails, using some street, which is nice. I really do love where I live (except for the housing prices and immigration issues - it's a perfect place to ride bikes).

I start out in an urban area and quickly end up on some state highways, most have decent shoulders but I avoid traffic by riding early, like 5:30 or so. I can do 10-20miles before the traffic picks up that way
.

I ride from the house, but then again, I'm not the least intimidated by traffic. I have a couple of miles of very busy 4 lane to contend with, with NO shoulders and wheelcatcher gratings, so I am careful. Once I get inside the US52 perimeter though, it's easy riding.

I live 3 miles from the trail access. It's a ridable 3 miles and I've done it many time and so do dozens of others on the weekend. But I hate the ride, the road is a narrow 55mph with NO shoulders at all. I started out driving over and thought I was a wimp because I would see dozens of roadies riding the road(it's also part of a local club route). Then I started riding over, and hated it. So now sometimes I drive over if I just want to go for a pieceful ride and not have to fight traffic. I've found a 9 mile back way over to the trail on low traffic roads, it's a lot harder of a ride, but I need it anyways.

I do both.

Awesome trail system right outside my subdivision.
One of the reasons we moved here.

Both. Depends on where I want to ride. Most of the time I ride form home, but there are a couple of locations I have to drive to first.

+1

I live in the bullseye of a sprawling metro. Truly endless sums of mileage available. With a stop sign on every block. It's at least 10 miles to get where I can go, say, a mile or two uninterrupted.

I have Big Soos Creek about a mile and a half from home, which connects me within a quarter of a mile of Lake Youngs (which is MTB riding). At work, I can hit the Interurban/Green River Trail within two or three miles, and I can connect with the Cedar River Trail in about four miles. I can also get to the Lake Washington Trail within four miles from work, which takes me over Mercer Island and the I-90 Floating Bridge. About the only thing that's not easily available to me is the Burke-Gilman Trail, or the Lake Sammamish Trail.

So I ride almost everywhere. I'm not much intimidated by traffic, although there are some streets I avoid simply because I have an easier, quieter way of getting there.

East Hill

I am lucky in that I can ride through the neighborhood and hit about 10 miles of trails that are not often used by pedestrians. I can also get to work on the same trail and connect to a 4 lane road that has a huge shoulder/bike lane to ride on.

When I want longer, more varied rides, it is a half hour drive to the 85 mile MC Trails system.

I will admit that I am intimidated by traffic and generally try to avoid it or at least avoid poor shoulders and heavy traffic times on fast roads.

I go from my house, since there are several nice routes that I can take. The first mile from my house is all downhill. Unfortunately, the last mile of any ride is therefore all uphill - an 8% grade back up to my house. No matter how long or short I ride, I'm still tired when I'm done!

Once upon a time I commuted by bike into Boston, and I'm still unfazed by cars. I ride as though I'm invisible, but I'm pretty darned sure that motorists see me just fine. "I'm too big to miss," I told a worried friend. "My point exactly," he replied.

I can leave the house and ride hundreds of miles of nice country roads. It's limited only by endurance (not so good yet) and time. On Saturday's ride I actually passed the entrance to my flying field. :)

Here is what I need.....I ride to ride most of the time.....the worst part is I can't bring beer....how to carry a 12 pack of beer on my bike would be a cool solution. Any good backpack style coolers out there?

Once upon a time I commuted by bike into Boston, and I'm still unfazed by cars. I ride as though I'm invisible, but I'm pretty darned sure that motorists see me just fine. "I'm too big to miss," I told a worried friend. "My point exactly," he replied.

That's one to remember! :D

If it's only a couple miles just ride those highways in. The best thing about road cycling is being able to leave from your house.

So, How many of you are lucky enough to have bike-accessable roads all the way to and from your house?

I live out in the country just a bit, and I have about 3 miles of 55mph 2-lane, no should deep rocky ditch road between me and anywhere worth riding. I have my neighborhood...but even if I make the whole trip (down every road, in each cul-de-sac) its about 2.5 miles...

So i have to Drive to where I want to ride...which is just another excuse for the begginner (me) to not ride every day. Today, I didnt ride because I did 4 hours of yardwork (HARD yardwork) and another 2 of painting the walls. I really wanted to go today too. Most of the places I feel comfortable riding (i dont really like road-riding yet without a dedicated bike lane) are public spots, and have strict sunup/sundown rules...

So how 'bout you...how many of you just jump on and go from the house? And how many of you are like me, and have to take the bike somewhere to ride it?

I live in a major city with bike routes, bike paths and bike able streets all over the place, so I just ride to where I want to ride. You have a typical US problem though, where cities are divided into pieces, and then the pieces are only connected by arterials and highways, it's what you get for living in a car oriented development, fortunately here in Toronto, most of the city was designed before the automobile took over, so it's more grid oriented.

You have a typical US problem though, where cities are divided into pieces, and then the pieces are only connected by arterials and highways, it's what you get for living in a car oriented development, fortunately here in Toronto, most of the city was designed before the automobile took over, so it's more grid oriented.

I hate that around here. Once you get out on the edges of town it's not so bad, but in town it can be pretty horrible. One place I used to live, the neighborhood was only accessible via the highway. That's right - no sidewalks or bike paths, and only 2 (very inconvenient & busy) side streets. I loved the apartment, and the price was right, but I'm glad I don't live there any more.

-DR

I ride where I live, but it's pretty ok, living in the suburbs on the edge of town, near a only-moderately-busy state highway (no shoulder there, though). I've been looking up some local group rides, though, and there are a couple I want to do that will require some driving, at least until I'm up to doing 50-60 mile rides.

Both. Depends on where I want to ride. Most of the time I ride form home, but there are a couple of locations I have to drive to first.

Same here.

Drive to ride - roads here have no shoulder. My neighbor got hit about a mile from here - took him years to recover.

I prefer to drive. However if I am feeling adventurous I venture out from my house. You see I live on a hill my kids call it a cliff. 0 to 800ft in .71 miles, and we live about half way up. Hell of a way to start or finish a ride.

I can leave the house and ride hundreds of miles of nice country roads. It's limited only by endurance (not so good yet) and time. On Saturday's ride I actually passed the entrance to my flying field. :)

Now you just have to figure out how to make a trailer for your birds man.

Strangely, one of the few places I can actually get to is one of my fields. Don't think for a second I haven't tried to imagine a way to get my Raptors out there by bike.

Same here.

Me too. I am fortunate to live only 12 miles from the Schuylkill (pronounced "skool-kill") River Trail, a flat and almost entirely off-road paved MUP that runs for 25 miles between Audubon and Philadelphia. And most of the local roads are bike-acceptable.

Some roads are GREAT around here and others are not so good for a cyclist. I ride where I can, but for the rides I go on with others, I tend to load up the bikes and take them to either the MUP or Trail head. I use a child trailer for my grandson, and I like taking that with me and starting out on the trail. Much safer for him.

Ok...

I've seen this too much to not ask. What is MUP? I'm generally good at figuring stuff out based on context, but I'm lost. :)

MUP = Multi Use Path

Open to Cyclists, Joggers, Rollerbladers, people out for a Sunday stroll, and etc.

MUP = Multi Use Path

Open to Cyclists, Joggers, Rollerbladers, people out for a Sunday stroll, and etc.

Aha!

Thanks!

Now you just have to figure out how to make a trailer for your birds man.

Strangely, one of the few places I can actually get to is one of my fields. Don't think for a second I haven't tried to imagine a way to get my Raptors out there by bike.
The birds don't need a trailer, I only take two or 3 to the field on any given day. What needs a trailer is the boats. When I go to a weekend race, such as the upcoming one in Chesapeake, I usually bring 5 or 6. :)

I meant a trailer for the BIKE...

You can ride to the field. I cant imaging a 60 sized bird on your back :)

I'm still scared to death of traffic, but I really have no choice but to ride in it every time I ride.

There are a lot of theoretical bike lanes in NYC, but they are as often as not used as parking spaces and turn lanes, so you either stop and walk your bike around, accelerate and pass in the car-lane, or jump the curb and dodge pedestrians.

3 miles of highway sounds like paradise!

Always wear your helmet!

Both, I hate the traffic on my commute to work so I have started to become creative in the routes that I take to reduce the traffic, one way adds about 7 miles one direction (for a total of 22) which is great in the morning but sucks in the afternoon. If I want to ride the MUP I have to drive most of the time, If I want to hit MTB trails it is a definite drive, sometimes as far as 60 miles, just depends on the trail and the ride I want to do.

I pretty much ride from home when it's just me. I've got a couple of pretty good routes for the MTB that can be any distance up to 21 miles with not too much time on paved roads. When the road bike gets built, that's going to be a bit more difficult as within a mile I'll be on a 55mph or 65mph highway with no shoulders.

If the kids want to ride, we load up and head for the nearest little town to ride the paths and backroads.

I can roll out my door and pick dozens of country roads.

I have a bike path less than a mile from my front door, it goes 12 miles either way with no interruptions. What’s nice is when you hit either end you’re in the country and have all kinds of roads and terrain to choose from, I’m lucky.

Solveg, what road(s) are we talking about here? Perhaps I can help.

I have to go on 50 mph roads CONSTANTLY. I hate* them. A lot of times there's a nice shoulder, but this disappears near the freeway.

What I* can't figure out about these roads is how to ride them. There's a right hand turn lane almost every block, and I can't take the lane because the traffic is nose to nose. I can't keep* a lane position because, well, because the traffic is crazy and it's 50 mph! And sometimes there's a constant stream of cars turning right, and all I can do is stop and wing it.

I meant a trailer for the BIKE...

You can ride to the field. I cant imaging a 60 sized bird on your back :)
Sorry, I was confused. Actually, I've got something that could probably be modded to work, a Chariot trailer for kids. However, since I've got one who is approaching the age where she can begin using it, I'll probably wait a while until I'd consider modding it.

I am fortunate enough to be able to ride right from my driveway. Many people think I am nuts for riding on the roads that I do, but the way I look at it is that if it is legal for me to ride there, then I can ride there. The safety issue is one that is relative for each rider, and I would say that my Safety-O-Meter runs pretty high for just about anywhere. Meaning that I am not intimidated by anything.

There are a lot of country roads with little traffic on them in my area. The only downside is that the traffic that does come along is usually going about 20 mph over the limit. Did I mention that there are no shoulders on most of these roads? That is Eastern PA for you.

There are bike lanes on most major county road, and newer neighborhood roads throughout the front range towns of Colorado. That is a 150-mile swath of towns bunched up along the zone where the pairie and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains meet. The places with excellent bike lanes runs from just south of Colorado Springs to just north of Fort Collins. We have winter snow to thank for a lot of the bike lanes. They used to have wide shoulders along most the county roads because of the snowy conditions in the winter. They always had solid white lines that kept you out of the "snow pack lane", and in recent years, they just started painting little bicycles on them, and putting up signs that say things like "Share the Road" for people to ride on in the warmer months.

I have to admit that I simply love that aspect of living here. We still get our fair share of agressive drivers, but people are used to bicyclists around here, and not that many of them try to deliberately kill you or run you off the road to be mean, like they did when I lived on the east coast. It still happens, but the police actually gives people traffic tickets for breaking the right-of-way laws and everything here (both cars and bicyclists that flaunt the rules-of-the-road). I shouldn't be telling you all this. Housing is already too expensive here...

Solveg, what road(s) are we talking about here? Perhaps I can help.

Thanks for finding my post over on the roadie forum! I appreciate it. On some stretches, I go as fast as I can for as long as I can and just hope I make it through OK. It's kind of a relief to find out that locals feel the same way... I thought I was just being a wimp. Especially when people say they're not bothered by traffic, like it's a skill you can build up.

Here's one for you, though... Do you know where Hiawatha Cyclery is? How would you* get there from Snelling and CR D (if CR D went all the way through, which it doesn't, but there's nothing replacing it). I need to get to The Hub, too.

Never been to the Hub. Hiawatha has been a while. <scratches missing beard>

Hamline to Como to Raymond. Jog two blocks west to Pelham Blvd and down to Miss. River Blvd. Take that to Ford Pkwy/46th ST bridge and cross. Snake along M'haha park on Godfrey/M'Haha/W river rd. to the 54th st light and cross Hiawatha taking 54th st. to the shop (on your left). Good ride with lots of trail options should you desire them.

As to traffic: be polite, be assertive, be smart, and refuse to be intimidated. It's a process, not an epiphany.

I live out in the country, and I can easily ride about 15 miles all on two-lane (some 1 - 1/2 lane) country roads without ever hitting anything with a lot of traffic or high speed limits. Also I have lots of steep hills, which keep it interesting.

I live a mile out of town and have to ride 1.25+ miles of 55mph 2 lane to work. I just get over it and do it. People are crazy, but if I have to drive to ride---I will not do it often enough.

Never been to the Hub. Hiawatha has been a while. <scratches missing beard>

Hamline to Como to Raymond. Jog two blocks west to Pelham Blvd and down to Miss. River Blvd. Take that to Ford Pkwy/46th ST bridge and cross. Snake along M'haha park on Godfrey/M'Haha/W river rd. to the 54th st light and cross Hiawatha taking 54th st. to the shop (on your left). Good ride with lots of trail options should you desire them.

As to traffic: be polite, be assertive, be smart, and refuse to be intimidated. It's a process, not an epiphany.


Excellent. Thanks! Better than Snelling to Ford Pkwy!