Commuting - major road or longer minor roads

I'm curious what is the preferred choice out there when commuting to work or even just riding in general.

:beer:

I go with the more direct route (as long as enough room for a bike lane exists) there are a few streets I will not ride (the strip being one of them) because there are far too many pedestrians/cars/taxis there. I actually dislike going through a lot of intersections, because I just simply don't trust the other cars as they run red lights/stop signs etc...

When I am on a main road, although there may be more traffice, I am more predictable, and most of the time drivers will move over a bit for me :D

but then again there are exceptions to every rule ;)

I voted for the major route, but I try to avoid freeway-style merges, diverges, and turns. Also, a 70kph street with a narrow, shoulderless curb lane is no fun. As VC said, "there are exceptions to every rule."

I selected the major route, although if there had been a third choice "semi-rural mountain roads, longer but more fun," I would have selected that because it fits the majority of my prefered commute more closely.

However, with the two choices, I went for the major route for mostly the same reasons as VegasCyclist and John E. Dinking through residential areas is no fun, what with folks rolling through stop signs in a hurry to drop their kids off at school (and heaven help a cyclist near a school parking lot at this time!), cruising garbage trucks, people backing out of their driveways without looking, and so on. I feel more secure out on an expressway or major thoroughfare. 'Course, the downside to that is sucking more exhaust per mile.

To this point I'm the only one who's chosen option 2 but it was a tough choice. (I'm sure I'll be joined by others soon.)

I regularly commute on major roads but there are some that I wouldn't want to ride on. Some times I would take a more direct route on a major road if the alternative has too many stops but if the alternative is still fairly direct, I'll skip the major road.

I usually take the same route I'd take if I was driving a car. Traffic doesn't bother me, but meandering through residential streets stoping every 2 minutes at an intersection would drive me loopy.

My route is partly 60km/h urban and suburban streets mostly with no bike lane (and 3m/10' lanes over the bridge), partly 70km/h arterial with a wide bike lane, and partly 80km/h arterial with gravel shoulder but nice wide lanes. I get heavy traffic really only for the last 6 or 7 km of the ride, which also happens to be where the narrowest lanes are. Since I don't ride on the footpath, my lane-splitting skills have become quite well developed over the years.

I clicked on the second option. Although I'm somewhere in between. I ride on major roads always but they are usually only two lanes in each direction, with a wide shoulder that has the occasional parked car that I can pass without entering the closest lane. The roads I take are main roads but they are not arterial roads that go directly into the city with the bulk of traffic. Maybe a third option: Main roads with posted speeds of 60kph, that don't have massive traffic.

It's very difficult to describe an individuals riding circumstances without geographical knowledge.

CHEERS.

Mark

Spire,

The one-man jury is still out on this one. My head says, "take the main road, it's faster," but my heart says, "dang, those trees, fresh air and cool, renovated old neighborhoods sure are sweet!"

:)

I usually take the main road, because I like to keep up a good, uninterrupted pace, but with so many cagers (sorry, drivers!) it's a damne# pain in the glute.

I admire the Jetsons. What visionaries! Let helicopters and jets fill the skies (powered with clean fuel) and leave the ground routes to us cyclists!

:beer:

(But lookout! An accident! :eek: Here comes a falling copter!)

I voted 2, but this morning, trying to catch my friend (who I'd seen crossing the Forth Road Bridge while I was having breakfast) I took the dual carriageway (70mph limit) rather than the cyclepath.

It cut 1/2 mile off of my distance, but I saved about 8 minutes and I could have saved more as I still got stuck at some traffic lights in Edinburgh.

Average speed was not far off 15 mph, and for a while I was in second top gear cruising at 23 mph.

Still, the fumes from the traffic and the lack of anticipation shown by drivers confirms I should stick to cyclepaths.

It depends on how I feel that particular morning, some mornings I take a predominantly country minor roads route, others mainly major, others half and half.

Richard

I voted for option one. I don't have much of a choice anyway, as I turn right out off my road, keep going straight for 19kms on the main road, and arrive at work. Pretty boring really. Going through other residential areas would be pointless and time consuming. :(

I had to go with the major roads choice. There are very few residential streets and side roads that I could take to get to work. But I have managed to find a few along the way so I can have a chance to "enjoy" the commute and not be hurried by the masses of behemoths I find everywhere.
About 11 miles of my 14.5 mile commute is on 4 and 6 lane roads with speed limits of 35-45 mph.
I also pass through two school zones so in the morning traffic is forced to slow down to 25 mph for a block or two. In one of the school zones I'm the one doing the speeding, not the cars. I generally ride 26-27 mph :eek: if there are no cars ahead of me (it's slightly downhill). But as soon as we are out of the school zone they all speed past me. Darn!

i chose 2 b/c it's usually more enjoyable to take smaller streets b/c there's more to see - if possible i try and take a different route every day...

i don't have a problem with riding on larger roads i just don't find it as fun... also generally lower car speeds on smaller streets and fewer drivers trying to get somewhere fast

don't get me wrong - i still ride fast but i just like to have some scenery and variation and i ride fast b/c i like it not necessarily to get there faster

it varies of course as to where you live...
but i often have urban residential streets (Munich Germany, Portland OR, and Massachusetts) that have little traffic and often many w/o stop signs or long lights (i hate waiting at a long light and would often rather ride an extra distance and avoid a light if possible...)
then outside of the urban center, i also have usually had smaller country roads or residential roads that are more pleasant than the multi-lane roads...
i guess if you live in a new US-style suburb where most residential streets end in a cul-de-sac or make a cirlce or whatever then you're pretty much stuck riding the arterial or multi-lane...

Although I haven't started commuting (Yet!) I did a "trial" run on Sunday. The direct route is 6 lane in the city and then a narrow two lane in the rural area.

I tried to take as many residential detours as possible. Being in a large retirement community, I have legitimate concerns about some of our senior citizens ability to see me. Especially since I'll be riding directly into the rising sun!

When I am just out for a road ride, the route I take is mostly residential for the same reasons!

L8R

I voted for the second one. In my city it is dangerous to take the major busy streets. I'm talking the streets that are divided 4 lanes, with speeds reaching 35 to 45 mph. These streets are not that wide and are very busy with lots of traffic. There are always residental streets to take that run the same direction as the busier streets.

I do like to ride on the state and county highways out of town though. never had a problem with traffic out on these highways.

In Iowa it is against the law for a cyclist to ride on any interstate, highway, street or roadway with a minimum posted speed limit, unless the cyclist can maintain that minimum posted limit. This law was set up to keep farm tractors off the interstates and major highways because it posed a danger. But it goes for any kind of slow moving traffic. In the cities there are not minimum posted lmits but it is suicide to ride on the major commercial streets. And with nice slow residental streets to ride on its not so bad.

Here's another thought.

What would you do if you could take a fairly direct route on secondary roads that went through a number of intersections or a less direct route on a major road?

Would you take the major road even though it was longer just to avoid all the stop - start riding?

I guess it would depend on how far out of the way it would take you.

Major more direct route unless it has high-speed, freeway style merges/exits. A more secondary route with many more intersections vastly increases the danger. Most car-bike crashes are at intersections, not from high-speed overtaking traffic.

Dave

Would you take the major road even though it was longer just to avoid all the stop - start riding?

MY commute is based on less traffic. The direct way is 16km one way, 5km twisty downhill, then flat. The problem is that the winding road has a lot of cars that tailgate or pass when I am doing 50kph in a 60 zone, they are so impatient.:mad: This way has ~15sets of lights.

So the way I go is 40km one way, 5km straight road downhill, then flat. I do a big loop that avoids all the main roads then head into the city on the widest road available. Relatively little traffic, wide roads, all in 60kph zones. It's pretty good. Then I get a lift home as the hills roads are too busy for me to ride at night, although plenty of cyclist do ride up these roads in peak hour traffic. I pass through 35+ sets of lights and two railway lines, but I only have to stop about 10x, not great, but I have no choice.

CHEERS.

Mark