Touring - Paths versus Roads

I am not asking this question from a safety stand point.

What are your feelings about touring on roads versus paths (like C&O or GAP for example)? Do you find that paths are less interesting versus roads? Or????

A lot of people here ride (not tour) a bike path in Philly. I like to see it at different times of the year but find it comes somewhat mindless. One way, one direction, once choice.

Whats your thoughts?

I would ride paths if I had them!

Depends on the path and the road. Riding the path can bring you closer to nature if that's your thing and many roads, think central Illinois or eastern Colorado can be very boring. Just depends on the particulars, but overall, I like the rail to trails and such.

I like both paths and country roads with little traffic, like these, from my latest tour:

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I typically prefer to ride on the roads, but there are some nice paths that I have used, like one along the river in Denver and the ones in the Frisco Breckenridge area. The notion of a tour all on a bike path like the GAP, Katy, or similar does not especially appeal to me and I definitely do not go out of my way to ride them when on road tours. Bike packing with a mountain bike on dirt roads and trails is fun though.

That is all purely personal preference though.

Both depending on the situation.

Aaron :)

chefisaac, Paths are few and far in between in my area. For the most part those that we have are a bit more interesting scenery wise compared to a developed road. While my touring bike works just fine along most unpaved paths, there are a couple of unmaintained paths that my rack equipped mountain bike is the better choice.

My opinion is if there are paths along a route, they should be considered. On the other hand it's often impossible for someone in unfamiliar settings to know how suitable the path could be.

Brad

This spring in Belgium they run a race from Ghent, to Wavelgem , near Kortrijk.

but I followed a Navigational canal that nearly connected the 2, starting in Kortrijk,
and it was a casual cruise between them.
tow path was also much shorter :thumb:

I am not asking this question from a safety stand point.

What are your feelings about touring on roads versus paths (like C&O or GAP for example)? Do you find that paths are less interesting versus roads? Or????

A lot of people here ride (not tour) a bike path in Philly. I like to see it at different times of the year but find it comes somewhat mindless. One way, one direction, once choice.

Whats your thoughts?

You might be over-thinking this. Local paths that you use often are very different from something that you've never ridden before. I use local paths on a regular basis and they have become more of a means to an end rather than a destination. On tour, it's very different. A path or a road are something I've never seen before. They have their own air of excitement and are, thus, less mindless.

That said, paths tend to have their issues. Most of them are off the beaten path so finding food and lodging services are more difficult. In the age of the stupid smart phone , that is less an issue to find them than it was 5 to 10 years ago. Lodging and food may, however be several miles off the path which presents its own problem.

I will also say that there are certain roads that can become mindless in their own right. The Natchez Trace comes to mind. It's lovely for about 50 miles. But after I've seen a million trees, my prairie developed sense of space starts to rebel and I want to see a vista...any vista. But all you can see is trees...with the occasional sign that says something like "Johnson's Corner Store was built on the site in 1797 but burned to the ground in 1815 and the foundation was carried off by locals." All that is left is trees.

Because the Trace is a national park, it has no advertising for nearby services. There could be towns within feet of the road and you'd never know. It's only when you get off the Trace that stuff gets interesting. From what little I've ridden of the C&O (out to the Great Falls of the Potomac), it's very similar. Carry a smart phone

But after I've seen a million trees, my prairie developed sense of space starts to rebel and I want to see a vista...any vista. But all you can see is trees...

That is kind of funny to me since I tend to be the opposite. I get really happy when I get back to trees and mountain streams. I know that the three of us on the Trans America all got a big lift when we got to ride in wooded areas after a stretch of open country. It is especially bad for me when in addition to there being no trees everything is brown. I have to say I hated most of the scenery on the southern tier and the parts I remember being nice were wooded and/or wetter. I try to just enjoy the food and the people when the scenery doesn't suit me, but it was a harder to do on the ST.

For me if there aren't trees or streams with water in them, it does help if there are at least mountains.

Road.


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chefisaac, Paths are few and far in between in my area. For the most part those that we have are a bit more interesting scenery wise compared to a developed road. While my touring bike works just fine along most unpaved paths, there are a couple of unmaintained paths that my rack equipped mountain bike is the better choice. My opinion is if there are paths along a route, they should be considered. On the other hand it's often impossible for someone in unfamiliar settings to know how suitable the path could be. Brad

Texas Path:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/BridgeRideWBob026.jpg

^^^^
The guy in front is going to get clobbered by a wide load semi.

+1 All trees is boring. ie Northern Michigan in June.

I like both. There are many paths here, some better than others. Some are boring straight lines through tree tunnels but the roads close by aren't any more interesting so I'll choose the paths as they're more quiet. Engine noise drives me nuts sometimes. Some paths go where roads don't. I also like that it makes more people bike.

http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s2/v61/p1126028226-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p178726570/e431dd3c2) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v68/p1126020908-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p80968095/e431db72c) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v63/p1126024662-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p410869517/e431dc5d6) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s2/v53/p1126018848-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p166606640/e431daf20) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s1/v57/p1126026400-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p225955924/e431dcca0) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s2/v60/p1126024804-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p225955924/e431dc664)

It depends. Roads are usually more direct, so if you want to get where you're going faster, you're better off on the road. You also have more of a chance of finding stores and restaurants, if you're on the road.
Paths are nice, more relaxing, pretty, no traffic to deal with. But usually meander more, and the surface may not be consistant. I like to do a mix of both, if possible.

I like both. There are many paths here, some better than others. Some are boring straight lines through tree tunnels but the roads close by aren't any more interesting so I'll choose the paths as they're more quiet. Engine noise drives me nuts sometimes. Some paths go where roads don't. I also like that it makes more people bike.

http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s2/v61/p1126028226-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p178726570/e431dd3c2) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v68/p1126020908-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p80968095/e431db72c) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s4/v63/p1126024662-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p410869517/e431dc5d6) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s2/v53/p1126018848-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p166606640/e431daf20) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s1/v57/p1126026400-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p225955924/e431dcca0) http://www.borealphoto.com/img/s2/v60/p1126024804-2.jpg (http://www.borealphoto.com/p225955924/e431dc664)

Are all of those photos from the same trip, Eric? Looks great! Quebec really is amazing for cycling.

'It depends' for me, too. Some paths, say in urban areas on a nice weekend, seem more dangerous than nearby roads due to kids, dogs, etc. When I lived in Seattle, I would avoid the Burke-Gilman trail, for instance. When touring in an unknown area, I often avoid the paths if the road is OK. I've had to backtrack because of bridge washouts, deep fords, soft gravel, downed trees, failed surfaces, etc. The path maintenance is not always as good as on the roads. But I loved cycling the Erie Canal trail on my recent Northern Tier ride. It was a highlight.

I find that paths such as the GAP C&O and the portion of the Erie Canal that I rode to be great to ride on. These trail towns (for the most part) are numerous and have plenty of food/lodging opportunities and points of interest. I've rode from Cleveland to Cinci twice for charity and I saw a lot of corn.

The GAP has some awesome vistas and camping/lodging is near the trail.
The C&O is full of history and camping is free all along the trail. The towns are right on these trails as the GAP is a rail trail and the C&O a canal.
We just came back from a combined road/trail ride in NY and I will say it was easier to get food and a cold beer while riding the trail.

I have no problem riding on the road, most of my shorter trips have been on road but it is nice to be away from cars. I would definitely avoid the weekender fitness type trails though. Do some research and you can find some great trail riding.

I highly recommend the GAPCO, I've done it a couple of times.

That is kind of funny to me since I tend to be the opposite. I get really happy when I get back to trees and mountain streams. I know that the three of us on the Trans America all got a big lift when we got to ride in wooded areas after a stretch of open country. It is especially bad for me when in addition to there being no trees everything is brown. I have to say I hated most of the scenery on the southern tier and the parts I remember being nice were wooded and/or wetter. I try to just enjoy the food and the people when the scenery doesn't suit me, but it was a harder to do on the ST.

For me if there aren't trees or streams with water in them, it does help if there are at least mountains.
I'm the same. I grew up in the dense forests of the Deep South and I get a bit "agoraphobic" in too much open space.

Are all of those photos from the same trip, Eric? Looks great! Quebec really is amazing for cycling.

All different trips although the first two are in the same area.

I've had the idea of making a 900km continuous trip on paths (mostly) (http://goo.gl/maps/y7NV1). I doubt it'll never happen since I've biked all of them and will bike some again on shorter trips.

All different trips although the first two are in the same area.

I've had the idea of making a 900km continuous trip on paths (mostly) (http://goo.gl/maps/y7NV1). I doubt it'll never happen since I've biked all of them and will bike some again on shorter trips.

Cool!

I grew up riding roads, and whenever available, shoulders on roads. And that is still my preference. Give me a quiet road with wide shoulders and that's just perfect. :) But a very quiet road out in the middle of the country, even without shoulders, is good too.

And having ridden MUPs in various parts of Canada, I developed a strong dislike of MUPs ... too many things going on ... pedestrians, roller bladers, dogs, children, elderly people just standing in the middle of the path ...


However, we have ridden some paths in Europe and some of them have been quite good. The tow path up the Marne canal/river in France was lovely. The bit of the path that we rode along the Moselle was very nice. Parts of the Rhine route were good. And the Velodyssey route, up the west coast of France, was great.



So I guess the answer is ... it depends.

Paths often have more trees which are better wind shelter on windy days. If they are along an old rail route, flatter but not all trails stay on an old rail route and some trails can have very steep segments.

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Roads, some have good shoulders and some have shoulders that are pretty narrow. Also, roads have ubiquitous broken glass and little bits of wire make me more nervous about how long I will still have air in my tires.

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I have ridden some roads with almost no traffic that were very pleasant, but some roads have the kind of traffic that raise my stress and blood pressure.

I enjoy paths and roads but i prefer paths if possible.

I'm with Machka. Here, give me roads. Over there, I'll take it if it isn't gravel. The European tertiary roads we've ridden were great. They pave everything except for a few bike paths over there. It's great. No potholes that I saw, just well maintained and clean roads. I found the tendency to lay cobblestones in intersections to be a little strange, but otherwise biking was great. Here, I can see why some people flee to the MUPs, but I also think them too dangerous. I want roads with rules.

The European tertiary roads we've ridden were great. They pave everything except for a few bike paths over there. It's great. No potholes that I saw, just well maintained and clean roads.

+1. Did about 1,200 miles in Andalucia, often using the "white" roads on the map. I was amazed at how well the vast majority of them were maintained even though they often carried little traffic. Wonder if it's still that way with their economy the way it is.

I rode my first cycle trail this year. Running north out of a Swedish town called Karlstad is a 60-70 mile trail called 'Klarälvbanan' (The Clear River Track) laid out on an old rail line. Straight as it was, I expected to be bored, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. I went through villages and towns, beside lakes, fields, forest. The flowers were in bloom. It had places where a tourer could set up a camp, CLEAN outhouses every 5 km or so, little places to stop for drinks and snacks, markers for places of interest just off the trail like old country blacksmith forges, runestones and such.

I would love to ride it again with time enough to explore the places around it more thoroughly. I rode 43 miles of it in 4 hours because I was meeting my husband in Karlstad to end our holiday. I rode and he fished. The deadline left me no time to follow the signs to POI off the trail.

That said, paths like that seem very rare here in Sweden so while I enjoyed it immensely, I have to prefer roads since there are so many more of them.

Don't have that choice here in Ireland mores the pity.

To me it's not so much about path vs. road per se, but more about having patches of "civilization" at regular intervals. I find that when I'm riding a long path without much in the way of towns or villages to sightsee in, I get a bit bored. When I rode the C&O I would occasionally detour out on nearby roads for a literal change of scenery and better access to services. On the GAP, I really like how it goes through "trail towns" on a regular basis.

Touring on bike paths in Europe is really the best of both worlds in my opinion. Most are paved and are either cycle-only tracks or small farm roads closed to most vehicles. Plus, they take you through small villages, towns and cities at regular intervals.

To me, riding through a never-ending "green tunnel" on a path gets old really fast. That's what made the C&O kind of boring for me.

Most of my trips have a destination at the end. All things being equal, I'll take a quiet path over a busy street. I'll take a quiet street over a busy path, for that matter. But for the most part, if I can get there by path, I will. It just does not often happen that way. When it does, it's seldom an either/or situation, because roads are more prevalent than paths. There aren't a lot of destinations I could seek out that are accessible without a fair amount of road time. Also, while I like a quiet, isolated, nature-locked path, I also like towns, big and small. I like seeing how they're laid out. I like stopping at a park and watching traffic go by. I'll take a path where I can find it because it's rare. If it were common, I might find myself abandoning paths for the road more often.

Also, as has been said, sometimes a long cycle path keeps you isolated from provisions and lodging. Also sometimes they aren't as well marked. I was excited to find that an old railbed that went through my old hometown had been paved. I finally got to check it out and counted myself lucky that I had a mobile device with GPS and downloaded maps. Most road crossings had no signs to tell you where you were. On a paper map, I would have been trying to count road crossings or heading off looking for cross streets all of the time.

AS posted using paths that are new to you would be far from boring. I'd love to ride some of the paths pictured in this thread!

The paths could serve as a useful alternative to busy highways, like many do in Florida. In that state anything that puts distance between me and Velda Bluehair is welcomed!!!!

One of the problems we have in our neck of the woods is that the paths mostly are too short, and too straight to be of any use as an alternative. The Schuylkill River Trail you mention in Philly at least isn't straight or short. It actually goes someplace including leading to other paths.

Depends how scenic the path is.

My local bike trail from Central Philadelphia to Valley Forge? It absolutely blows. Pancake flat, nothing to see besides scruffy, tree-of-heaven filled new forest, sewage plants and office buildings. Terrible.

On the other hand, the Blue Ridge Parkway could be seen as a sort of bike path. Very different sights along the way on that one...

Since we've only toured on paths I'd say paths, however most paths of any length end up with connecting road sections, like the Erie canal, so maybe I should say both? I like paths as a destination (GAP, Erie, etc), if I were touring greater distance/time I might feel differently.

On the other hand, the Blue Ridge Parkway could be seen as a sort of bike path. Very different sights along the way on that one...
I fail to see how the BRP, could not be in the road category if we are talking roads vs paths.

Paths at their best ar excellent.

So are roads, at their best.

There is another way of looking at this, or approaching it, that is potentially full of interesting discoveries.

It probably deserves a thread of its own.

I fail to see how the BRP, could not be in the road category if we are talking roads vs paths.

I was just thinking in the sense that it's a straight road that you'd mainly ride without leaving it - i.e., riding the whole thing is in many ways analogous to riding on a bike path - you just follow it and stay on.

Obviously in the whole "sharing with cars" sense it's got more in common with road riding, but in the sense of route planning it is like a path in a lot of ways.

Many of the rail trails in IL and WI (where I do most of my riding) can get boring. They're like riding in a constant tree tunnel that goes perfectly level and straight. I don't dislike them but I sometimes have to abandon them and ride the parallel roads. But I still support the creation of rail trails.

Navigational Canal Tow paths are more common in Europe.

In the US the cities were cited on natural rivers . in the 'wilderness'

The shipping between Places tended to flow that way..
digging canals was rare ..

I'd like to see passenger Rails used to move people again ,

but the finest government money can buy ,

measures transportation commercial success..
By Automobile sales

Tour the Blue Ridge Parkway and you experience some of the nicest, most scenic road in North America. And if thats all you do you'll miss out on the 120 waterfalls and a pile of other interesting diversions - most of them only accessable by unpaved roads or paths that branch off the parkway.

Tour the Blue Ridge Parkway and you experience some of the nicest, most scenic road in North America. And if thats all you do you'll miss out on the 120 waterfalls and a pile of other interesting diversions - most of them only accessable by unpaved roads or paths that branch off the parkway.

I agree, but... I think that whether you branch off the parkway on those unpaved roads and paths or not you are still road touring. Unpaved roads are still roads and the paths are side hikes or rides that you can do or not do on a road tour or a bike path tour. I do think that on a road tour you have more freedom to seek out those side trips because you are not limited to one single route.

In the case of the BRP I assume that those forays onto the paths are side hikes not the route you take on the bike, or are there actually bike paths along the BRP?

I took the OP's mention of "paths" as referring to something like the GAP or C&O. Meaning a multi-use path that is likely to be shared with other types of path users, but not motorized traffic. Those do not especially appeal to me for the same "One way, one direction, once choice" reasons Chef Isaac mentioned as well as some other reasons. I might ride on them for a portion of a tour if they happened to go where I wanted, but am unlikely to want to go and just ride the KATY, GAP, or C&O. I am also unlikely to go out of my way to ride them when on a road tour. Just my personal preference though.

BTW, bike packing or MTB touring on trails is a different thing compared to the paths the OP mentioned, at least to my way of thinking.

To me it's not so much about path vs. road per se, but more about having patches of "civilization" at regular intervals. I find that when I'm riding a long path without much in the way of towns or villages to sightsee in, I get a bit bored. When I rode the C&O I would occasionally detour out on nearby roads for a literal change of scenery and better access to services. On the GAP, I really like how it goes through "trail towns" on a regular basis.


What you experienced on the C&O vs the GAP trail is a historical difference. The GAP is a converted railroad so it had stops about every 20 miles for water and/or coal. Most railways built towns around their stops. If you look at a map of northern Nebraska along the Cowboy Trail, you can see the train towns quite clearly. The towns on that line are incredible regular.

The C&O, being a canal, didn't need the regular stops.