Vince868

What are thoughts regarding riding on interstates for distance rides? Legal, not legal, recommended or not recommended?

The Octopus 

Depends on your state. Legal in some. Illegal in others. Generally East of the Mississippi, it's illegal and would be pretty foolish even if it were. In parts of the West, it's legal and in many cases is the only game in town. Check the law where you want to ride. There are brevets and perms in Oregon that use part of I-5 and it's not that bad. Sometimes it's the only way to get from here to there.

prathmann

Yes, the rules vary by state. When I lived in NJ there were a few interstates that were bike-legal on the shoulder but you had to get a free permit from the state. In Arizona it was mainly legal on interstate shoulders where no reasonable alternate routes existed - and that's the general situation in most western states. California law specifies that it's legal to ride on the shoulder except if there are signs on the ramp prohibiting it. But on most interstates they do have such signs except where there aren't good alternates. An exception is I-5 which is bike-legal from the Bay area (Tracy) down to near LA (Santa Clarita) even though good alternates exist (there's even a bike path along the canal that parallels the freeway for most of that stretch).

It's a pretty fast way to cover distance since you get a nice wind boost from passing trucks and the shoulder is well paved and plenty wide. OTOH it's noisy and the shoulder has lots of truck tire debris. I've gotten flats from the little steel wires left behind when the tire debris deteriorates. A plus is that there are plenty of services and they're open at all hours. A negative is that the wide open expanse of freeway makes it seem like you're going slower than on a smaller road where the scenery changes more.

prathmann

..

mwmcginn

Right now, I cant think of any reason or anywhere that I would even consider it.

mattm

out west it's certainly more common, mostly because in a lot of cases, if you want to do mountain passes you've got to get on some kind of "nasty" eight-lane monstrosity.

like i-90 from north bend to cle elum. it wasn't really scary - just loud at times.



out here the views are worth it.

even if there's barely a shoulder: (hwy 2)

lighthorse

Vince,
I have several hundred miles riding on interstates. Most of those miles were in places where there were no alternatives. I always check with the state before I use their interstate system. You will find all possible combinations. California for example allows interstate travel by bicycle only in specific areas and you can download those areas from their website. Careful about the Mississippi River as a guide. For example Kansas does not allow it. Most states have a bicycle coordinator listed on their web site. I just call that person and get the scoop.
Good luck

thompsw

I did a cross country ride where we rode on Interstates out west where there was no other alternative to get from point A to point B. One of the advantages of Interstates is that the grades are usually moderate, vs State Roads with steeper grades, County Roads even steeper ...

Tire debris, crosswinds ... there are many hazards to riding on the Interstates.

JOHN J

against the law in the northeast.

"John"

thompsw

yes, against the law in the northeast, as others have noted ... and also in the southeast ... and in fact against the law in most states, I believe. In the northeast there's usually another way to get from point A to point B.

benajah

In places where you can, I have to admit I feel the safest on that wide shoulder than on any country two lane road....except at the on/off ramps...those scare the bejezzus out of me. Just too sketchy

Jerseysbest

In NJ you can request to ride on the interstate's from the state DOT.

I guess you would need a reason, and having lived and biked there for most of my life, I don't see any haha. Local roads are much better and more direct unless you wanted to cross the state in record time.

bobbycorno

Hereabouts it's legal to ride Interstates, but I don't if I have an alternative. It's noisy, nerve-wracking, and the shoulders are so covered in miscellaneous c**p that you're almost guaranteeing yourself a flat. That said, the 600k I'm riding this coming weekend starts out with 10 miles on I-84. I'll be riding with my fingers crossed.

SP
Bend, OR