samiamnot

hey all,

I'm beginning the planning for a short (5-7) tour in the south carolina area. Thinking of going along the coast south from Charleston. Any suggestions for good places to visit/ride/etc.?

thanks

DieselDan

Yeah, don't. US 17 between Jacksonboro and Garden's Corner is under construction and extremely hazardous, and there is no vista of the ocean at all. The traffic level is over capacity and filled with trucks.

If you want a nice Lowcountry backroads ride, start in Summerville on 17A and head south towards Walterboro or Holly Hill to Walterboro on US 15.

-=(8)=-

My parents live in Mt. Pleasant.
I dont think anywhere in the Charleston area is very
bike friendly

Porter20

You should make a trip to the Northwest. Greenville is lovely with some GREAT rides. Bring your climbing legs; not much flat land. But what goes up; must come back down...

Kostritzer

I did the After Bridge Run Ride in Charleston last year and there were some great roads on that route. It started at Daniel Island and went inland and through some nice state park area.

samiamnot

cool, thanks for the input everybody. I live in central Illinois and I've never seen the atlantice from either of the Carolinas. This is why i wanted to take a coastal route. thanks.

jamiewilson3

If you are looking for a nice all around vacation, the Charleston area is beautiful. There are some nice cruising roads on some of the islands.

If you are looking for a cycling vacation, the Upstate is the place to go. Greenville has a nice culture as well, but obviously no ocean.

It really depends on your ranking of priorities/objectives.

mattotoole

I'd extend that to all of coastal SC. I'm temporarily in Myrtle Beach and this is the least bike-friendly environment I've been in for a long time. 17 Business and Ocean Bl. are OK but the rest of it is a disaster. I can't wait to go home to southwest VA.

It's a shame because so many people could benefit so much from being able to ride here -- especially all the low income service workers who can't afford to keep a car on the road, but do anyway. And none of the current road widening plans call for shoulders, let alone bike lanes. I can't believe they just widened 544 without bike lanes, right by the university.

There's no enforcement either, to keep coke-addled truckers from driving their 18 wheelers at 60 in 40 zones, on shoulderless 2-lane arterials -- or to catch drunks, who are everywhere, thanks to all-night bars.

I see lots of po' folk on bikes, usually riding at walking pace, against traffic, on the grass beside the road.

DieselDan

Don't shoot your mouth off. Cycling is popular and well tolerated in Beaufort, and Hilton Head Island has one of the most extensive pathway systems in the world. Bike lanes are added to every road widening and repaving project when practical. Law enforcement has an unwritten policy of non enforcement of sidwalk riding as long as you don't make yourself a hazard to pedestrians. While not exactly Portland, Oregon, we're in good shape on this end of the coast.