i really like the san luis rey river bike path in oceanside. a lot of people use it. yeah, it is a bit isolated, but i feel that the main danger is not its distance from the street, but the unleashed dogs and distracted small children. a lot of people like and use this path, so i guess every case is individual. if the city/county had a network of these paths, bicycle ridership would surely increase. i'd say more, but this new bikeforums is straining my eyes. /complain