Originally Posted by
Jonahhobbes
Why do Roadie Commuters seem to have to take the added risks of always riding on the road despite there being a perfectly good and lovely to ride on bike path/MUP next to them…
Why do Roadie Commuters have to use the road all the time? It defies logic and common sense.
I ride on one of Boston’s most notorious four-lane, winding roads, without a shoulder and bounded by a curb, called the Jamaicaway, exactly parallel to a lovely MUP. However I am riding it before 6:00 AM outbound in the reverse commuter direction, so there is scant traffic in my direction at that time. My reasons are that a part of the MUP goes though a wooded area for a couple hundred yards and it’s desolate at that time, especially when dark. Secondly, I’m going in the uphill direction, and oncoming riders can be zipping downhill, and all I need is an inattentive ninja coming my way. Finally the MUP often has a lot more sand on it that the road.
When I tell people I ride the J-way, it becomes a “bragging right” to make me sound like a real road warrior.
