I'm looking to go about 60 miles from one specific city to another. I've never made this trip other than on the interstate in my car but I want to try and go with my bike. When I plug it into Google bike, they want me to take a state trail. If I take the trail, however, about 75% of my trip will be on crushed stone or gravel with the rest being paved. I took a short ride on the same stuff today; maybe 3 miles down, 3 miles back. About 2 miles in, my hands and forearms were getting pretty numb from the bumpiness. Also, I had to drop my average speed about from 18 to 13/14 to feel safe. My other option would be to take country roads until I can get to the part of the trail that is paved. This would be twice as comfortable and maybe faster, but I don't like the idea of being mixed with traffic in such a remote area. While traffic won't be as bad as in the city, I'm worried about cars. From what I can see on Google Street View, the country roads aren't too wide either so I'm concerned about safety. Oh, also I will be taking these trips alone.

So if it were up to you, would you be taking the trail for safety while sacrificing comfort or would you want ride with comfort while putting yourself at additional risk of getting hit?