Originally Posted by
HiFiGuy1
This is the reason I am apprehensive to start riding alone on area roads. I do have the option, if I only want to ride twice a week, to go with the sponsored LBS group rides, and right now that seems like a good idea because I think there will be safety in numbers.
Understandable. But even alone you can help your odds. For instance, if I leave the house at 6am on a weekend I can get in a good ride before the cagers get out. The same route on a weekday morning would be full of irritable, impatient, self-important got-to-get-to-workers. On a weekday I either take an out-and-back on a road with an ample shoulder or drive to ride, either the local half-mile track or some roads to the north that don't connect anything in particular. You'll probably learn quite a bit about local routes from the LBS rides, and I'll bet you'll feel more comfortable with experience.