Originally Posted by
PatrickGSR94
It shouldn't matter. Any public street can and will have motor traffic at times. I see no difference at all in how one should ride and behave whether commuting or just rec riding.
I personally DO NOT intentionally seek out 2-lane country roads because of generally higher speeds, no shoulder, and more difficulty for motorists to pass. Unfortunately that's the only choice I have for my commute, so I take the route of 2-lane roads with the lowest traffic volume. For rec riding I ride around my town, or even venture up into Memphis. I find it far LESS stressful to ride in the city than to ride out in the country, personally, because in the city there is generally plenty of space for motorists to pass easily.
I rec ride on the trials, avoiding roads like the plague. I can't do that when commuting. So, for me, commuting is a totally different animal.
We have close to a 1000 miles worth of paved bike trail here in SW Ohio. Much of it is rural and free of people. There are some nice long stretches that are empty, even in the dead of summer. The only negative is that the rail to trail grade is lacking in any challenging hills. But, i can live with that.