Originally Posted by
Happy Feet
Not necessarily. Depends on the road.
For example; Hwy2 from Souris to Antler had less traffic than the Trans Can (Hwy1) but a loose gravel shoulder that caused me to slough wildly whenever I rode on it. Fortunately the traffic that day was unusually light, even though it is a southern corridor for trucking so I simply rode the opposite side of the road whenever traffic came along. If it had even been moderate I would have had a horrible 100km ride stopping and starting on the gravel shoulder. In contrast, Hwy 1 had more traffic but an 8 foot nicely paved shoulder.
Yes, it does depend on the road - and thank you for proving my point.
Never ridden much in Manitoba, but have in southern Saskatchewan.
Here is the website for the Manitoba traffic flow map:
http://umtig.eng.umanitoba.ca/mhtis/flowmap2016.pdf
Note that Hwy 2 west of Souris doesn't have 485 AADT, but 1340 AADT.
And much of Hwy 2 west to the SK border has counts above 1000 -
not bad for most folks, but you need to pay attention.
HOWEVER -
If you look again at the MB traffic flow map, you will see a much better option -
at least, better in my opinion than the Trans Can with 6000-8000 AADT and heavy truck traffic.
Notice - Hwy 23 has 340 AADT and Hwy 345 has only 130 AADT - and they are paved.
Pretty darn flat no matter which road you take - but sweet & empty on the last option.
And it took me 30 seconds to find the Manitoba traffic flow map.
You may prefer riding on the shoulder of a busy 4-lane highway,
but I prefer listening to the wheat and songbirds.