Originally Posted by
FBinNY
I wonder if we're seeing a generation gap here. Not in chronological years but in years as an active cyclist/bicycle tourist
I suspect that the "older" cyclists that cut out teeth riding roads and are fully adapted to and comfortable with that will see it one way, and don't want to foster any perception that maybe that's not a good thing.
OTOH - those who came later, in an era of advocacy for separated bike lanes in cities, strong peer pressure for wearing helmets, and a general perception of the "dangers" associated with riding in traffic will tend to favor more separated bike lanes.
That's an interesting observation.
I like bike roads/lanes and will use them, but i'm also an "older" rider and I'm fine with roads. I was flabbergasted, reading a thread on the "Northeast" regional page about someone who wanted to do the Farmington Canal Trail, a north-south dedicated biking road in CT, which has (or had) an approximately 10 mile gap in the middle of it where you had to use roads. And the person said "I want to do this, but will want to find someone to transport me and my bike across those 10 miles."
????
To be clear, the 10 connecting miles are marked, have shoulders and are not that heavily traveled.