Originally Posted by
Velo Vol
I've also been thinking about traffic. Suburban sprawl blows. It used to be, even five years ago, on one of my old favourite routes, that once you got beyond the last stop light in Hardin Valley, you were out in the "country." Maybe get passed by a few vehicles/mile, maybe not even that.
But now they are building, or have built, hundreds of houses out west. Empty fields are turning into subdivisions. And with that comes more and more blow-by buzzings with SUVs and monster trucks. Where's the enjoyment in that?
I'm thinking about retiring from road cycling and moving to a safer recreation, like
seedsbelize did. It used to be that when people talked about off-road cycling, they meant mountain biking. There's a pretty good place to ride one 10 or so miles away. Now I guess gravel bikes are popular. Not sure where I'd ride that. On the MUP? Either way, I need to get off the roads.
Same spot in the Hardin Valley.
2014
2022
What's the population of the metro area? Where are other serious cyclists in the area riding? Does the terrain compound issues with funneling traffic and whatnot? And do you not have shoulders in the quasi-north?
There's been a lot of development in the Twin Cities, but it really hasn't impacted riding that much - plenty of roads with ample shoulders so that the 40+ mph roads without shoulders can be avoided. It does take a while to get out to some open roads, but you can still string together some decent rides within the metro. Then there's the extensive network of MUPs (which I tend to avoid) and the gravel roads (which are fun, but I don't like to drive for a ride).