doomkin

because over the 4 years i spent in peoria i found myself in bloomington normal at least once a week for a variety of usually stupid reasons.

parties, sporting events, traveling through town and stopping for lunch, etc.

1. all the roads are bad. real bad. most of 'em are crushed limestone shards with a layer of tar sprayed over the top. literally a tire shredder.
2. no bike lanes/paths. occasionally you'll see a "bike route" sign around town but they're disconnected, run you through really bad neighborhoods and really busy streets with little to no shoulder.
3. cagers. cagers here are ignorant. drivers in chicago or the suburbs at least know to some extent that bicycles occasionally ride on the street. if they act like *******s, they do it on purpose because they don't want you there. drivers in southern and central illinois are just outright ********. they're unpredictable, they don't know how to drive around bicycles, and they are generally uneducated.

i'm all for commuting and riding around on the road - but there are plenty of places in america where riding on the street is still just too ridiculously dangerous to risk your life. when i'm at home in chicago i'll be the first guy to take a lane and ride down a street like i own it. when i was at school, you better believe i stuck entirely to small side streets and sidewalks everywhere i went and that wasn't often more than to and from class.