awshucks

Any chance I get I commute on bike through town. That is no big deal at all. I used to work in the same town when I worked at a movie theater and would do the 6 mile commute there and back all last summer. Sometimes even as late as one in the morning on some weekends because that's how strongly I felt I knew my route and town. However now I have gotten a new job within the last few months at a college planetarium that is smack dab in the middle between the town I live in and an adjacent fairly big town. The only way in-between these two towns, and even the college I work at is a pretty busy highway. I've ridden to register for class once and also work once. Both without a hitch. The highways have fairly big shoulders and I wear a helmet. Also it's only about 6 miles, but that is not including the 5 miles it takes for me to get through town to even get to the highway. All in all the commute is about 10-12 miles. I don't particularly mind riding on the highway and to my knowledge it is legal in Texas but I worry about what motorists think and often times my safety. But I do love going everywhere on my bike as often as possible. Are any of you forced to ride on major roadways like this? Also should mention not many people commute on bicycle where I live so it's not common for motorists to see bicyclists.

kmcrawford111

Yup, I commute on highways... the only roads my place of work is accessible from. Like you, I have wide shoulders, and it's actually quite nice for the most part. The one I'm on most actually has a shoulder about as wide as an MUP. In fact, I wonder why the shoulder isn't converted into a dedicated MUP - it's not like it would take a lot of resources at all. Just goes to show you how car-centric we are. The other one (the one my work is accessible from) also has a shoulder but it's narrower, though still wide enough. Traffic on mine are generally pretty low, though, but like your area mine has few bike commuters. I don't worry about what drivers think. Just be cautious around intersections and always be on the lookout for glass/etc... and also valuables like tools.

The worst part is the ramps - gotta be very careful there. Fortunately I think most people on my ramp (which leads directly into the plant I work at) probably know to look out for me. One hopes. Most drivers are very courteous, though I did have one truck driver who tried to command me to get on the "shoulder" (actually more like a bunch of broken asphalt). I didn't oblige, and he passed me too close for comfort, but at least not at high speed. That's the worst I've had to deal with.

Speedwagon98

I commute down a 4 mile stretch of 55mph highway. It is the only way to get to work, as the highway ends at my work. But it does have a full lane shoulder, that is a designated bike route.

paul2432

I also commute on a divided highway with a 65mph speed limit. Note this is not an interstate highway, with on and off ramps, but a state highway with lights every few miles.

The road has a wide shoulder. The only danger spots are the intersections, where the shoulder becomes the turning lane. These are entirely managable with a little caution.

Paul

mtalinm

i ride a couple of miles on a state highway with i think a 50mph limit. the wide shoulders acftualy make me feel quite safe, though I do turn around frequently to make sure no one's coasting into the shoulder to turn into a car dealership etc.

The Aardvarks

I ride about 3 miles on a 4 lane state highway w/50 mph speed limit. It has a very wide should and I feel quite safe. The only problem I have had is in the winter the plows push all the snow to the shoulder until they have time to come back later and clean them off.

old's'cool

Similar to Speedwagon98; about 1/2 of my commute is on 55mph highway, approx. 7 miles. There is a designated bikelane the whole way, but the width varies, and there is often gravel & mud strewn by trucks that forces me onto the car lane, but so far have had no problem getting along with motorists.

mechBgon

I used to use a ~20-mile one-way route with a section like Paul described, plus smaller 2-lane ~35-40mph highway and some urban stuff at each end. Like he says, the intersections on the highway call for good situational awareness, but the rest was quite mellow. I do suggest investing in good rear lights so you're easy to pick out from long range (DiNotte 140 in 5-pulse flashing mode is great, if you can afford it), and an ANSI Class II reflective vest and reflective legbands would also be helpful.

Sir Lunch-a-lot

I used to ride on the highway a lot. In fact, when I first really started getting into riding, the highway was the main place to ride (I lived in a small town of less than a thousand... you can only go so far in a small town). The shoulders on those highways were maybe 3 feet wide, and I didn't have a lot of problems riding on them. Definitely found a lot of unusual items in the ditch (for a while, I found lots of CD's. And since the Discman and not the iPod was dominant then, I was able to pop these new CD's in and have a listen as I rode. Was even able to return some of them to their rightful owners). In a lot of cases, having that shoulder (especially a wide one) will give you more dedicated room to ride, and can be safer than city streets, in my opinion. If you can do the distance without any issue, then I'd say go for it.

DX-MAN

I feel safer on the wide-shouldered U.S. highway (27S) than I do going through town. One evening last winter, when I had to work late, I was riding home in a snowstorm; had to make a detour to a mailbox, so the quickest way was down the highway. Hazy streetlights, hazy headlights, twinkling taillights... it was a holiday night kinda thing! Beautiful! 3" of fresh snow, coming down fairly thick, I was lit up as well as I could be; but it was poetic.

If my commute was to include this stretch of highway regularly, I'd be pretty content; it would just get boring after a while -- I like to shake up the route a bit.