What I was trying to get at was there appears to be a absolute cast iron belief from some Roadies that they must be on the road at all times, sort of like VC cyclists who always practice VC no matter what. Anywhere else is not cool or something.

I am not a Roadie, I'm not part of a club and was wondering if this "you must ride on the road and nowhere else" is actually some sort of code that Roadies have? I'm genuinely interested.

Also I'm not anti Roadie, anyone on a bike is good thing for me I just think that it's a shame that they are not appreciating the versatility of the bike, which is one of the reasons I enjoy cycling.

Talking of Roadies/Fred Roadies I've seen a sudden increase in the number of middle-aged men from around their mid forties to sixties riding mostly very nice road bikes at the mo. They don't seem to be enjoying it with all the facial grimacing going on , (Was it Robert Hurst who mentioned this in his blog recently?) They seem intent on passing me then slowing down, cheers for the draft though lads. I'm glad as I don't get to see many cyclists on my route in and having a quick chat or just a hello is nice.

pain is joy!

wanna go for a ride?

Quote:

emptiness is loneliness, and loneliness is cleanliness
and cleanliness is godliness, and god is empty just like me

Another reason why the MUP might be avoided: LEO using a Smart Car on the trail itself.

As far as the Road vs. MUP debate, it's entirely up to the individual.

I see roadies on the Greenway all the time though usually not in large groups. The term MUP can refer to things that are very different. The Greenway is sort of a super MUP that has no speed limit. Other MUPs around here that run through parks or what not often have speed limits of 10 mph. While I doubt that these limits are very strictly enforced, they aren't great places to go fast and that's why you're not likely to see many roadies on them while they're in full roadie mode.

Just curious. When you say that roadies aren't appreciating the full versatility of the bike, what do you mean? The normal leader for my Thursday group road ride races MTBs. He also uses a single speed to get to work year round and I know part of his route is on MUPs.

If I have the choice between using a MUP or using a road that are covering the same path I will use the MUP every time. Unfortunately on my general commute into work it is always through the city because there isn't a MUP that can take me there quickly. On the way home though I always use a MUP (and some city) because I love taking the long way home and the bike path is beautiful.

You're assuming they just recently pick up a bike?
Some of us were racing when you had training wheels..
Time marches on my friend..

Oh... and that's not grimacing; that's our game face......

I skip the MUP on some portions of my commute, those where the road offers a more direct path, and where there is a safe bike option.

For a portion of my ride, the MUP follows the river, winds back and forth, is often covered with leaves & peds, and includes unnecessary hills. Becuase there is a better option if I get onto the road adjacent to it, I take that option.

There are a couple MUP's around Seattle that i purposely avoid, because they're full of people, most of whom don't understand that half the path doesn't belong to pedestrians.

Don't congratulate yourself(or this Robert Hurst) for judging a book by it's cover. It doesn't take much talent todo so and the conclusions usually end up wrong!

For those of us who work downtown, even in western cities, the streets we take pre-date the existence of the automobile.

link

That ties in with an observation I have made about my city. There is a belt of neighborhoods around the core of Calgary that offer some excellent routes for commuting. They were mostly built between 1940 and 1970 when cars were wide and urban designers tried to avoid cul-de-sacs.