View Poll Results: Which option would you choose in my situation?
Highway for 1.5 miles
3
8.57%
Back road for 5 miles
32
91.43%
Voters: 35. You may not vote on this poll
1.5 miles on a busy 4 lane hwy or 5 miles on a 2 lane road?
06-03-11, 07:20 PM
#26
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1.5 miles is walking distance.
06-03-11, 07:51 PM
#27
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1) There's no law that says you have to take the same route all the time. Take the highway if you're in a hurry and the backroad if you're not.
2) You've actually experienced both routes while I'm guessing no one here has. Choose the one you like and ignore us... except for me .
2) You've actually experienced both routes while I'm guessing no one here has. Choose the one you like and ignore us... except for me .
06-03-11, 08:46 PM
#28
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1) There's no law that says you have to take the same route all the time. Take the highway if you're in a hurry and the backroad if you're not.
2) You've actually experienced both routes while I'm guessing no one here has. Choose the one you like and ignore us... except for me .
2) You've actually experienced both routes while I'm guessing no one here has. Choose the one you like and ignore us... except for me .
Don't be afraid. Ride them both. But not at the same time.
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06-05-11, 12:04 PM
#30
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Yeah I normally do the scenic route, but I was trying to get input about which might be safer and what other people with similar conundrums pick.
06-06-11, 04:21 AM
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Sidewalks are good. Sidewalks mean I can bail to walking if I need to.
Speed limits matter. A 2 lane road posted at 35mph where the unofficial limit is 55mph is going to be a lot more dangerous than a busy 4 lane road where it may be posted 35mph but drivers have a helluva time busting 30. I'll ride on roads with 55mph traffic, but my preference is a rough cutoff of 40mph. The bigger the speed difference, the worse a collision is, and I'm typically going 10-15mph. Differences of more than 20mph get very lethal very quickly, so 40mph is a reasonable speed for me to start getting twitchy. You'll have your own speed tendencies and your own cutoffs.
The drivers matter too. A road that's technically 4 lanes but everyone knows it's a major bike route so drivers treat it as 2 lane? That is a great route. Same basic road, but everyone is hell bent on using every bit of the 4 lanes? Bad route.
Longer is not necessarily better or worse. As a kid I'd regularly bike 1.5-2 miles to the library or swimming pool. Well, bike is a strong word, because I lived on top of a hill with about a 15% grade. A round trip could easily bust 500 feet of climbing, and I'd regularly end up walking at least some of the hills. All of the longer options involved even more hill climbing. Not surprisingly, I'd always take the most direct route.
Line of sight matters. A twisty turny road where seeing a half mile ahead is a challenge is not a great route. A route where you're riding out of the sun's glare both morning and evening? Not good.
Chances are you know darn well which roads are the unofficial drag strips. Don't pick them.
Speed limits matter. A 2 lane road posted at 35mph where the unofficial limit is 55mph is going to be a lot more dangerous than a busy 4 lane road where it may be posted 35mph but drivers have a helluva time busting 30. I'll ride on roads with 55mph traffic, but my preference is a rough cutoff of 40mph. The bigger the speed difference, the worse a collision is, and I'm typically going 10-15mph. Differences of more than 20mph get very lethal very quickly, so 40mph is a reasonable speed for me to start getting twitchy. You'll have your own speed tendencies and your own cutoffs.
The drivers matter too. A road that's technically 4 lanes but everyone knows it's a major bike route so drivers treat it as 2 lane? That is a great route. Same basic road, but everyone is hell bent on using every bit of the 4 lanes? Bad route.
Longer is not necessarily better or worse. As a kid I'd regularly bike 1.5-2 miles to the library or swimming pool. Well, bike is a strong word, because I lived on top of a hill with about a 15% grade. A round trip could easily bust 500 feet of climbing, and I'd regularly end up walking at least some of the hills. All of the longer options involved even more hill climbing. Not surprisingly, I'd always take the most direct route.
Line of sight matters. A twisty turny road where seeing a half mile ahead is a challenge is not a great route. A route where you're riding out of the sun's glare both morning and evening? Not good.
Chances are you know darn well which roads are the unofficial drag strips. Don't pick them.
