An actual conversation I had with a family member on Facebook.

Her: Words can not describe how much I HATE rush hour traffic !

Me: Get a bike. You can ride right past stopped traffic.

Her: So there are good uses for those ! lol Josh, we live in a different town than where I work so I would be getting home at like 7-8pm if I could even make it home ! lol

Me: So do I. I got home at 6:30. Bike commuting is not for everyone but I am hooked.

Her: I see that ! I would try it but I don't think you can ride a bike on a hwy?

Me: Yes you can. Bikes have all the same rights as cars on roads. It is not a great idea on some roads. I ride the shoulder up hwy 81 to Kremlin. Too much traffic to ride in the regular lane. Better to be alive than right.

Maybe she means the interstate highway. If I'm not mistaken most states do not allow bicycles or hitchhiking or whatever on those state highways. She would have to use secondary roads and sometimes that makes it impossible due to the distances involved. Maybe???

Yup, what droy45 said. When we think "highway" nowadays many times we think of the limited access interstate highways or freeways instead of something we might think of just a county or city road. Technically a LOT of roads are "highways" and many communities are linked only by highways so there may not be a choice. If it's safe and traffic is not an issue than more power to 'em.

Well, figure out her route and, assuming you live close enough to her, take her out for a few practice spins to see what the commute is like.

M.

If you only ever commute on a limited access freeway in your car, it may not occur to you that there are also surface roads available which might be cycle friendly. Just a thought.

Death by 18 wheel enema?

On Tour routes , sometimmes the Freeway is laid over the previous only secondary route there was.

then , ascertained by reading the map to confirm, then you can use the shoulder on the freeway.

I say read the map because if there were ay question from the authorities ,

you can present them with your reference, and ask them to point out the alternatives you may have overlooked.

Some Interstates yes, for example the 7.5 miles between Las Pulgas and Oceanside on the CA 5 Freeway. Sure you can ride through the base if you show your I.D. but some still prefer the freeway shoulder (plenty wide enough, but sometimes dead-tire litter, etc.).

Also, on the Joshua Tree Double Century, the route included almost 40 mi. on the CA 10 freeway because there was no alternative route. All legal and again, a plenty wide shoulder on the freeway.

Rick / OCRR

101 South of Santa Barbara still has a section of the Freeway where you have no choice except to ride the shoulder.

A couple of decades ago it was legal to ride interstate 5 southbound into San Louis Obispo. Because I was hitting that section at night and it was rumored that there were wrong way grates on the shoulder I and those with me tool the right hand lane. I hit about 55 with no special effort.

Did a tour back in the early '80s from So Cal to Texas... and rode I-8 and I-10 for a good chunk of that. Arizona Safety Patrol pulled me over and told me to ride the frontage road... was an interesting conversation... no ticket though, but I was told to take the next exit.

So "no bikes" was enforced.

Have ridden many times on the limited access portion of the TransCanada highway in Newfoundland. Perfectly legal and the safest place to ride in metro St John's. The only bit where you're not allowed to ride is the final portion of the Conception Bay Highway from Columbus Drive to the harbour.

On my trip from Bremerton to near Mt. St. Helens years ago, I couldn't find any through roads for about 32 miles along the I-5 corridor on the atlas I had, and so instead rode I-5 itself. The shoulder was at least as wide as a lane and other than actually having to take a lane (!) to cross over a river on a bridge the ride was fine. That part was scary, but I didn't actually have any problems doing it. I did appreciate that the grades on the hills highway were quite mellow. I did have one flat, which I assume was due to debris from disintegrating retreaded truck tires.

No problems with the state troopers, although I did see two of them while on the interstate. My understanding is that when there aren't any other roads bicycles are allowed on the freeway. I still half expected to get a talking to from one of them.

But, yeah, a lot of folks are remarkably clueless about cycling and what a person can do, extending from what is allowed to what is possible. I think the last time I really blew someone's mind was when I was riding back from Olympia. The routes I took from a friends house there, through Port Orchard and Bremerton and then to my apartment in north Seattle added up to right at 80 miles. My first stop of the day was at a drive-up coffee shack on the outskirts of Olympia and the two young ladies asked where I was going. I said "Seattle" and they just couldn't believe it. Even after chatting with them for a few minutes, I'm not quite sure they really believed that I'd be riding a bicycle all that way, much less in a single day!

I'd only be nervous crossing off ramps getting a car exiting at 70 while you're crossing it to get to the other side of it and back on the shoulder. I've ridden many 4 lane highways with medians, and actually love it, most cars go out of their way to avoid passing too close, the climbs are graded, wind block from said graded hills, and the draft from the passing cars gets you going at a pretty nice clip.

Could be. She is in Arkansas and may have to go around a mountain on the side road.