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Drive bike to riding location

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Drive bike to riding location

Old 06-06-19, 08:24 PM
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Drive bike to riding location

For years now I've been riding the same routes. This year I've been mixing it up a bit, taking some side road and stuff like that. I'm comfortable and familiar with the roads I ride on (mostly state routes, but between small towns so not a lot of traffic), but it's getting stale.

How many of you load your bike in your vehicle and take it somewhere to ride? Some things concern me about that. Time for one. I have to squeeze in rides now like most of us, and that extra drive time means less ride time. Unfamiliar roads are a concern too. Not that I'm going to get lost, but not knowing how traffic is, and if that particular stretch is more dangerous than what I ride now, and stuff like that.

But, on the plus side it's something new different.
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Old 06-06-19, 08:44 PM
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For the last few years, the roads around my house deteriorated to the point that I didn't feel safe riding them, so transporting my bike was my only option. They have recently completed repaving and widening a number of roads around here (including nice wide bike lanes), so I'm putting more miles in riding door to door again.

It's nice going back to riding some of my out the front door routes again.
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Old 06-06-19, 08:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Wileyrat
For the last few years, the roads around my house deteriorated to the point that I didn't feel safe riding them, so transporting my bike was my only option. They have recently completed repaving and widening a number of roads around here (including nice wide bike lanes), so I'm putting more miles in riding door to door again.

It's nice going back to riding some of my out the front door routes again.
This is another reason I'm looking for a new location. It looks like there will be construction all summer long on the routes I ride. There is one section that's actually having me consider getting a gravel bike, or a bike that I can fit bigger than 28mm on. The shoulder is full of chunks of dirt, rocks, glass, etc.
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Old 06-06-19, 09:06 PM
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The majority of my rides require other transport to the start, end, or both.

Though I don't feel the least bit bad about it as that tends to be a subway or commuter train.

Even if I could get from here to there, I'd rather max out the good miles rather than waste hours fighting urban annoyances.
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Old 06-06-19, 09:42 PM
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I transport to the start/stop locations.
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Old 06-06-19, 09:47 PM
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I don't have a car so I ride everywhere to get to group rides. I used the bus once in three years to transport a bike. Some friends here often use the trains around the D/FW Metroplex to get their bikes to or from rides. I haven't tried that yet.

I've had friends offer to pick me and my bike up for distant group rides but so far I've declined and just ride to the events. So far, so good. Another cyclist I know rides to and from weekly crits, adding another 30-50 miles. And a couple of summers ago he rode to and from the Hotter'N Hell Hundred, for a total of almost 300 miles in two days. I'm not quite that ambitious.

The only concession I make to road conditions is to take the bike with longer wheelbase and fatter tires for rougher roads, including recently when almost every road from my block was torn up for weeks awaiting repaving (finally finished this week), or to choose my days and times carefully for rural highways that are getting busy on weekdays but still lightly traveled on weekends. Within a couple of years some of those rural routes will be too dangerous for cycling, as former ranch and farm land are being converted to McMansions for folks living beyond their means who want a fancy house cheap in the country and take advantage of cheap gas to commute. As soon as there's a prolonged spike in gas prices those homes will be abandoned.
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Old 06-06-19, 10:22 PM
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I do, on weekends. The scenery is much better.

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Old 06-06-19, 10:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
I do, on weekends. The scenery is much better.

That's awesome. No place like that around where I live, but if there was I'd have to problem transporting my bike to ride there.
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Old 06-06-19, 10:51 PM
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Is there a cycling club that has rides in different locations? I joined one and found lots of places to ride with in 45 minutes of my house. Some of these routes can be combined to make even different routes. Some were just a couple of miles from the routes near my house.
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Old 06-06-19, 11:46 PM
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Originally Posted by EGBigelo
How many of you load your bike in your vehicle and take it somewhere to ride? Some things concern me about that. Time for one. I have to squeeze in rides now like most of us, and that extra drive time means less ride time. Unfamiliar roads are a concern too. Not that I'm going to get lost, but not knowing how traffic is, and if that particular stretch is more dangerous than what I ride now, and stuff like that.

But, on the plus side it's something new different.
For just about every single ride in the last almost 6 years.

Sometimes we drive to a nearby town and start the ride from there.
Sometimes we drive into the city and start the ride from there.
Sometimes we drive to another part of the state and start the ride from there.
Sometimes we fly to the mainland or another country and start the ride from there.

Rarely do we start a ride from home.
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Old 06-07-19, 04:28 AM
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I get bored of the same rides, so I'm probably transporting my bike 80% of the time. There is a 20 mile local loop that I can squeeze in that I do a lot just as a training ride, I don't really count that one - more talking about longer rides. The roads around here aren't bad at all, just driving to a start point for either better scenery or to join group rides.

Of the transport times, maybe 2 out of 10 of those are to join a group ride, either the local club (Potomac Pedallers) or charity organized group rides. The rest are are solo rides. I try to make sure that the one way drive mileage is less than the total bike ride mileage, but there are a few just plain fun shorter rides that are further away than that.

When I can arrange it, I do some long (65 - 85 mile) rides from our house the house of friends who have moved away, and then my wife drives out later on, we all have dinner and then I throw the bike on her car and we drive home. That is kind of the best of both worlds!
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Old 06-07-19, 05:40 AM
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I live in Philly and grew up here. I need to drive out of town to keep from getting bored. Usually head up to Hunterdon County in NJ and ride there and in neighboring Warren County. Really nice and challenging riding up there.

I also fly and do one-way car rentals to start tours.
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Old 06-07-19, 08:49 AM
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99% of the time I bike from door to door. My time is limited and I'd rather be riding than driving.
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Old 06-07-19, 08:58 AM
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I do it sometimes. It can be a great way to mix things up--especially if you feel your regular routes are getting stale. Here is a favorite:
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Old 06-07-19, 09:36 AM
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Originally Posted by canklecat
I don't have a car so I ride everywhere to get to group rides.
Same here. I hitched a ride to the start once a couple of years ago, but it was an early start 20+ miles away.

This might change somewhat, as I need to get a large vehicle this summer to support a temporary cross-country move. There's a nice looking fast group ride that I'd like to try, but RT to and from would add ~50 miles.
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Old 06-07-19, 09:55 AM
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I ride out most of the time, but occasionally drive out for group rides that would take more than an hour and half-ish to ride to and start early in the morning. Will also take the bus part of the way when it's busable but would involve a transfer.

I prefer bussing when I think I might want to ride all the way back home after a group ride.
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Old 06-07-19, 11:42 AM
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I drive to ride all the time. Where I live is 20 miles away from ~900 ft hills or 40 miles away from the foothills of 7000 ft mountains.
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Old 06-07-19, 12:12 PM
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bike racks for cars & trucks are a big industry so someone must be doing it ...

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Old 06-07-19, 12:16 PM
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I see a lot of you dive to your group ride, and I've never been a part of a group ride so I'd be a little nervous about that. But the closest group ride in my area is probably 20-30 miles away, so I'd drive there. It would at least break up the boredom of my normal routes.
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Old 06-07-19, 12:39 PM
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90% of the time I just ride from my door, whether that's my home or office. That includes group rides. Once in awhile I'll do the group ride in the neighboring town by riding to the ride, riding the ride, and then riding home from the ride. It works out to a nice round number.

But you're right. It is nice to do a new route every once in awhile and often the logistics require driving there.
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Old 06-07-19, 12:54 PM
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It drives me absolutely insane that our group ride (for the A's at least) act like nobody has a Strava account and bike computer or can't learn a route.

Same ****ty route for years, with dozens of turns. I get that some things just work, but some things also don't. I wish they'd be more open to it.

And we're not even talking about riding to the start either!
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Old 06-07-19, 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by EGBigelo
I see a lot of you dive to your group ride, and I've never been a part of a group ride so I'd be a little nervous about that. But the closest group ride in my area is probably 20-30 miles away, so I'd drive there. It would at least break up the boredom of my normal routes.
I used to only do solo training rides. This year other than commuting, I find that I'm only riding with others. Some things are easier or better with group rides, like good route selection by people who are much more familiar with the area, or a quicker pace that makes for a better workout than I'd be motivated to do riding on my own. But if group riding is not your thing, you can often find the RideWithGPS routes of group rides and follow them on your own.
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Old 06-07-19, 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by burnthesheep
It drives me absolutely insane that our group ride (for the A's at least) act like nobody has a Strava account and bike computer or can't learn a route.

Same ****ty route for years, with dozens of turns. I get that some things just work, but some things also don't. I wish they'd be more open to it.

And we're not even talking about riding to the start either!
I'm kind of the opposite. I like that it goes over the same route and what makes the variation is the wind, my fitness that day, and who shows up.
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Old 06-07-19, 02:55 PM
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When I was in Missouri, I'd frequently do park & ride, including hauling my bike to St. Charles and the beginning of the Katy Trail. Although frequently riding the same trail.

Since returning to Oregon, 99% of my riding has been from my doorstep. A lot of commuting. I vary my routes somewhat, but tend to take the same basic routes a lot with an extra turn here or there, or generally trying to make out and back rides into loops.

But, I also have a fairly long distance that I can ride, so there is some variability for up to about 200 miles from home.

I have a Bike Friday, and I'll bring it along if there is room when traveling with Mom, then ride when the opportunity arises.
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Old 06-07-19, 03:55 PM
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I ALWAYS do. I NEVER ride on the roads what with all these freaking brainless drivers nowadays. Too many risks. Drive to a bike path,trail,mountains and I ride. No worries for me.
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