ggg300

I dunno. I am just coming around to this idea. I wanted to start a night ride with a few of my brother/father in laws and was looking for a safe place to get an idea how to do a night ride/lights/gear. Then I saw the freeway from REI's parking lot when I went to get more night gear. The idea was born. My wife has friends that work for the city and I may have her look into it.

Bob Dopolina 

You should read "In the Skin of a Lion" by Micheal Ondaatje. Part of the book is centered around the building of the viaduct. They mention the cyclist. If I recall correctly it was actually one of the workers. There was a huge caravan of vehicles with the Mayor and other officials waiting to cross the bridge after the ribbon was cut and this rider shoots out of the crowd and rides across the bridge to cheers and applause.

Hamilton? Environmental disaster? Same thing.

ggg300

So I take it that this will not help me with my Zen.

DinoShepherd

Rode the 56 in San Diego multiple times before it opened.

All the way from the dirt and gravel phase on MTBs to the pavement stage on road bikes.

What a crime to let cars on that thing.

-Z

mattm

what's the road paved with? the only downside might be that some newly paved (asphalt) roads feel REALLY squishy under your wheels - it can feel like riding in slo mo.

sounds like a fun adventure though - go for it!

DScott

What's the road like? Doesn't it have all those rain grooves in it? Might make bike handling a little squirrely.

Now fresh asphalt is the shiznitz...

exapkib

Not sure if this is in the same league, but some of my fondest bike-related memories center around a stretch of freeway (C-470 for the Coloradans out there) near the neighborhood we lived in. There was about a five mile stretch of freeway we would ride our bikes up and down every Saturday until it opened. Good times.

urbanknight

I was talking to some old guys (meaning 50+ years) who told a story of street racing on the 210 freeway before it was complete. They met at a diner to set up the matches, drove to an on ramp and moved the barricades aside, then raced to the next exit and got off the freeway to disperse.

As mentioned above, be sure there aren't any loose ends for you to crash into, and don't let me see you filing any lawsuits if you do hit something.

xg43x

You are putting too much thought into this. Ride the freshly paved, you wont get the chance anytime after it opens. So what the hell are you waiting for? Besides, breaking the law every now and then for alittle harmless fun is damn nice!

Psimet2001 

We have the same basic thing happening near us for the I-355 extension. Chicagoland Bicycle Federation is organizing a ride. 5,000 rider cap. They said they filled the last 2,000 in record time. Now we are all (most of us in the area which are oin this forum) looking for a way to bandit.

rooftest

If it were in Orange County, I'd do it. I would avoid riding in construction zones at night - that's asking for trouble. Just ride it on a Saturday or Sunday (when the crews aren't working).

Why would there be any cops there if it's a closed freeway? Just stay out of the worker's way, and they probably won't care.

Blue Jays

Why is everyone saying this would be illegal activity? Is it posted "no trespassing" or similar? In a matter of two weeks it's going to be jammed with THOUSANDS of cars...I hardly think a police officer is going to want to do the paperwork because some bicycle enthusiast wanted to try a stretch of smooth, freshly-steamrolled asphalt.

Go for it!

Blue Jays

/\/\ rooftest and I were thinking the same thing and posting simultaneously...

WNG

Be careful, riding at night means there's no lighting. and there may be an obstacle unexpected.
If you must, go mount some lights.

The other warning would be charges. With the attitudes these days, you'd be viewed as a terrorist.

They arrested a guy spray painting a message on the curb from his bike, charges were suspicion of terrorism.
Oh, don't forget to bring some LED/lightbrite blinkies!

classic1

Along the same lines

Fascist boofhead cuts ribbon at Sydney Harbour Bridge opening, stealing limelight from NSW Premier

Or on wiki

rbart4506

I've ridden it 2 times...

BTW DR...You should do a bit more research before making claims like that...There are two sides to the story...

That valley was a cesspool of sewage and trash...You do realize that the city's combined sanitary and storm systems use to outlet directly into that creek?? That has now been remedied due to the construction of the freeway. Also, salmon were running up the creek this past spring...something that has not happened in a long time. One other thing, the original design was a 6 lane highway with the creek encased in a concrete channel...That was all approved by various levels of government, the conservation authority and the MNR...The city and the engineers knew that this was not the right thing to do so the highway and creek were re-designed to provide a more environmentally friendly outcome.

Even the environmentalists are stating that the true outcome will not be known for years. In other words they have no idea if the highway will truly be an environmental disaster...

Personally I think they did a good job and I know how much work went into the design, planning and construction of it.

Jerseysbest

I'd totally do it. My only concern would be debris on the road. Do it in the early morning before work instead of at night.

thomson

gear

I rode Boston's big dig before it officially opened. It was a blast.

ri_us

Just before they opened state route 24 in NJ I took a spin on it. It was fun. And the risk is minimal. Watch the shift changes, cop schedules, then sieze your moment. If they catch you feign ignorance.

ruppster

Did a few miles locally on reworked I-77N before it reopened. The worst part; it was between exits, so it was hike-a-bike in Look cleats.

zac

I have a local connector (limited access, 4 laner) that is a couple of miles long. It connects two commercial (but open to all) routes that are divided by a major river in this area. On those bad days when not feeling like doing the extra 5 or so miles it takes for the open route around, I hop on this connector. It is a good time to practice sprinting! But the only surreal thing about it is exiting on an off ramp with other cars. I do enjoy the constant wind pull that you get from passing traffic, even if it is slightly uphill.

It surely would be fun to do a closed highway at first light (calmest time of day).

I say do it.

Soloist Assassin

Just go ride it. They built a new freeway close to my house, and I used to ride my XC bike on it, and then the roadie once it was paved. I never got any hassle from anyone. I was just enjoying it. I wasn't hurting anything. I heard that once paved street racers raced on it for months on the one part. I probably road on it for about a year untill it was completed. They ****ed up allot of my other roads I ride when they built it, they are all better now though. Overpasses are fun little hills. It sucks on the long rides when I come to the one I ride allot. After 50-75miles I dread that thing.

ggg300

Update:

I called the Expressway number listed.

Open date is set for this month on the 19th. That must mean that it should be in near prime condition.

Its a go.

DocRay

That was just bravery..how many chunks have since fallen off?