Riding country roads

[prairiechicken]

So I'm not a newbie when it comes to cycling. I've been riding for a number of years now, I've had a couple of different bikes (now I have a Schwinn Supersport and a Specialized Dulce... my Terry got swiped). A year or so back I moved with my fiancee from the Windy City to a farm about two hours away. I love my farm and my new life, but I haven't been riding much since I got here and I MISS IT SO MUCH. So why haven't I been riding? Okay, it probably sounds weird and backward, but I'm just not comfortable riding the country roads I live off of. Hey, I used to commute everyday in busy traffic. I biked in winter. But I'm not used to riding out here, and I need advice!

I don't live off of quiet country roads. I live off of relatively busy ones and when I do drive I have to say that if I don't drive faster than 60 mph the other cars/trucks pass me. I'm trying to find the local bike groups, but I'm finding that nice people I know don't go to their rides because the people who organize them are known to be big a-holes. I'd like to be able to train for a century, but I know that's not going to happen if I have to drive to where I want to bike everyday.

I'd normally not be this nervous, but I've almost been sideswiped in chicago several times, and the idea of that happening with a semi going 65 mph...

[Owlie]

I get what you're saying. The roads around here are a mix of suburban and rural--high speed limits, but high traffic density as well, probably higher than the roads were designed to take. And people drive like nut jobs around here. I get around it because we have a nice network of rail-trails around here, but not everyone has that luxury. (And riding around here scares me even more than riding around in urban/suburban Cleveland!)

I'd invest in some high-viz clothing for a start, and see if other nice people with bikes are willing to join you for a ride. Check out MapMyRide for your area (there are others) and see what looks good. Figure out when the low-traffic hours are, and if it makes you feel better, drive it beforehand. If you've got a friend willing to drive, even better, because that means you can concentrate on looking at the route from a cyclist's perspective.

[Kiwi Stoker]

Maybe invest in one of those side sticking out reflectors? At least they are cheap to replace if a car does get too close. Also proof that they got too close.
It's a round reflector on a stick you attach to your bike so it sticks out sideways.
+2 for hi viz clothing. And of course don't wear anything that matches the landscape (green, tan etc).

[Bike Chick]

I guess it all depends on your perspective. The thought of riding in the city scares me to death:eek:

Illinois has official bicycle maps which will show you the best and safest country roads to ride. These are published by the Secretary of State, divided into separate regions of the state, and are free. Pick one up for your location and start finding some routes to ride.

You can also map out some routes by using Map My Ride (http://www.mapmyride.com/)or Ride With GPS (http://ridewithgps.com/?gclid=CPTpvdaXua8CFYe5Kgodhn_hjA)and start riding. I don't know which direction you to moved from the city but it sounds like you live on a busy highway. That would scare me too. Do you have a bike rack on your car? Load that bike up and drive to a quieter, safer location to ride. I'm sure there are plenty of roads to ride, you just need to find them. You can also find some local charity rides that are well supported. This will give you an idea of what roads to ride and might help you meet some other cyclists in the area that aren't a-holes. League of Illinois Bicyclists (http://www.bikelib.org/) has a list of charity rides on their site.

It won't be long before you will start to enjoy the peace and tranquility of riding country roads. Yes, you will have your occasional idiot that trys to run you over or a farm dog that runs in front of your bike, but overall I prefer it to riding in the city.

[goldfinch]

I live in southeast Iowa this time of year and there are rural roads I will not ride on. Two lanes, no shoulder, and too much traffic. You just have to make a judgment about safety. However, there are rural paved roads around here that are safe enough to ride on, so I just have to pick my route carefully. I found that other cyclists had used MapMyRide and plotted out routes. You my end up having to drive a bit to find the safe roads. I am fortunate that I can get to several good routes out my door. The drivers in the part of the country tend to be polite and give you a wide berth. Maybe it is because they already have learned to share the road with the Amish.

[OakLeaf]

I definitely get more respect in the Amish country 75-ish miles from here than I do closer to home. I think you're right about that (although typically a buggy is rear-ended by a car at least once a year :().

+1 on what everyone else has said. There are definitely roads I won't ride on. Even though you don't feel compatible with the local club, you could look at some of their routes. And if your chainstays will accommodate it, it might be worth investing in a second set of wheels with fatter tires so you can do a few miles on the gravel roads to get to quieter paved roads.

[tiva]

Bummer. Come up here to Wisconsin, where we have incredibly quiet rural roads (the named town roads). Back in the 1910s, the dairy industry forced the state to pave all roads leading to a dairy farm, so now we have the world's best network of paved roads with zero traffic except for the occassional milk truck.

The downside is that the farmers don't tie their dogs because there are so few cars. Oh well.

[Bethany1]

I know exactly what you are talking about. I live in rural NE and those are exact roads I ride. Do you have any shoulders to ride on? I won't ride the north highway out of town as it's too dangerous. Going south is better as the shoulders are nicely paved. East highway has the lightest traffic and going west is another don't even try.

The back gravel roads are the quietest but if a car/truck does come by it's at 60 mph. I think legal speed limit is about 50-55 when I just went online to check. I just bought my Mukluk to travel the gravel roads so I don't bounce or slide so much. If I wasn't so dang slow on the bike (it must weigh at least 35 lbs) I'd do more miles. Bike goes over gravel so well it's amazing even if it's as slow as a snail at 5-10 mph.

There is a trail about 15 miles away that I do use, but it's beyond boring. 6 miles of cornfields and 4 miles of wooded areas. There aren't any access roads to the trail in-between the parking lots and spotty cell phone service so if I get stuck somewhere it's a long walk back even if DH comes to get me. If I'm riding the shoulder of a highway, at least I have a ride back home.

Can you plan your own group rides with people that do ride? Get a couple of people that everyone likes, pick a time and go out and do your own thing.

Do what feels safe for you. It took me some time to get out on my own and adjust to traffic and to find the right roads. Make yourself highly visible as well. No one is ever looking for a bike out in the rural areas and I've learned to be as safe as possible. I need to purchase a mirror so I can see traffic coming up now that I think about it.

Riding rurally can be done. Once people have noticed me out on a bike and are used to me, most give me plenty of room and it all works out.

[Miranda]

The thought of riding in the city scares me to death:eek:



I've never been much of a city chick. When my city loving friend wanted me to visit Chicago with her and ride bikes around the city... omg I thought I would not make it! But, loving my friend, I did it...

Wow, what a surprise! Not only did I survive, I loved riding around in the city! There was this wonderful thing called a "bike lane". And one that cars actually stayed out of! Even the taxis. Plus, with the large buildings... no to very little wind (in the windy city, what irony, eh?)... and warth.

When my friend lived in these parts we were re-visiting, she was car-free. Bike or public transportation only. After my exerience first had, I can totally see that. Plus, the city parking is so limited. It was nice making progress riding too in our lane... while the traffic stood still in the car lane.

Pretty awesome:cool:.

[Miranda]

You have good suggestions thus far. Always gotta love TE for that!

On the routes, you could get the organized routes from those groups, without actually riding with them (as you mentioned them to not be nice people). That's one of the things I did to find more suitable routes here in rual Mayberry.

And yes, unfortunately, I know exactly what you are saying. Things are so bike-unfriendly here. Even with the few so called bike lanes, people will run you over in the city while in the bike lane.

I know you don't want to hafta drive to start your ride, but sometimes you do what you gotta do. I once asked a church pastor permission to park in his lot to start my ride. To avoid a deadly busy road. Most of the club rides start from schools, where public parking is not an issue with school not in session at the start time.

My routes leaving directly from home also involve riding on the "death roads" I call them. But I did figure out how to avoid as much of that road as possible. When I'm on the bad road, I just put my head down, get in the drops, and ride my azz off like I'm time trialing or something. To get off the bad road as quick as possible.

Good Luck!

[Melalvai]

If you don't have good shoulders to ride on, you are completely justified in not wanting to ride on those roads. imo. :)

That type of road is the most dangerous--for cars and for bicycles.

[marni]

I ride a variety of roads with and without shoulders and the only place I have ever had problems is at intersections with red light runners or people honking at me because I take the lane in the direction I am going.

I also ride with a very bright red flashing light on my underseat bag, outside (left) rear fork and on the back top of my helmet.

I remember that the cars are bigger than me, I try to be a good driver, but I will pull off, slow down or wait until the road is a bit more clear from time to time.

It helps if you ride steady and look like you know what you are doing, plus making a point of making eye contact and turning your head back to let drivers know that you know that they are behind you.

I so much prefer highways and roads with good shoulders though.

marni

[Catrin]

I usually just avoid state highways and focus on the lower classed country roads - there aren't shoulders but the traffic volumes are quite low and there really aren't any signalized intersections. It also helps that there are a lot of cyclists who ride where I do so drivers are accustomed to look out for us. I've not seen worse than a car full of young adolescents shouting complimentary things to me. I couldn't hear what they were saying so I choose to think it was something nice :)

[OakLeaf]

It all depends on where you are. Just the other night our County Engineer explained (in an unrelated context) that all our county roads were originally wagon trails, and most of them have been improved very little since then. Some of them have not much more traffic than they did when they were wagon trails - or even less - and those are the ones that are great to ride on. They're just wide enough for two cars to pass, NOT wide enough for a car and a tractor, have very short sight lines (1/4 mile MAXIMUM) due to hills and curves, and if the speed limit has been reduced at all for residential development it's a minimum of 45.

But then there are county roads, not legally or physically distinct from the good riding roads, that are convenient for cars to get from point A to point B, and have a traffic load of 100+ cars per hour. Those are the ones I just don't ride on, no matter what. Either I add 5 miles to a ride to avoid them, or I drive.

Usually there's no place to pull off, since there's no shoulder, just a steep ditch at the immediate edge of the road surface. If there is someone's driveway to pull off into, it really wouldn't help, because you'd have to wait until 10 pm for traffic to clear enough to re-enter, and I don't ride ANY of the roads around here, busy or not, after dark.