finding routes

This might sound crazy to some of you, but I am new at this so here goes....When you roadies go out, do you always have a plan in mind? I live in a Detroit suburb and I am having trouble riding out from my house. I have a couple of good 10 mile routes but beyond that it gets scetchy and I need longer rides. There are no bike lanes here and I am surrounded my 4-6 lane very busy roads. The drivers around here are definately NOT biker friendly. It always seems like if I want a long ride, I have to put my bike on the rack and drive somewhere. I get sooo tired of that. I wanna leave my driveway and goooo! Am I a wimp?

I know exactly how you feel. I live in Houston which is big and crowded. The only way to do long rides is to load up the bike on the weekend and drive 30 minutes outside of town. On the week days there is a neighborhood close by that I can ride up and down the streets over and over. It does get a little bit boring sometime so I try to change up the route of streets I take each time.

I'm lucky. Some days I feel like I live in cycling heaven. I live in a smalllll town in the midwest. I ride ~10 miles out and I have miles and miles of narrow, hilly, twisty country roads from which to choose. I call it "rush hour" or "traffic jam" if more than five cars pass me.

The downside? Loose farm-dogs (some chase) and NO good restaurants (forces me to cook more often).

I feel your pain. I've lived in both San Diego and Austin. Suburban sprawl is hell for cyclists.

If you haven't joined a bike club or group ride they might be able to show you some new routes. Worth a shot.

Not crazy at all!

Here are a couple of ideas ...

Surf the web and find web sites for local bike clubs and local bike shops. Many post maps of their favorite rides. Many avid bike riders also have their own web sites where they post their favorite rides.

If you can, join a local club and go out on rides with them, it's a great way to find new rides.

hth, - Jo.

Barb, check this out: Michigan Area Bicycle Club Information

That would be me...

Gear hound (and geek) that I am, I am seeking info on a small portable bike-mountable downloadable GPS unit. Don't want much do I?

Anybody know of any?

spazz (who rarely knows where she is)

Thanks for your ideas. I have looked at some clubs. Again, I have to drive to the rides, but I want to try them anyway.

I'm also glad to hear I'm not the only one who rides the same few miles of neighborhood streets over and over and over again!

spazzdog, I'm a fellow gear hound and proud geek. I've written a bunch of reviews of GPS devices for Mobile Entertainment magazine (yes, I get paid to be a geek!) so I'll look up something when I get back to town - traveling at the moment.

Quote:

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Originally posted by spazzdog
That would be me...

Gear hound (and geek) that I am, I am seeking info on a small portable bike-mountable downloadable GPS unit. Don't want much do I?

Anybody know of any?

spazz (who rarely knows where she is)

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Thanks Audio! Wow... paid to be a geek. Very cool.

Enjoy your travels. I look forward to hearing from you upon your return.

I checked out the clubs close by. WOW>>>some are pretty darn fast. The recovery rides are 16-18 mph. I am definately not there yet. I did find a couple to try. It never said ion the web sites if I have to join the clubs before I can try a ride with them. There were no numbers for the leaders. Is it bad form to just show up and ask if I can ride?