not on bike yet portland or

[wanttoride]

Ideas for how/where to begin? In this area we hear of cars hitting bikes often and I live on a rural road. Perhaps I should just start and not let fear prevent me from beginning. I was reading the threads of other newbies and you all are so inspirational. Thanks for giving input.

[plantluvver]

I guess it depends where you live, and what your goals are. When I started riding again as an adult. I drove my car to take my bike to a paved trail. At the time, I was biking for fitness and recreation, and would have thought myself crazy to commute by bike. (Twelve years ago in the suburbs of Chicago.) The path I used was within biking distance, but there were simply no roads that I felt safe traveling on to get to the path. There is wisdom in picking your battles wisely .

If you are biking for fitness and recreation, this is a safe enjoyable option. And even if you plan to commute, there is no reason to immediately plunge into "the deep end." I have just started cycling again, having decided to remain carless, and I have already made cycling acquaintances, just on the trail. In fact Team Estrogen, our sponsor is local!

Here are a couple of links to local resources. I recommend the Bike There! Map, it is available at your local shop. A visit to your local bike shop can get you some free literature and information (as well as eye candy ) Also, the people in the shop are cyclists as well, and can give you hints about routes to use and to avoid in your area.

http://www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?articleid=10799

http://www.shift2bikes.org/index.shtml

Also, you can ask your questions on this board. I have found the women here to be very emotionally supportive, as well as knowledgeble.

I hope to see you on the road,
Mary

[mimitabby]

Portland OR is known for its bicycle friendliness.
Check out the STP both saturday and sunday your town(Portland) will be INUNDATED with people who rode to Portland all the way from Seattle. There will be a bike expo there too, it's just crazy (the finish line) and i bet it will infect you with some enthusiasm!!!

in some of the booths you might find people who can tell you safe places to ride in your area.

[TheMomBike2000]

Hi there!

Good for you for beginning to think about riding! I just started myself a few weeks ago. I, too, live on a rural road and I was pretty hesitant at first about riding on the road.When I got my courage up to go on the "big road" (not heavy HEAVY traffic, but much busier than my own rural road) I found that my fears were really overrated. I do take some precautions: I always always always ride with a helmet anyway, but the busier road is an east/west route and so I always ride with the sun behind me so that people can see me more easily. (In the mornings I ride east to west, evenings west to east). I carry my cell phone and ID with me. But I have found that it is a LOT less scary than I thought! I got my bike, which is a hybrid, with the intention of riding a lot on dirt roads near my house but I find that I like riding on the paved roads much more and I plan to get some slicks eventually (right now the knobby tires make me work harder and since I've got some weight to lose, that's fine by me.) Like a lot of newbies I thought at first I should ride AGAINST the flow of traffic but I find that if I'm riding with traffic and following the laws and stopping at stop signs and signaling, cars are no problem to me. (The roads where I live, by the way, do not have a shoulder, so cyclists literally share the road.)

Good for you for considering and planning! Now I will tell you a secret I never knew about riding: It is the absolute best stress relief I have ever, ever felt! There is this Zen feeling I get when I'm riding. Yes, one ear is on the road and my attention is on my route, but the rhythm of the pedaling and my breathing, the breeze, the critters I see on my way, the smell of the wet grass in the morning--it's soooooooo relaxing!

Best of luck to you. Don't feel you have to push yourself to do something you're not comfortable with--just have fun! But don't be surprised to find that what you feared is just not a factor.

Nancy in central FL

[tulip]

The League of American Bicyclists provides classes in bicycling safety. You may want to look into it. This might help you get started: http://www.bikeleague.org/resources/better/

[wanttoride]

Thanks for the tips I really appreciate the advice and positive spirit from this site. thanks

[Kitsune06]

Hey WTR,
I'm from 'portlandish' OR, too. The roads I live off (mostly Farmington)= full of gravel trucks, Joebob and Dwaine in their big ugly pickups (no offense, jobob! ) and kids in their noisy, beefed up cars *hides her neon*...

that said, there are still some bikeable places if you justlook around... depending on what part of 'portlandish' you're in, Beaverton has decent support for bike commuters, but Hillsboro and FG seem to be a little lacking except on the main roads (someone correct me if I'm wrong...)

just... pick your battles wisely.