Greenway rides

[Penny4]

Our city opened a new 6 mile (12 roundtrip)greenway recently, which will become part of a much longer trail eventually. It is fully paved, with a few little wooden bridges, clear of leaves and for the most part clear of debris (rocks/sticks, etc). There were a few rocks/pine cones, but nothing worse than your average road.
I was going to ride my new road bike, because I just want some practice on it without dealing with traffic, etc, but wasn't sure if it was a good idea to take it on the greenway, due to debris, leaves, etc? I don't want to ride it super fast on the greenway, just want to get used to the new position, new shifting, etc.
I decided to use my FX instead, which was fine, but would rather be on the road bike. Do you take your RB's on paved greenways?

[TwoBee]

Hi. Here in Nashville, there are many road bikes on our greenways.

[indysteel]

I'm not sure I understand your reservations. Road bikes can handle your average road or greenway debris. If you encounter something more significant, like a large branch, go around it. You should be fine.

[OakLeaf]

As long as you're riding plenty slow to accommodate pedestrian traffic, the main difference is the skinny tires, which are much more likely to get punctured by glass. There tends to be a LOT of broken glass on the bike trails in our area. Also, this time of year, if there are wet leaves, you probably will have less traction with the skinny tires. Just be careful, watch the road while still keeping your line of sight up to anticipate hazards, and you'll be fine.

[Owlie]

It'll be fine. I take my road bike on the local rail trails all the time--in fact, that's where I normally ride.

Just watch for glass (not normally a problem where I ride), and be courteous to pedestrians. My only concern would be a potential speed limit, but that may or may not be an issue for you at this time. (On my local trails, the limit is 20mph. Not a problem for me!)

[ny biker]

I ride often on paved trails with my road bike. In fact if my road bike was not away being repaired, I'd be doing it today. I usually choose areas with less traffic since it's more pleasant, but that's easier to do when the trail is 45 miles long rather than 6.