Quote Originally Posted by TrekTheKaty View Post
I was surprised to see this hostility in Colorado--I thought it would be a bike friendly place--but I sensed tension...

We took time to explain that we DO ride on the road at home, but not long stretches without shoulders.

Can anyone from this area explain? Solo? Martian?
I live about 40 miles north of Boulder/Lyons. Up here, the problem is if you want to travel any kind of distance (say commute from one town to another 15-20 miles away) all of our roads that go anywhere are two lane roads with no shoulders. The speed limits on these roads range from 40-55 MPH, but I don't think anyone observes the 40ish limits. I don't personally have the nerve (yet? I hope) to try my luck with riding in the wild, but as a driver, the cyclists on our roads terrify me. The county roads that connect our towns are not so heavily traveled that it's impossible to veer around them, but there are times that you do have to follow someone for a little way before oncoming traffic opens up, and God help the driver of the car the waits until they feel they can pass safely against all the people piling up behind her, not to mention the cyclist herself.

I can't imagine it would ever happen, because of the expense, but I wish they could build parallel cycleways, actually offset from the main road, to allow everyone to travel more safely. I think putting up "Share the Road" signs on busy roads that don't have room for both kinds of traffic just invites resentment.