I want to ride on beautiful rural roads.... but cars scare me.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wear screaming yellow clothes, get a mirror and USE it. Plus all the other very good suggestions that have already been made!

Keep in mind that "safe" routes around town have many more traffic intersections and driveways....those places are where LOTS of bike/car accidents happen. So maybe it's partly a perception thing that makes you think that shoulderless rural roads are "more" dangerous. I tend to think it's just because you are USED TO riding certain types of routes and thus you feel they are "safer". Your nervousness will get less as you ride those country roads, believe me.

By the way- where do I feel the absolute SAFEST riding?- on the sides of high speed highways with lots of traffic zooming past. Why?? Because there are no intersections, no hidden driveways, no blind curves, cars all going straight, fairly wide shoulders...and the cars can all see me from a million miles away. People always ask me "Don't you get scared riding on those fast highways?"...funny.

[elk]

http://cgi.ebay.com/bike-safety-flag...QQcmdZViewItem

Here...an American flag as bicycle safety flag!!
brilliant.

elk

[elk]

one more thing....

I ALWAYS wear an orange safety vest, and I'm at the door handing one to DH when he goes out for a ride. You can buy all kinds of them them on ebay pretty cheap.

Yesterday, I gave DH one and I watched him ride away; I could see his vest all the way down the street...impossible to miss.

Rivendell sells the triangle that straps on your back.

Or/ AND/ that flag that sticks out....

On Monday another cyclist was killed here....you can't stop living, but you can;t be too careful either...

[elk]

http://www.teamestrogen.com/categories.asp?catID=55

TE carries lots of the things I just mentioned (thanks Fredwina)

[RoadRaven]

Isn't it interesting, froglegs, I feel MUCH MUCH safer on rural roads than town ones...

The others have given great advice - ride with someone else if you can - but behind each other, not parallel to each other.
Bright/ high vis clothes a must.
And always carry a cell phone and let someone know where you are going and/or how long you think you'll be.

Do have a go - I lurve country roads

[indysteel]

Isn't it interesting, froglegs, I feel MUCH MUCH safer on rural roads than town ones...

The others have given great advice - ride with someone else if you can - but behind each other, not parallel to each other.
Bright/ high vis clothes a must.
And always carry a cell phone and let someone know where you are going and/or how long you think you'll be.

Do have a go - I lurve country roads

I'm with Road Raven here. I "cut my teeth" riding by myself out in the country. My nearest misses with cars have been in town, including on this past weekend where the car intentionally buzzed me (an oversized pickup with the American flag painted on the back window incidentally). I'd much rather ride country, rather than town or city, roads. Of course, out in the country there's another hazard, at least in my neck of the woods. Loose dogs!

The suggestions you've gotten are good ones. You might check around at bike shops or local clubs to see if there are any regularly uses rural bike routes in your area. For instance, I do a route quite frequently that one of the shops uses for its weekly training ride. The people who live and/or travel on those roads are used to seeing cyclists and are generally more aware.

[onimity]

This:

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=24206

Is another of my favorites. The gray portion of the back is mesh, so it is cool even in the summer and can be worn over everything. Plus, it has a great pocket. My parents were worried about my sister & I riding on roads until they saw us from over a mile away one day...they still worry, but much less.

Anne

[PscyclePath]

Ditto on what Lisa said...

Also from Forester, et al, you're 2.6 times more likely to have a crash riding on a bike path or multi-use path than you are if you get out, mix it up, and ride in rush hour commuting traffic. (The underlying reason being the mixing of bikes with pedestrians in the same space. Pedestrians have no rules, they can dart, stop, turn at will, where at least cars and bikes are supposed to be following the same rules of the road.)

Check and see if the local bike clubs or advocacy groups are holding the LAB "Road I" course or its equivalent in your community. This is an excellent way to get used to riding out on the road, whether on a road bike, mountain, bike, or whatever... and more than 2/3rds of the class focuses on time-in-the-saddle experience.

[aly]

I feel the same as you about the rural traffic, but I get more relaxed and feel more confident each time I ride. I'm thinking about getting a mirror, since the cars are often quiet and spook me when I don't expect them- it would also help me stop looking behind me and swerving into the road.

We have lots of crazy sports bikes and expensive fast cars zooming all through the rural roads where I ride, however, it's worth dealing with. I absolutely love the central coast and would also be eager to ride all the time if I lived there. I think you'll be happy and much more comfortable than you expect. You're so lucky to live up there!

[RolliePollie]

When I first started riding the rural country roads around here, I was scared to death! But over the last few months, I've come to love riding the poorly paved, shoulderless roads for so many reasons...beautiful scenery and light traffic to name a few. But I would not ever consider riding without my helmet mirror! Although I can generally hear traffic coming up behind me, I want to know what kind of car it is, if there's more than one back there, etc. Plus there are some nearly silent cars out there, like the Prius, and you don't always hear them coming. It's helpful for me to know that the big pick-up truck that's about to pass me also happens to be pulling an extra large horse trailer. Or that the loud vehicle I hear really is a monster logging truck who I know is not going to slow down or move over. I still look over my shoulder before crossing streets, left turns, etc., but that helmet mirror really makes me feel safer.

I hope you can get out on those country roads and enjoy yourself. I used to literally shake from the fear, but now I'm in love with my rural routes. Good luck!