Routing question - what would you do?

[Catrin]

Thanks for the immediate advice! I didn't think it wise...there IS another route that I can try, but only at dawn on weekend mornings - don't think I want to try it any later than that. Also unsure on the trip home at this point.

We have no decent bike route maps (I am a regional transportation planner). Indianapolis has made some progress in bike lanes, but not in my part of town. Yet. The Town of Speedway is trying to get something going along an abandoned rail corridor, but that is still in the future.

So I guess I will keep packing my bike up to go to another county - and that is not a bad thing. As my skills advance I will consider trying this desired route There are few tertiary roads that gets me in the right direction, not in my part of town. There are a lot of isolated streets that do not connect/intersect with the major roads and thus do not get me to the coveted country roads.

[Biciclista]

once you get used to that bike you CAN ride on the streets you know.

[OakLeaf]

There are some streets I would never, ever ride on in my areas, and having visited Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few times, I know there are streets in that area I would never, ever ride on, either (except as part of a large group such as a Critical Mass/Critical Manners/Ride of Silence demonstration, charity parade, or the like). I'm a staunch vehicular cyclist, but I value my life, too.

[Melalvai]

Have you taken the bicycle class, Traffic Skills 101, that the Bike League offers? Look at http://www.bikeleague.org to find classes offered in your area.

Knowing how to ride safely in traffic will expand your options. There will still be roads that you don't want to ride on, but having this knowledge, confidence and experience will open up so many roads to you. I know a guy who had biked in traffic for 20+ years, who said after he took that class that there were roads he used to avoid, which now he bikes on.

[Catrin]

There are some streets I would never, ever ride on in my areas, and having visited Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few times, I know there are streets in that area I would never, ever ride on, either (except as part of a large group such as a Critical Mass/Critical Manners/Ride of Silence demonstration, charity parade, or the like). I'm a staunch vehicular cyclist, but I value my life, too.

Yep - then you know what I mean. I live less than a mile from the Motor Speedway and I can't get to the coveted country roads from my apartment without going down THOSE roads.

Of course I have only been on real roads twice now with my bike -

Melalvai, there are several of those offered here this summer, and am certainly going to take one of them

[withm]

Take a look at Map My Ride

http://www.mapmyride.com/

and search for bike routes in your area that others have posted and give them a try. No sense in trying to reinvent the wheel. You may find a good route there, or be able to merge a couple of those to give you a good routing around your problem area.

[Catrin]

Take a look at Map My Ride

http://www.mapmyride.com/

and search for bike routes in your area that others have posted and give them a try. No sense in trying to reinvent the wheel. You may find a good route there, or be able to merge a couple of those to give you a good routing around your problem area.

I am a member, and it is a great site - I use it to keep track of my rides and spinning workouts. I have their cheapest membership so I can print maps. I've also already been there looking for this.... I DID find something that will work very early in the morning, so I am going to try it on a Saturday morning at dawn very soon

Too much traffic any other time though. The problem is that there are few roads that actually go that direction, but there is a LOT of development that direction so the roads that do head the right way are carrying far more traffic than they were originally designed for - and only have 1 narrow lane in both directions and absolutely no shoulder - and a heavy stream of traffic most of the time...

I am thinking about commuting to work one day a week just to get some more miles under my belt. With my current schedule it can only be one day a week - and at first it will only be one way (at least our buses have bike racks). We have a local bike club that I am going to send an email to and check with them on the safest route. Speedway is an interesting place to bike around - and as much as I like my apartment, am considering moving in November

The nice thing about my out-of-county riding loop is that a lot of other cyclists also use it

[Juliegoddess]

Im' so glad this was posted, thanks Catrin! I have a similar problem. In Monroe, where I live, we have the occasional bike lane here and there. This is NOT a bike-friendly town, and i hate it. But anyway...what do you do when there is only one lane on ONE side of the road? Do you ride in it ONLY in the direction following traffic, and on the way back, ride on the other side of the road, where there is no bike lane?

[indysteel]

I agree that it's unsafe.

I always had a similar dilemma living downtown. Depending on the time of day, I had a lot of traffic to deal with. I did it, but I didn't like it. From there, I could ride up the Monon but that meant going through an area where there have been repeated safety issues. Plus, by the time I got anywhere decent to ride, I would have already ridden 10-15 miles. So, more often than not, I just drove to ride. It was a PITA for sure and not exactly green. With our new house, we can just ride straight from home. It feels like such a treat.

That said, I do think with some additional experience, you will find a route that you can navigate from Speedway. I'll look at a map when I have a chance. Are you hoping to head due west or northwest?