Riding To Different Places

[jamijo]

On a bike I am very big about planning safer routes than vs by car. Roads that I know by car seem very different by bike.
Hope that explains better.
Thanks all for continuing to share.

This.

I'm in a suburb about 20 miles north of a major city. It's a 'nice' area, lots of money... and no sidewalks, bike lanes, or bike paths outside of the two township parks. Roads that I don't think twice about driving down definitely make me stop and think before thinking about maybe taking a bike trip down them. The first few times I was on the (somewhat) busy road that runs in front of our neighborhood, I was extremely nervous. I'm getting a little better about riding that one, but it's going to take some gut-gathering to get out onto other roads on my bike.

[Owlie]

This.

I'm in a suburb about 20 miles north of a major city. It's a 'nice' area, lots of money... and no sidewalks, bike lanes, or bike paths outside of the two township parks. Roads that I don't think twice about driving down definitely make me stop and think before thinking about maybe taking a bike trip down them. The first few times I was on the (somewhat) busy road that runs in front of our neighborhood, I was extremely nervous. I'm getting a little better about riding that one, but it's going to take some gut-gathering to get out onto other roads on my bike.

I'm in a similar situation--15 miles north of a city, no sidewalks or bike lanes. We do have a really nice rail-trail, though. The speed and density of traffic around here, and the fact that people here aren't that used to seeing cyclists is why I don't like road riding around here. I stick to the rail-trail or my neighborhood roads. (The rail-trail is probably why no one around here is used to seeing cyclists.)

When I lived in Cleveland, I had no choice but to ride on roads, and I learned a lot of the streets around my apartment that way...after getting lost a few times. The traffic density was a lot higher, but I went out in the evenings and weekend mornings and it wasn't bad. Speeds were slower, they're gradually getting better at putting in bike lanes, and drivers and pedestrians were used to seeing cyclists because of the university.

[Velocivixen]

I live within 10 minutes of farmland (by car) and a lot of cyclists ride the rural highways. No Bike lanes and lots of gravel & stuff on the side of the road. That doesn't interest me at all. I much prefer city riding, because there are always side streets or busy streets that have dedicated bike lanes. I find that out in the country there just aren't that many options about how to get somewhere. I guess there are pros & cons with each. I just get nervous at the thought of cars/trucks whizzing by me going 55 MPH! :0