MntnMan62
Über Member
- Location
- Northern NJ
This is why I pretty much ride the same 10 mile loop. One leg of the route is on a street that is pretty busy but has a large shoulder that is almost the size of a normal car lane. So, unless I'm passing a parked car or someone walking or running on my side of the road, I have no reason to be in the traffic lane. And when I do have to do that I always look over my shoulder to be sure there is no one coming or that they see me. The other leg coming back winds through a 2,000 acre park and there are lots of signs that have pictures of bikes and say "Share The Road". I am always seeing a fair number of bikers going in both directions. The shoulder is quite small but I usually can stay on or close to the line that demarcates the shoulder. The worst part of the loop is about a half mile stretch, all uphill, on a four lane road, two in each direction. The shoulder is not marked. And cars fly along this section. Several cars have come pretty close to me so it definitely makes me nervous. But I always have my lights front and back flashing. I guess the danger of that stretch forces me to try and get up the hill as fast as I can but since I'm not very good with hill climbing, that will take some time to work out. But that stretch is really the only bad stretch of the entire 10 miles. I've been doing that loop twice for most rides. Once I feel strong enough, I plan to add a stretch that bisects the park down the middle (the short way) and I will turn the loop into a figure 8. The segment that bisects the park is the biggest climb I would have for the entire ride and I would have to do it twice. The shoulder is again very wide so it's reasonably safe. It turns the 10 mile loop into a 13+ mile loop. I used to do this figure 8 loop when I was younger and in better shape. I want to tackle it again. I'll feel safer staying with these loops than I would venturing onto other roads as many of the roads around me have almost no shoulder at all. If I ever start doing group rides, I'll go wherever. But until then, since I'm riding alone, I'll stick to the roads I consider safe.