Drivers have zero patience

[MntnMan62]

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.

 

[davidphilips]

Silly question guys, when cycling solo do you try and avoid main roads or country roads, know most in the club i am in go for country roads but for me its avoid rush hour and stay in main roads.
My reasoning is in the event of an accident at least i wont be left maybe overnight on the road side.
Know this question is relevant to where you cycle as main and country roads where i cycle may not be as busy or maybe even busier than others etc?

 

[screenman]

Let us not forget a lot of cyclist are also drivers, some of the worst passenger experiences I have had in a car are in one's being driven by cyclist's.

 

[Slick]

Silly question guys, when cycling solo do you try and avoid main roads or country roads, know most in the club i am in go for country roads but for me its avoid rush hour and stay in main roads.
My reasoning is in the event of an accident at least i wont be left maybe overnight on the road side.
Know this question is relevant to where you cycle as main and country roads where i cycle may not be as busy or maybe even busier than others etc?

I don't think I avoid many roads as anything can happen at any time. I probably do favour the country roads when I'm just out for a ride as it's usually a welcome relief to get out on almost deserted roads after a week of city cycling to get to work but when I think about it, some of the most dangerous occurrences have happened on those quiet roads.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Silly question guys, when cycling solo do you try and avoid main roads or country roads, know most in the club i am in go for country roads but for me its avoid rush hour and stay in main roads.
My reasoning is in the event of an accident at least i wont be left maybe overnight on the road side.
Know this question is relevant to where you cycle as main and country roads where i cycle may not be as busy or maybe even busier than others etc?

About the only roads I wont ride round here are the A46 between junction 2 M6 and the Tollbar End roundabout, the A45 between the Tollbar End roundabout and the Leamington Road, the A46 Warwick bypass between the London Road and the M40 junction 15 and the A444 between the Binley Road and Nuneaton, they're all motorways in all but name, very fast and usually very busy.

 

[DCBassman]

Silly question guys, when cycling solo do you try and avoid main roads or country roads, know most in the club i am in go for country roads but for me its avoid rush hour and stay in main roads.
My reasoning is in the event of an accident at least i wont be left maybe overnight on the road side.
Know this question is relevant to where you cycle as main and country roads where i cycle may not be as busy or maybe even busier than others etc?

I quite literally try never to ride on any roads. Not actually do-able, but that's the aim. Even out here on Dartmoor, the driving can be very, very scary...

 

[Drago]

Let us not forget a lot of cyclist are also drivers, some of the worst passenger experiences I have had in a car are in one's being driven by cyclist's.

True, and the average cyclists roadcraft is every bit as woeful as the average cage pilots.

 

[Milkfloat]

Silly question guys, when cycling solo do you try and avoid main roads or country roads, know most in the club i am in go for country roads but for me its avoid rush hour and stay in main roads.
My reasoning is in the event of an accident at least i wont be left maybe overnight on the road side.
Know this question is relevant to where you cycle as main and country roads where i cycle may not be as busy or maybe even busier than others etc?

I think it depends on how you define main roads. For sure I avoid dual carriageways and major trunk roads where possible and favour country roads, but I won't be bullied off riding anything I legally am allowed to. I much prefer the country roads due to the peace and quiet and the views though, I would say 80% of my riding is country roads. My Garmin radar tells me how many vehicles pass me on a ride and it is fairly common to be passed by less than 30 vehicles over 50 miles on an early Sunday morning 50-60 mile ride.

 

[Johnno260]

I stick to country lanes, more scenic less cars, just have to watch for drunk drivers on the weekends.

 

[vickster]

Pretty much all suburban for me simply as that’s what’s around here! Plus parks etc but I’m not a major fan of the paths busy with families and dogs

 

[Johnno260]

Pretty much all suburban for me simply as that’s what’s around here! Plus parks etc but I’m not a major fan of the paths busy with families and dogs

With dogs I hate the stretch leads, a friend of mine ended up face first into a lamp post thanks to one of the those things, the dog walker didn't give a monkeys and was more worried if the lead was broken, when he got aggressive with my friend we had to push him away.

Friend needed a plate in his upper jaw thanks to that incident.

 

[vickster]

With dogs I hate the stretch leads, a friend of mine ended up face first into a lamp post thanks to one of the those things, the dog walker didn't give a monkeys and was more worried if the lead was broken, when he got aggressive with my friend we had to push him away.

Friend needed a plate in his upper jaw thanks to that incident.

I always slow right down or indeed stop around dogs, you can see that way if there is an extendable lead. The ones off the lead are more unpredictable

 

[lane]

I was out in the car yesterday. Crossing a long narrow causeway bridge. The nature of this it is very old, very long and of varying widths as you go along. Hence need to slow down or even stop in places for cars or in particular wider traffic coming the other way. On the way over slowed at one point and car shot past overtaking, which given the road conditions is completely unsuitable. On the way back stopped at one point on a slightly wider section so a car towing a caravan can get past and the car behind starts sounding his horn. Sunday afternoon / evening wonder where all these people are in such a rush to get to. Tossers.

 

[davidphilips]

Lol, lane dont know where they want to hurry to, but can guess where they will end up if they dont start to drive more careful.

 

[Baldy]

There are a few I wouldn't ride around here like the A9, 82, 84, 85. There designated as trunk roads but are mostly single carriageway, they still get driven on at motorway speeds. There are a few "cycle and pedestrian friendly" roads. Car access is usually restricted to residents only. These are often quite handy.