Rural v's Urban villages

[GrasB]

Why is is I can do 250-350 miles/week across a busy town (Cambridge) & rural roads, avoiding larger villages as much as possible, including stretches of high speed (50-70mph limit) with little to no incidents (say one a month if that) yet virtually every weekend I go to more urban villages I feel like I'm constantly in a life or death situation with being cut up, horns blaring etc?

I find it ridiculous that no more than 3 miles every week produces more problems for riding a bike, even at slow speed, the rest of my cycling for the year. Now one thing is I have more interactions, but that's not actually so, as I'm doing a good 30-40 miles/week through Cambridge in the middle of the day with all it's hustle & bussle not to mention mixture of narrow lower speed & wider higher speed urban roads.

 

[BSRU]

Swindon is like a large urban village, people in a mad rush to get nowhere.
As soon as I get out into the Wiltshire countryside drivers are far more patient and considerate.

 

[gbb]

I read once that statistically, you're more likely to have an accident in the countryside than in a city/urban environment. Seems out of kilter as there's so much less traffic, but city/town driving is busy, your senses are heightened etc etc. Driving in the countryside, you tend to me more switched off, less aware, less likelihood of encountering someone else....thats where the danger lies.

Ive switched from a town commute to a rural one...i miss the hustle and bustle, but gain the quiet peaceful mornings.
Can't say i see any worse on my commute than normal. Blind bends tend to make me a bit more conscious of my vulnerability in the countryside.

 

[al78]

I read once that statistically, you're more likely to have an accident in the countryside than in a city/urban environment. Seems out of kilter as there's so much less traffic, but city/town driving is busy, your senses are heightened etc etc. Driving in the countryside, you tend to me more switched off, less aware, less likelihood of encountering someone else....thats where the danger lies.

Are you sure it was just "accident" and not "serious accident"?

 

[HLaB]

I could be wrong but I'd guess its due to the driver's mindsets; in Cambridge the majority are expecting bikes or may be or know a cyclist themself but the larger villages are more dominated by folk that drive and have no thoughts as to cyclists and the few cases where there are thoughts they are negative.

 

[BentMikey]

I read once that statistically, you're more likely to have an accident in the countryside than in a city/urban environment. Seems out of kilter as there's so much less traffic, but city/town driving is busy, your senses are heightened etc etc. Driving in the countryside, you tend to me more switched off, less aware, less likelihood of encountering someone else....thats where the danger lies.

Ive switched from a town commute to a rural one...i miss the hustle and bustle, but gain the quiet peaceful mornings.
Can't say i see any worse on my commute than normal. Blind bends tend to make me a bit more conscious of my vulnerability in the countryside.

Wrong way round, I think? Less likely, but more serious collisions in a rural environment.

 

[lukesdad]

Im an accident of a rural enviroment

 

[BentMikey]

Yeah, you're just a mobile train smash.

 

[snorri]

Wrong way round, I think? Less likely, but more serious collisions in a rural environment.

That's more like it.

 

[Crankarm]

Why is is I can do 250-350 miles/week across a busy town (Cambridge) & rural roads, avoiding larger villages as much as possible, including stretches of high speed (50-70mph limit) with little to no incidents (say one a month if that) yet virtually every weekend I go to more urban villages I feel like I'm constantly in a life or death situation with being cut up, horns blaring etc?

I find it ridiculous that no more than 3 miles every week produces more problems for riding a bike, even at slow speed, the rest of my cycling for the year. Now one thing is I have more interactions, but that's not actually so, as I'm doing a good 30-40 miles/week through Cambridge in the middle of the day with all it's hustle & bussle not to mention mixture of narrow lower speed & wider higher speed urban roads.

^^^^^ Are you a cycle courier in Cambridge because that is one hell of a mileage for town riding even in Cambridge ? 5-6 days a week is min 50 miles - max 70 miles a day. Bimey.

Perhaps when you come to do your rural rides, on a sunday I guess, you are so knackered you are all over the place hence you feel as if you are being cut up and car drivers sound their car horns at you? Just one possibility.

 

[lukesdad]

Gb I think your speed on the bike may be the major contributing factor.

 

[GrasB]

^^^^^ Are you a cycle courier in Cambridge because that is one hell of a mileage for town riding even in Cambridge ? 5-6 days a week is min 50 miles - max 70 miles a day. Bimey.

Perhaps when you come to do your rural rides, on a sunday I guess, you are so knackered you are all over the place hence you feel as if you are being cut up and car drivers sound their car horns at you? Just one possibility.

Out of a typical 50 mile weekday I do about 5-8 miles in Cambridge, the rest is on rural roads. I'll do another ride up to 100 miles over the weekend. If I do a long weekend ride I'll drive for shopping rather than cycle, if I don't do a long weekend ride I'll cycle to the shops. Either way it's only when I'm in the more urban villages I have problems, rural villages are fine even at the end of a weekend century ride.

Gb I think your speed on the bike may be the major contributing factor.

Utility cycling, which is when I go to the more urban villages, tend to be at recovery pace which is 8-15mph, about half my training pace. So are you saying I should go faster?

 

[lukesdad]

No I was not saying go faster. I assumed (wrongly) you were at your normal pace. It would help if you supplied all the information at the start, it would stop nobbers like me jumping to the wrong conclusion

 

[GrasB]

No I was not saying go faster. I assumed (wrongly) you were at your normal pace. It would help if you supplied all the information at the start, it would stop nobbers like me jumping to the wrong conclusion

I find it ridiculous that no more than 3 miles every week produces more problems for riding a bike, even at slow speed, the rest of my cycling for the year.

...

 

[Cubist]

I read once that statistically, you're more likely to have an accident in the countryside than in a city/urban environment. Seems out of kilter as there's so much less traffic, but city/town driving is busy, your senses are heightened etc etc. Driving in the countryside, you tend to me more switched off, less aware, less likelihood of encountering someone else....thats where the danger lies.

The stats will be based on the number of miles travelled per vehicle for a give stretch of road. Therefore the denser the traffic the lower the incident per vehicle/mile over that piece of tarmac.