4 ms·

I love cycling, but I really struggle to understand why do people cycle on main roads when there are bike roads here. Ok, maybe it is not always fancy asphalt

I love cycling, but I really struggle to understand why do people cycle on main roads when there are bike roads here. Ok, maybe it is not always fancy asphalt but paving for some parts of the whole route, but still - it is way, way safer. I really rarely touch main roads. Like out of 1.5h trip I'm on main road maybe for 2mins at best.

Matthias247 3y ago
It will strongly depend on the area you live in. It a lot of places there might not be better options. But if there are, I would definitely agree with you and prefer the bike road
- tester756 3y ago
  I'm talking about area where bike roads are available and go thru meadows, hundreds of meters away from main roads.
  - timeon 3y ago
    Meadows are nice for weekend ride. When you commute you need road that goes straight - which is usually main road.
  - nimbleplum40 3y ago
    Do these bike roads go to my office? To the store? To restaurants?
    - tester756 3y ago
      Generally? When it comes to stores, then yea, very very close to them.
kpennell 3y ago
Great question! Cyclists ride on the main roads because in many places, we have the right to. Literally the law states in many places that 'cyclists may use full lane'. We also do so because you're more likely to get hit by cars turning or pulling out or opening their door when you ride on the sidewalk. You're far more visible and predictable when you take the lane. I'm not sure where you're from so this answer comes from more of a USA perspective. In places like Copenhagen/Amsterdam, it's almost always easier/safer to just ride in the bike lane because they are so amazingly well made. But in most other places, you sometimes need to take the lane. Car drivers should be more grateful. We're taking cars off the road and reducing auto traffic.
- tester756 3y ago
  >we have the right to. Well, people have rights to do many things, it itself doesn't make it safe and I've been just talking about safety. >We also do so because you're more likely to get hit by cars turning or pulling out or opening their door when you ride on the sidewalk. I meant something like bike roads where there are no cars on the road or around it. e.g roads sorrounded by meadows
  - cmh89 3y ago
    >I meant something like bike roads where there are no cars on the road or around it. e.g roads sorrounded by meadows Well, have you considered that people on bikes are actually trying to, you know, access things that aren't meadows?
    - tester756 3y ago
      idk what do you mean you go thru them, not to them.
      - cmh89 3y ago
        Yeah, that's my point. Cyclists are frequently going to something located on the road they are biking on.
        tester756 3y ago
        Uh, there are "exit ways" every... some distance, so it's not big problem.
- Rumudiez 3y ago
  In the US you do not have the right to walk or bicycle on an interstate freeway. Not even in the shoulder or outside of the lane. Even if you drive a motor vehicle you are not allowed to use the freeway if you are unable to meet and maintain the speed limit; I have a 50cc scooter with a 30mph top speed and it is for sure not okay to get on that going down a 60mph road. At closed circuit tracks you may find they segment drivers or vehicles based on average and top speeds. But why would that matter when even the slow guys are going >100mph down the straight, and everyone there has opted into driving in such an environment? Because speed variance is the real danger. A car driving down a country road with a 50mph speed limit is going 2-5x faster than a cyclist depending on the slope. And there's no shoulder or bike lane in the countryside so they have to block the lane. Coming over a blind hill even below the speed limit may not leave the driver enough time and distance to come to a full stop. If the oncoming lane has traffic in it there's not even an escape path. I grew up biking and I love it, but I also grew up and recognize the dangers and how being a cyclist on a fast road is imposing your risk onto others. It's sociopathic to believe a driver who hit a cyclist feels no remorse, but some people seem to prefer martyrdom over adjusting their preferences a little, like picking up mountain biking or going to the velodrome. I liked riding around on 2 wheels so much and I didn't want to compromise on where I could go so I pulled my pants up and learned how to ride motorcycles. Now I can go anywhere I want on something that keeps me outside of the cage and gives me more power and agility than any car. edit: perspective of a bike fanatic (I have 7 bicycles/scooters/motorcycles in my garage) living in the self-proclaimed "Bicycling Capital of the Northwest," where there's an astonishing 2 paved bike paths that are so swarmed with pedestrians as to be unrideable
dijit 3y ago
unrelated to your point but its worth noting that some of the first cycle lanes to be introduced in London were done so with the intention of eventually banning bikes from the roads entirely and then letting the lanes rot or get repurposed.
pastage 3y ago
I only bike on paths as well, but that does make it considerably slower to get to places. Sharing with cars is usually safer/faster, given that you handle intersections and HGV ok.
Guvante 3y ago
I live in SoCal and it is either 5.2 mi to my destination on roads or 3.6 mi on roads and 2.4 mi on bike paths... Going almost a mile out of the way to have less than half the trip on a bike path isn't a great combination.
timeon 3y ago
I use bike infrastructure if there is good one. But if there is just stretch of bike path on the other side of the road I ignore it because it is dangerous to use it - you need to cross the traffic. This is why I hate bike routing apps they will always pick bike road or smaller street even if it is on the other side of the road or if it just like 100 meters long. Those short bike paths. Unfinished fragments acting like real deal. If you use them you lose your initiative because when it ends you need to return to the road giving a way to the traffic on that road. Often even continuous bike paths creates conflict points at crossroads and junctions even if it goes along main road. Also if we are talking just about main road vs side streets. If prefer main road. It is safer because there are less crossroads and you have right of way. Cars that are going your direction are backing you in this right.
beached_whale 3y ago
The places people go are on the main roads, that is why they are the main roads. That is literally it. Additionally they are often far faster than so called paths that often have speed limits that are pedestrian compared to how fast bikes can commute. It's really sad, but the "safe" way is often just there for recreation
Gigachad 3y ago
Off road bike paths are usually extremely poorly signed. I was riding along a main road because that's what google maps and the on street signs said to do. But one day while riding around randomly on the weekend I found there was an entire off road bike path that goes to the city. With basically no signage. It's extremely difficult to see on Google maps since paths without car access basically aren't drawn and the automatic routing will never pick it since its slightly longer.
FridgeSeal 3y ago
In my city I often ride on the roads because: * the bike lanes, while nice in though, are poorly planned out: * they’re only on one side of the road * they start and stop in weird locations and either foist you back into the main road, or onto a busy footpath. Getting from “where you are” to “where the bike lane is” is a multi-minute exercise in walking and crossing lights for 100m of lane. * People - including cops, park in them frequently * the city makes no attempt at cleaning them, so they’re filled with the detritus from the road and the footpath: gravel, wet leaves, broken glass, sand, tire-shreddings, these are a hazard to ride through. * because they pack both directions onto one area, each lane is super narrow, and you end up stuck behind casual commuters (I love to see people riding, don’t get me wrong) and there are few chances to cleanly overtake * in the city speed limits are pretty low, and between traffic lights at intersections and slow moving traffic (due to volume) it’s shockingly easy to outpace cars. Combine that with lane slipping, and you can often clear whole blocks at pace.

Matthias247 3y ago

It will strongly depend on the area you live in. It a lot of places there might not be better options. But if there are, I would definitely agree with you and prefer the bike road

tester756 3y ago
I'm talking about area where bike roads are available and go thru meadows, hundreds of meters away from main roads.
- timeon 3y ago
  Meadows are nice for weekend ride. When you commute you need road that goes straight - which is usually main road.
- nimbleplum40 3y ago
  Do these bike roads go to my office? To the store? To restaurants?
  - tester756 3y ago
    Generally? When it comes to stores, then yea, very very close to them.

kpennell 3y ago

Great question! Cyclists ride on the main roads because in many places, we have the right to. Literally the law states in many places that 'cyclists may use full lane'. We also do so because you're more likely to get hit by cars turning or pulling out or opening their door when you ride on the sidewalk. You're far more visible and predictable when you take the lane. I'm not sure where you're from so this answer comes from more of a USA perspective. In places like Copenhagen/Amsterdam, it's almost always easier/safer to just ride in the bike lane because they are so amazingly well made. But in most other places, you sometimes need to take the lane. Car drivers should be more grateful. We're taking cars off the road and reducing auto traffic.

tester756 3y ago
>we have the right to. Well, people have rights to do many things, it itself doesn't make it safe and I've been just talking about safety. >We also do so because you're more likely to get hit by cars turning or pulling out or opening their door when you ride on the sidewalk. I meant something like bike roads where there are no cars on the road or around it. e.g roads sorrounded by meadows
- cmh89 3y ago
  >I meant something like bike roads where there are no cars on the road or around it. e.g roads sorrounded by meadows Well, have you considered that people on bikes are actually trying to, you know, access things that aren't meadows?
  - tester756 3y ago
    idk what do you mean you go thru them, not to them.
    - cmh89 3y ago
      Yeah, that's my point. Cyclists are frequently going to something located on the road they are biking on.
      - tester756 3y ago
        Uh, there are "exit ways" every... some distance, so it's not big problem.
Rumudiez 3y ago
In the US you do not have the right to walk or bicycle on an interstate freeway. Not even in the shoulder or outside of the lane. Even if you drive a motor vehicle you are not allowed to use the freeway if you are unable to meet and maintain the speed limit; I have a 50cc scooter with a 30mph top speed and it is for sure not okay to get on that going down a 60mph road. At closed circuit tracks you may find they segment drivers or vehicles based on average and top speeds. But why would that matter when even the slow guys are going >100mph down the straight, and everyone there has opted into driving in such an environment? Because speed variance is the real danger. A car driving down a country road with a 50mph speed limit is going 2-5x faster than a cyclist depending on the slope. And there's no shoulder or bike lane in the countryside so they have to block the lane. Coming over a blind hill even below the speed limit may not leave the driver enough time and distance to come to a full stop. If the oncoming lane has traffic in it there's not even an escape path. I grew up biking and I love it, but I also grew up and recognize the dangers and how being a cyclist on a fast road is imposing your risk onto others. It's sociopathic to believe a driver who hit a cyclist feels no remorse, but some people seem to prefer martyrdom over adjusting their preferences a little, like picking up mountain biking or going to the velodrome. I liked riding around on 2 wheels so much and I didn't want to compromise on where I could go so I pulled my pants up and learned how to ride motorcycles. Now I can go anywhere I want on something that keeps me outside of the cage and gives me more power and agility than any car. edit: perspective of a bike fanatic (I have 7 bicycles/scooters/motorcycles in my garage) living in the self-proclaimed "Bicycling Capital of the Northwest," where there's an astonishing 2 paved bike paths that are so swarmed with pedestrians as to be unrideable

dijit 3y ago

unrelated to your point but its worth noting that some of the first cycle lanes to be introduced in London were done so with the intention of eventually banning bikes from the roads entirely and then letting the lanes rot or get repurposed.

pastage 3y ago

I only bike on paths as well, but that does make it considerably slower to get to places. Sharing with cars is usually safer/faster, given that you handle intersections and HGV ok.

Guvante 3y ago

I live in SoCal and it is either 5.2 mi to my destination on roads or 3.6 mi on roads and 2.4 mi on bike paths... Going almost a mile out of the way to have less than half the trip on a bike path isn't a great combination.

timeon 3y ago

I use bike infrastructure if there is good one. But if there is just stretch of bike path on the other side of the road I ignore it because it is dangerous to use it - you need to cross the traffic. This is why I hate bike routing apps they will always pick bike road or smaller street even if it is on the other side of the road or if it just like 100 meters long. Those short bike paths. Unfinished fragments acting like real deal. If you use them you lose your initiative because when it ends you need to return to the road giving a way to the traffic on that road. Often even continuous bike paths creates conflict points at crossroads and junctions even if it goes along main road. Also if we are talking just about main road vs side streets. If prefer main road. It is safer because there are less crossroads and you have right of way. Cars that are going your direction are backing you in this right.

beached_whale 3y ago

The places people go are on the main roads, that is why they are the main roads. That is literally it. Additionally they are often far faster than so called paths that often have speed limits that are pedestrian compared to how fast bikes can commute. It's really sad, but the "safe" way is often just there for recreation

Gigachad 3y ago

Off road bike paths are usually extremely poorly signed. I was riding along a main road because that's what google maps and the on street signs said to do. But one day while riding around randomly on the weekend I found there was an entire off road bike path that goes to the city. With basically no signage. It's extremely difficult to see on Google maps since paths without car access basically aren't drawn and the automatic routing will never pick it since its slightly longer.

FridgeSeal 3y ago

In my city I often ride on the roads because: * the bike lanes, while nice in though, are poorly planned out: * they’re only on one side of the road * they start and stop in weird locations and either foist you back into the main road, or onto a busy footpath. Getting from “where you are” to “where the bike lane is” is a multi-minute exercise in walking and crossing lights for 100m of lane. * People - including cops, park in them frequently * the city makes no attempt at cleaning them, so they’re filled with the detritus from the road and the footpath: gravel, wet leaves, broken glass, sand, tire-shreddings, these are a hazard to ride through. * because they pack both directions onto one area, each lane is super narrow, and you end up stuck behind casual commuters (I love to see people riding, don’t get me wrong) and there are few chances to cleanly overtake * in the city speed limits are pretty low, and between traffic lights at intersections and slow moving traffic (due to volume) it’s shockingly easy to outpace cars. Combine that with lane slipping, and you can often clear whole blocks at pace.