Bicycle riding

[MadDog]

Ok JV, I’m going to guess your first picture is on the Redbud somewhere between Woodlawn and K-96. I think you other pictures (not including the bridge) are the Redbud east of Andover. How’d I do?

[JVShocker]

Ok JV, I’m going to guess your first picture is on the Redbud somewhere between Woodlawn and K-96. I think you other pictures (not including the bridge) are the Redbud east of Andover. How’d I do?

almost perfect. All redbud. All taken in 1 about mile segments. So Woodlawn/Rock/Webb/Greenwich....all west of Andover though. Don't know how anyone could spot the difference in some of those trails.

About the only place I haven't spent a lof of time bicycling in 30+ years is south of Kellogg along Oliver. After the trail riding today, I could imagine spending a lot of time bicycling Clapp Golf Course (south of Kellogg at Harry) if they ever close the golf course and open it up for trail riding while they decide what to do with it. Now that would be fun,

[MadDog]

I tried to ride a little of that area just west of K-96 the other day. Too many big rocks to make a go of it on my road bike. Maybe I’ll give it another try later this week.

[MoValley John]

Going to ride the East MoPac trail tomorrow. My wife is off and wants to ride it. I don't. Its an old Missouri Pacific rail line that runs from Omaha to Lincoln. All crushed limestone, the bridge over the Platte was washed out last year during the flood. We will try to do 26 miles. It should be a slow ride.

I really, really don't want to do it, but if mama ain't happy...

[shock]

Corona has brought the lack of cyclists on Alaskan highways, for which I am grateful. They make it extremely dangerous as many highways have no shoulders and white line riders make it difficult to pass in hills. I have long said AK needs to ban bicycle riding on the roadway, but I am curious of your perspectives as avid cyclists.

This is the community I live in, you can see the roads although this looks to be a few years ago as the road is pretty broken up and patched now:

https://bikehikesafari.com/cycling-the-richardson-highway-in-alaska-valdez-to-paxson/

[MadDog]

So MVJ, why do you not want to ride the rail trail? I think it would be a lot of fun. Crushed limestone would be a good surface to ride I would think.

[MadDog]

We’ll Shock, tough question. I personally try to limit my street riding to side streets, four lane roads, or three lanes with a bike lane. But sometimes you have to be on two lane roads without a shoulder. I think banning bikes is kind of harsh. Drivers just have to be a little more careful on those stretches of road and understand there are brakes on cars for a reason. Trying to pass the bicyclist without leaving your lane is going to get someone killed.

[JVShocker]

Corona has brought the lack of cyclists on Alaskan highways, for which I am grateful. They make it extremely dangerous as many highways have no shoulders and white line riders make it difficult to pass in hills. I have long said AK needs to ban bicycle riding on the roadway, but I am curious of your perspectives as avid cyclists.

This is the community I live in, you can see the roads although this looks to be a few years ago as the road is pretty broken up and patched now:
https://bikehikesafari.com/cycling-t...dez-to-paxson/

Are you kidding me? Saw the pictures, I already told the wife I'm moving, and I wholeheartedly agree - BAN ALL CARS ON THOSE ROADWAYS!!! I kid, of course.

I have no clue what the answer is. Well, actually, I do. Its time and money. Money to expand or widen the roads in such beautiful country so as to give cyclists a safe place, and time of course to complete the project. There is NO EASY ANSWER short of dedicated bicycling trails. Don't believe me? Watch this 2 minute video: Accidents happen, vbut they are less likely to happen on dedicated non-motorized pathways. I first ran across this video many years ago and is one of the biggest reasons why I rarely ride in the street. Bike paths and sidewalks for me now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoSOEtzWPlU

[MoValley John]

So MVJ, why do you not want to ride the rail trail? I think it would be a lot of fun. Crushed limestone would be a good surface to ride I would think.

Because it sucked. I knew it was gonna suck, and it did. The limestone is course, not like the other limestone trails I've ridden. Some of it was good, but areas with what was rocky limestone. Also we went 12 miles uphill, away from the river, against the wind. When the limestone is as course as it was in places, much of the pleasure of returning mostly downhill with the wind are neutralized. It was a sucky, sucky ride. And the wife wants to do it again.

[MoValley John]

I very much limit my riding to bike paths. I ride residential streets to the bike paths, and very rarely ride on busy streets. When I have to ride on a busy street, I stay on the shoulder.

[shock]

Are you kidding me? Saw the pictures, I already told the wife I'm moving, and I wholeheartedly agree - BAN ALL CARS ON THOSE ROADWAYS!!! I kid, of course.

I have no clue what the answer is. Well, actually, I do. Its time and money. Money to expand or widen the roads in such beautiful country so as to give cyclists a safe place, and time of course to complete the project. There is NO EASY ANSWER short of dedicated bicycling trails. Don't believe me? Watch this 2 minute video: Accidents happen, vbut they are less likely to happen on dedicated non-motorized pathways. I first ran across this video many years ago and is one of the biggest reasons why I rarely ride in the street. Bike paths and sidewalks for me now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoSOEtzWPlU

Money is not there. Not an option. We don’t have any taxes because it’s not feasible to tax 3000 people to pay for the upkeep of an area the size of Ohio. Villages in the community put in bike paths for the kids but they are seldom more than a mile or two long.

[JVShocker]

One of the downsides of doing 90% of the maintenance on your bicycle is not having a "friend" in the shop when you need some new spokes cut. I mean I can order some and have them here in a couple of days and then put them in, but by then (Friday?) my wheel will have 4 new spokes and I'll be ready to go.

That being said....24 miles on the terrain bike in an hour and a half and I had a blast. Switching the seat post from my road bike (for a couple of days) makes the terrain bike feel like a perfect fit. Went out at dusk and rode the redbud trail at night and is was a BLAST. The air temp is so much cooler out east, especially in the low lying areas, that I would hit pockets of air where the temp would drop 5-10 degrees. And other than the light being cast from my light (no strobe ;-) its pitch black and I'm just having the best time. I can't see but 10-40 feet (maybe) n front of me so I'm just mashing the pedals as hard as I can in the gravel and having the best time. This terrain bike has a pretty lightweight aluminum frame (not quite like my road bike) and the tires are quite a bit heavier, but they're knobby and they just roar on the pavement. The shocks absorb so much more of the little bumps in the road than my road bike that its a pleasure to ride. I am becoming a cross bike convert pretty quick. Definitely LOVE biking at night. We may not have the fall weather they forecast last week, but felt pretty good tonight. Can't wait till Tuesday evening. (Looks kinda like this)

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Corona has brought the lack of cyclists on Alaskan highways, for which I am grateful. They make it extremely dangerous as many highways have no shoulders and white line riders make it difficult to pass in hills. I have long said AK needs to ban bicycle riding on the roadway, but I am curious of your perspectives as avid cyclists.

This is the community I live in, you can see the roads although this looks to be a few years ago as the road is pretty broken up and patched now:
https://bikehikesafari.com/cycling-t...dez-to-paxson/

I saw a couple of the roads in the pictures had shoulders. I don't have any problem riding shoulders, but I sure do riding a narrow two lane highway where the speed limit is 70 (like it can be here in Texas).

I have to confess I went out an did one dumb ride this year. It was Christmas day, I was in Arizona and I did the ride from Green Valley to Madera Canyon. It had been about 10 years since I had tried to do a ride there, and I was actually trying to ride up Mount Wrightson (the speed limit is 45 or less) and ended up on the wrong road. It was a thousand foot climb in less than 10 miles, but there was too much traffic, I ran out of shoulder after about 40% of the ride. Although there are signs everywhere saying bicyclists are welcome, it did not make me feel better.

I hate rough roads as well. I'm guessing the asphalt roads don't last too long with the freeze/thaw of the climate up there.

I'm waiting for them to get done working on the road at the front of my community, they are way behind. (as in over a year) It is supposed to have bike lanes and once you get about a half-mile up the road, you hit a shoulder which is a little rough (tar with small rock) that leads to a road with shoulders and some really nice hills. Unfortunately for me to get there right now requires me to ride down a street that I've judged to be too busy, even though you can frequently see cyclists out on it during weekend mornings. If I take the road south, I end up on another street that takes me to a greenway that runs along a creek for 20+ miles, meaning I could get in a 40-50 mile ride.

I'm a little more adventurous than some of the other people on here, but if you've done much riding in the country in Texas, you will either find out you need to be on a county road OR a farm-to-market with a shoulder or you might end up in a body bag.

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

So we got a 'cool' front yesterday and there were showers in the area. I took advantage of the lower temps to ride 22 miles. We are supposed to have showers in the area again today, so hopefully it will be cool (and not rain - or at least rain and dry out before I ride). After today we are back up to 100 every day for the next week or so.

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

One of the downsides of doing 90% of the maintenance on your bicycle is not having a "friend" in the shop when you need some new spokes cut. I mean I can order some and have them here in a couple of days and then put them in, but by then (Friday?) my wheel will have 4 new spokes and I'll be ready to go.

That being said....24 miles on the terrain bike in an hour and a half and I had a blast. Switching the seat post from my road bike (for a couple of days) makes the terrain bike feel like a perfect fit. Went out at dusk and rode the redbud trail at night and is was a BLAST. The air temp is so much cooler out east, especially in the low lying areas, that I would hit pockets of air where the temp would drop 5-10 degrees. And other than the light being cast from my light (no strobe ;-) its pitch black and I'm just having the best time. I can't see but 10-40 feet (maybe) n front of me so I'm just mashing the pedals as hard as I can in the gravel and having the best time. This terrain bike has a pretty lightweight aluminum frame (not quite like my road bike) and the tires are quite a bit heavier, but they're knobby and they just roar on the pavement. The shocks absorb so much more of the little bumps in the road than my road bike that its a pleasure to ride. I am becoming a cross bike convert pretty quick. Definitely LOVE biking at night. We may not have the fall weather they forecast last week, but felt pretty good tonight. Can't wait till Tuesday evening. (Looks kinda like this)

That's a nice light. I bought me one (a Night Rider OLED 1100) and will probably buy another one soon. I need one for each bike (meaning one here and one in Houston).