Originally Posted by
donheff
+1. I too have done this and been alerted to how dangerous some roads are that feel OK while on the bike. A tight curve on a shoulder-less road is an accident waiting to happen. I dropped a couple of routes because of this. I'm in my 70s now and broke a hip and a shoulder in bike crashes years back. I don't want to repeat that at his age so I am more careful.
I believe I saw pics of the result of one of your crashes on ER forum. I hope I never have to suffer through anything like that.
I ride country roads almost exclusively. I'm fortunate that most drivers are used to seeing bikes and seem to be courteous. I still try to time my rides so that I'm around the least amount of traffic as possible. Mid mornings on weekdays seem to be best. Sunday mornings are also good.
I run the cygolite metro combination front and rear on every ride. I usually 'scout' rides as well. Fast, or speeding traffic always rules out a route for me.