Originally Posted by
Miradaman
Second is, if possible, choose a route through industrial areas. No pedestrians, little traffic and empty sidewalks to ride on.
This is the answer.
Even if the industrial route is 20% longer...take it. Learn it. Love it. Never go through dangerous neighborhoods. There are just too many people to keep an eye on at once. 99% of them are decent folks. But it only takes 1 to cause trouble. If you aren't focused on that 1 guy on any given day it's a higher risk than you need to take.
On an industrial route where you may see 1 person, you can keep an eye on him easily. If he does something that makes you nervous you can cross the street, turn around, etc with ample warning time. Plus the odds are low that the guy in the industrial area is there to cause trouble. He's probably walking to work, not looking for a mugging victim on an little traveled road.
As for the sidewalk issue....if it's an industrial area where big trucks are crowding the thin streets making it dangerous to ride and with no pedestrians and good sight lines so you aren't suddenly on top of someone as you round corners....ride the sidewalks. You will hear from road rules purists who insist that the rules of cycling on weekend rides through the suburbs should apply to the industrial streets of the South Side of Chicago. But who cares? You are the one who is there. You decide what is safe.
But if there are big wide lanes and little traffic...ride the streets. It's an easier ride on blacktop than sidewalks. That bump bump bump every block of cement wears you down after a few miles.
And like people say...drive the route first. Just because it looks like a quiet warehouse district on Google maps doesn't mean there is a drug dealing operation out of an abandoned building in real life.
And use Google maps to plot a route. The satellite view doesn't tell you everything (like how there are crows on certain drug corners) but it does give you an idea if you have empty streets with no cars parked long them and no houses or stores. It'll help you find little cut throughs behind buildings that give you access to a street you'd need to go 6 blows out of your way to reach via a car. It's good stuff. But again...drive it first.