Machka 

How many different routes do you have in your area to cycle?


Our well is running dry. We were casting about for new places to go today ... and realised that we've done most of it, and have done most of it many times.

One of the difficulties here is that we'll look at Google Maps and find a nice-looking loop we haven't tried yet that isn't killer hilly ... but then we discover that half of it is gravel.

Gravel is OK if we want to ride our touring bicycles and if the gravel stretches aren't too long ... we did some gravel riding the other weekend, but if we want to ride our titaniums, it is a little less enjoyable.



So how's your area? Do you end up riding the same routes over and over, or do you have a lot of variety?

Maelochs

LOL .... you guys have a range of several hundred kilometers and have worn out all the routes?

(Just kidding.)

I am always combining different routes, trying to extend routes a little ... but unless I drive to a starting point, there isn't much I haven't ridden in the area. I don't have anything like your range, but even when i was riding twice as far ... there are only so many suitable roads.

Mostly on my usual loops I barely notice where I am riding ... now and then I look up to see the sun through some trees or something. I just try to catch the good stuff, and ignore the rest.

I have come to realize that I might need to actually drive to ride my bike. And six days a week i simply don't have time.

I really don't feel to badly for you guys though. I live in the middle of endless suburbia ... a "good route" means fewer cars pulling out of strip malls trying to hit me, or riding past slightly better-maintained houses.

As I recall you guys switch between Vancouver and Australia ... pretty sure both regions off actual ...you know, Pretty vistas and stuff. As opposed to "Look ... a Burger King!"

(still just kidding. I do appreciate what you are going through.)

Machka 

We're on a relatively small island, and in the south end of the island, where we live, we've got a combination of ...

-- half the roads are paved and half are gravel
-- there aren't a lot of roads because it is so hilly/mountainous and because of the amount of water around (bays, rivers, etc.)
-- narrow roads with little or no shoulders
-- fairly heavily populated area ... we're in a suburb of a somewhat sprawling city. Sprawling because of the mountainous terrain and all those bays, rivers, etc.
-- and busy roads

We rarely ride from home ... just not much in the way of good riding. So we usually drive to our start locations.

About once every 6 weeks or so, we go up north for a weekend where the cycling is much better ... so that's nice.

And the last time we were in the Vancouver area was 2 years ago.

jeffreythree

Living in the v of a v shaped lake means I ride a lot of the same routes until I get out about 15 miles. Gravel hauling on narrow roads chop off another section 6 days a week. I don't like to drive to a starting point. On hard effort days I don't notice, but when I take it easy I tend to chat with the livestock and enjoy the small differences I find on the route.

icyclist 

I live in mid-town L.A. It would be difficult to run out of places to ride, just using my home as the starting point.

The Santa Monica Mountains are 20 min. north of my home by bike, and there are hundreds of roads that an be linked up in infinite combinations, with grades that in from mild to wild. Pavement, gravel, there's no lack of either.

To the south I can head a few miles into the Baldwin Hills, where there are magnificent views that stretch from downtown L.A. to the Pacific Ocean.

West takes me by a variety of routes to the ocean, where I can head north to picturesque Malibu and beyond, to a rugged, undeveloped coastline, or up to a series of dramatic roads in the Santa Monica Mountains, where they follow the coastline, too. Or I can travel south, for miles along a bike path, or through bike friendly beach towns (Santa Monica, Hermisa Beach, Manhattan Beach, etc.) to reach the beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula, which rises above the South Bay. PV boasts abundant and beautiful roads that circle through the area and climb over it.

East takes me into the heart of downtown through a choice of neighborhoods, racially, religiously, sexually and architecturally diverse.

And with the city's growing light rail system, I can hop on a train that's minutes from my home and travel with my bike to new starting points that offer their own huge variety of routes.

Maelochs

We are all coming to visit. Better stock up on sports drink and energy bars.

Heathpack 

We have a pretty decent number of routes. We're in a northern suburb of LA and our town has really nice bike paths.

From my house, it's maybe 1/8 mile to get on a bike path and from there I can reach the outskirts of town in most directions. Since we live in a valley, there's lots of climbing routes into the mountains.

We have maybe five long routes that we can do from town, in the 50 mile range/5000 ft climbing range, and I can leave from my front door. I can ride 100 miles out & back to Mt Wilson. I organized a 125 mile/11000 ft climbing ride from my house once, up and over the mountains into the San Fernando Valley then back up into the mountains in a giant loop which eventually wound up back home. If I wanted miles but less climbing, I could ride to Santa Barbara, around a hundred miles.

We have some good options for shorter routes too, maybe 4-5 nice scenic 20-30 mile rides.

Also decent stretches of roads to get interval workouts done as long as I head out before dawn when traffic is light.

Add in mountain biking and we've got huge options in town. If Im willing to throw the bike in the car, I have dozens more appealing options within a 60-90 min drive.

I was just thinking this morning when I was out doing a wee recovery ride on the bike paths how lucky I am. I took up cycling after we moved to this town and I saw all the nice bike paths. It's really a testament to infrastructure- how if a town builds it, they will come. And be healthier and happier to boot.

When y'all are done with down under, you can move to LA. Completely loopy place to live. Exasperating traffic. Expensive. Every cliche about it is completely correct. But the cycling is good.

kbarch

It's pretty good here in the Tri-State area, too, but getting from one good area to ride in to another isn't so easy. Fairfield County CT, upper Westchester County NY and on the west side of the Hudson, Bergen (NJ) and Rockland (NY) are all extremely popular with cyclists. The George Washington Bridge feeds city folk to the delights of Bergen and Rockland, but it can be a slog getting to Westchester or Fairfield, so folks from the city who really want to ride there take the train. A short car trip can take you to some fantastic riding. It takes a while to get to mountains, but challenging hills and fine scenery abound.

For myself, living just down the hill, about ten minutes from the middle of THE most cyclist-infested highway around, I'm sort of spoiled, and find myself taking pretty much the same selection of roads over and over. I know there are fine and reasonably bike-friendly roads to the west (good enough for my Strava neighbors to frequent, at least), but rarely feel adventurous enough to find them.

Shuffleman

It's funny but I never mind riding the same routes over and over. I really don't check out the scenery much when riding or running. I am just happy to have a great place to ride with weather that would let me to do it 365 days a year if I were actually able to.

Doge

Agoura Hills is hard to beat for cycling routes.

Edit:Not my area, only 100 miles away.

San Diego County is also great - Fallbrook or Jamul as starting places.

alias5000

I usually try to ride with people I've never ridden with and let them do directions. Usually, everyone has a different subset of the world we live in in their mind. And so are preferred routes. I just let them show me their routes which usually are different from mine. Did that today, turned left at one place instead of the usual right and a whole new world opened up to me.
But I guess, Ontario has many more roads than a small island in Australia.

diphthong

about 20 and with variations-40. regardless of distance and difficulty, there are only so many must-do
roads here in san diego county. you can cram in one to four of those roads on a 40+ mile ride. good weather.
decent quality of roads. fairly challenging. having lived in the area for 30 years tho, i find myself longing and
branching out to areas an hour's drive or two or three for the challenge and thrill of new/unfamiliar/been a long time
roads. these days, i'm more about the quality of the experience vs the quality of the performance so my goals will
be totally different than many.

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by Machka

How many different routes do you have in your area to cycle?

Our well is running dry. We were casting about for new places to go today ...and realised that we've done most of it, and have done most of it many times.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maelochs

…I am always combining different routes, trying to extend routes a little ... but unless I drive to a starting point, there isn't much I haven't ridden in the area.

I have posted an informal cycling guide to Metro Boston:

sh00k

There is a 5 mile loop in my area that has almost zero car traffic. It is made up of about 10 streets and has a mix of hills and flats.

Each time I ride, I try to "randomize" my route so I am almost never doing the same route twice. If I want a crazy workout, I'll hit the hills a few times. If I want excitement, I'll take an easier route to the downhills.

That being said it's definitely repetitive but I'll take that over riding alongside cars that are doing 50mph any day. I am risk averse, ride with a helmet but I never feel comfortable when a car passes me at 50mph and is within a foot or two of me. The loop I ride is all residential homes and only has 2 feeder streets for car traffic so it's a really nice ride through a residential neighborhood.

If I'm being even pickier, I'll select the route that has the most newly paved streets just so I'm not dodging bumps etc. I ride for fitness not to travel so my riding goals are different than, say, a commuters.

_ForceD_

I live on an island (Aquidneck Island, part of RI) of just 37.8 sq miles. Over the years I think I've probably ridden on every single paved, public street/road (and many that aren't paved). If I ride an end-to-end circuit I can get a 50 mile ride without doubling over any roads. There are several routes I can use for shorter rides. There are only three bridges off the island. On one of them bicycles have never been permitted. Of the other two...until five or so years ago...only one of them allowed bikes. But that ride was treaterous since there aren't bike lanes. I've done it several times but don't like it. About five or so years ago the third bridge's replacement opened. It has a bike lane with a physical barrier from the highway. That opened up a whole new world and I can now depart from my house on the bike and enjoy rides all over eastern RI and southeastern MA.

Dan

topflightpro

I moved to my current home 9 years ago. I'm still finding new routes.

Nachoman

Countless. But I basically just repeat some variation of my three or four favorite rides up the coast, looping the local islands or climbing Mt. Soledad.

mercator

Southern Alberta is OK, I guess. There are lots of quiet back country roads with decent tarmac and the highways mostly have good paved shoulders so I have lots of routes that I can ride, but there is a definite lack of good roads in the mountains. I think riding in France and Spain spoiled me.

San Pedro

Tons of routes, but no time. The speed limit on most roads here are 50 or 40km/he, with the highest being 60. The worst thing with the routes here are all the stoplights.

bikecrate

There are an infinite number of routes I could take in the city, but after many years of riding around here I've found there are only about 5 to 6 safe ones. I usually choose depending on the wind direction.

wphamilton

I can get into a rut just riding the same routes, and combinations of the same routes, and to be honest that's OK most of the time. But every once in awhile for variety I look at Strava Heatmaps and put a random circuit together from the thickest lines and that turns out pretty well.

Machka 

Is that a Premium thing?

redfooj

i live in foothills ... large hills so almost limitless

Seattle Forrest

Like sand on the beach.

wphamilton

No https://labs.strava.com/heatmap/ but the "labs" part makes me think that it's not "production" yet, still in testing.