dannwilliams

I almost always ride from home, but am becoming bored with riding the same routes continually. So, this year I have driven to a few rides, and the bike trails. I am wondering, how many others drive to their rides? And I am not talking about "event" rides, just your normal "go for a ride" ride. Why or why not do you choose what you do. Lets hear about them.

Yankeetowner

Still working, so I don't have time to drive and ride, except on weekends. My normal morning ride does get boring, but that just makes the weekend rides either in Yankeetown, where there is no traffic, or on a trail near Orlando, all the more enjoyable.

CraigB

For me, everyday rides are always from home. I have a lightly traveled road that heads north and allows me to branch off into multiple directions, and a MUP trailhead is only about a half-mile down the road from us.

awfulwaffle 

The only time I'll drive to a ride is when I hit any of the mtb trails that are more than 10 miles from my house. I feel than wearing myself out riding 20-30 miles on the pavement with my offroad wheels will diminish the fun I have once I actually get to the trail. Maybe I'm a wuss though

Looigi

Around here (Northeast) there are many roads all over the place so there's plenty a variety riding from home. Each route can be done in either direction so that counts as two. In the places I lived out West, there were far fewer roads so I'd more often drive somewhere to ride.

con

I must admit it just hits me wrong to get in a car to go ride a bike. Buuuuuuuuuut, I do it at times.

rocdoc

I am relatively inexperienced and riding on the busy roads around here at rush hour makes me nervous. Most of my riding is on trails. So yes, I do it often. I used to keep a rack on the trunk of my car, now I just take the front wheel off, put the bike and the wheel in the back of my hatchback with the seats lowered, and drive over to the trails. I start doing pleasant riding a lot faster than if I have to ride there fearing for my life the whole time...

Dudelsack 

Unless you're very fortunate you have to drive if you go on singletrack or MUPs.

I usually drive to club rides.

On "pleasure rides" I try not to drive, but I'm fortunate in that I can be in the country in 15 minutes and in Da Boonies in about 45, from my house.

rdmjr

I'm with rocdoc - plus there's no good way to get from my house to the MUP without riding on 45+ mph 2-lane roads with no shoulders, and blind curves or hills that would keep a driver from seeing my trike early enough. Our trikes are in under the cap in the bed of my truck; any time we decide to go, it's ready.

Bill Kapaun

Especially when it's an "Earth Day" ride.

baron von trail 

I almost always ride out of my garage. Rarely do I use the car to go for a ride. However, I have friends who drive to the MUP in order to commute to work. That's just too much hassle for me. I just assume ride my bike to the bike trials. I'll throw the bike in the trunk if I need an oil change or other maintenance work done on the car though, leaving the car at the service place as I ride into work.

mkane77g

Our driveway consists of 3.5 miles of dirt and gravel with grades of 10% and more. Hard on expensive road tires. We drive into our small town and begin there. Straight out that canyon there's pavement somewhere.

Rootman

Not here, always ride the bike to the rides.

I HAVE however terminated a ride somewhere and had the wife drive the van with the bike rack on it and pick me up. Typically when there just isn't time to do and out and back so I just have her pick me up and we go to our final destination from there. I also do this when visiting my brother, she gives me a 2 hour head start and then drives the van to his house. That way I don't have to worry about getting home in the dark.

CarrollB

I get bored riding around the neighborhood. I live two miles from a local country park and always drive to get there. Don't like riding with the traffic betwen home and the park. I like riding in the park because it is tree covered so the heat is bearable in the summer, I often see deer or a fox, and it relaxes me because of the peace and quiet. I live 7 and 10 miles from two trails that I drive to on weekends, again because of the traffic. If my wife would ride with me I'd take the car to Gettysburg, about 100 miles from home and ride the battlefields.

volosong

Been driving a lot this summer to get to a starting point of a ride. Mostly because since June, we've had temperatures right at 100 degrees, plus or minus about five degrees. Only time to ride at reasonable temps is first thing in the morning. But, there's this little thing called a "job" that gets in the way of early morning rides. In the evening, by the time it cools off, the wind is howling at a brisk 15-20 knots . . . every day!

Since I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow, (maxed out on hours and am starting to lose them), I'll be headed over the hill and plan to ride up GMR and the village, since I'll have all day. If I can get my triple shifting correctly, I'm going to assault the ski lift climb. A bunch of times this summer, I've make the trek out to the ocean to ride in cool temperatures.

WC89

Yeah. I hear you. 90% of my rides are also straight from my front door (9 or 10 loops I can do) but I do sometimes desire a different area to ride in just for a change of pace/change of scenery. I really should do more of this but I don't. Lately, about once a month, I've been driving about 18 miles from home to start/end a ride from a location in a neighboring county. I'm actually driving the 18 mi to this ride this Saturday (47 mile ride, hilly, brisk pace). I ride only every Sat/Sun, so, I'm more inclined to drive to a ride this time of year if I have no yard work to do that day and the weather forecast is good. Not likely to do it on a Sunday since my Sunday ride is typically an easier, flatter, recovery ride of 30-35 miles.

DnvrFox

100's of miles of great cement trails out my back door (which was a major factor in our home purchase 12 years ago). I only drive for mtn biking and very occasionally to meet someone else for a ride.

CommuteCommando

I ride from home as often as possible, except my morning commute, which starts at 4:45 with me driving to the train station, or taking my fixed gear to the velodrome or river trail.

Biker395 

I typically drive.

We start our weekend rides pretty early and go for much of the day. They're also 25-40 miles away, through city neighborhoods, some of them less than ideal from a safety standpoint.

As a matter of fact, probably 90% of the miles I put on my car from driving to weekend rides. A nice side benefit is that the car itself is pretty fun to drive on twisty mountain roads, and I occasionally give in to that temptation.

ModeratedUser150120149

Usually ride from home. The few MUPs are pretty raw and rough so mainly road. When I visit down south generally I have a rental car, no racks allowed & $250 Cleaning Fee, so it varies; ride from location, hitch a ride with family, or my friend drives in his BikeMobile. Last is nice and social.

Rick@OCRR

I do a lot of driving to rides . . . too much, maybe, but it works for me.

Mon./Wed./Fri. I ride to work and back, so there's that.

But on Tues./Thur. I have 6:00 PM club rides (OCRR) in Irvine. So Tues./Thur. I drive from home to work in Los Angeles (with bike on car), then after work down the 405 freeway to Irvine. I ride the club ride, usually go out to dinner with the riders after, then have to drive back from Irvine to Whittier . . . so about 85 miles of driving each Tues./Thur. Fortunately my Insight gets between 65 and 70 mpg. so the gasoline cost isn't that bad (about $5.00).

On weekends, I usually head to the mountains; Glendora Mountain Road (start is about 45 min. drive), Encanto Park (about half an hour drive), Red Box (about an hour), etc. Then Sundays usually just the club ride, so 50 mi. in car from Whittier to Irvine and back. Or . . . sometimes Sunday is fixed gear recovery ride from home if Sat. was esp. brutal.

This last Sat., however, I rode from home, leaving Whittier at 6:00 AM, riding down to Oceanside over a lot of climbs. Then, after a fine lunch at Anita's in Oceanside, I rode back to Whittier. https://app.strava.com/activities/70329551

My Garmin battery was all used up about 4 mi. from home, so really, a 180 mile day. But hey, that's what I get by riding from home!

Rick / OCRR

B. Carfree

Perhaps the primary factor when I choose where to live is avoiding the use of a car. Thus, I live where I can ride out the door and enjoy myself.

When I see people unload their bikes from their cars in the places where I ride I don't know whether to be sad because they don't feel they can ride there or to feel glad because they are likely new to riding and haven't yet fully incorporated it into their lives by living where they can ride without driving. We do have the donut problem here: You can ride in town with relative safety and you can ride well outside of town with reasonable safety, but the edge of town is less than fun.

When I want to do some single track, I generally ride my touring bike and just put some off-road tires on when I leave the pavement. The mountain bikers are usually confused/amused/pleased to see what I have done.

BlazingPedals

Most of my rides are club rides. To accommodate as many as possible, starting locations are chosen with an eye for ease-of-access and for good roads. The nearest starting spot for me is about 5 miles, but even with that low distance I can't always get there in time without driving.

kamban

I live about 10 miles from a 17 mile long MUP and no way would I trust myself to ride to the MUP on the unsafe city roads. So I drive to the MUP, unload and bicycle away.

I prefer to be safe and still get my exercise. Others may feel safe riding the city roads but I don't.

DnvrFox

If you don't feel safe riding city roads, it is indeed a good idea not to ride on them!!

I tell my wife (and others) to never do anything that you/they feel is unsafe while bicycling, and follow that maxim myself.