40 mile rides... Where do you discover new rides?
#26
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#27
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I use MapMyRide to find local routes.
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#29
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There are lots of free topo trail maps specific to a local area on line that download directly into Garmin's. Possibly other brands too, I never checked that since all I use is Garmin. They're good for finding MTB trails and hiking trails, not so much for road bikes unless you want to plan a highway route. I checked out that trailink and the nearest to my location aside from highways was almost 70 miles distant. I'd be worn out by the time I got there, much less ride it.
#30
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Lots to see in California, though urbanization has overgrown some of the areas I used to ride through. What used to be dairies and farmland are now housing subdivisions, but at least it's easy to find a fast food restaurant for lunch. Nowadays I prefer the central Arizona area, around Flagstaff and going south, toward Sedona and Cottonwood. There are lots of paved or dirt options, just be careful not to be run over by hippies, mystics, or dentists in leather on new Harleys. I like to stay at L'Auberge de Sedona they are bike-friendly, the location is good, and it is nice to enjoy dinner and a beer at the outdoor restaurant next to the river after a day of riding.
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Lots to see in California, though urbanization has overgrown some of the areas I used to ride through. What used to be dairies and farmland are now housing subdivisions, but at least it's easy to find a fast food restaurant for lunch. Nowadays I prefer the central Arizona area, around Flagstaff and going south, toward Sedona and Cottonwood. There are lots of paved or dirt options, just be careful not to be run over by hippies, mystics, or dentists in leather on new Harleys. I like to stay at L'Auberge de Sedona they are bike-friendly, the location is good, and it is nice to enjoy dinner and a beer at the outdoor restaurant next to the river after a day of riding.
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To the OP: Best thing I ever did was start exploring my local area from home.
Nothing better than having several "go to" rides available from your front door.
Pro Tip: Identify local communities that are "No Commercial Zones." You will not have nearly the street nor truck traffic.
The streets are also in better shape and not beat-up. The locals I find are pretty laid back and respectful of cyclists.
Where in SoCal are you?
Nothing better than having several "go to" rides available from your front door.
Pro Tip: Identify local communities that are "No Commercial Zones." You will not have nearly the street nor truck traffic.
The streets are also in better shape and not beat-up. The locals I find are pretty laid back and respectful of cyclists.
Where in SoCal are you?
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#38
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For New Jersey, New Jersey Bike Map, now exclusively on FaceBook, is a great resource for building your own rides. Suggestions from others on general resources are the best way to find routes on a broader basis. When I lived in NJ, I could ride a different 40 mile route on relatively untrafficked roads every day from where we lived north of Princeton. Living in northern New Mexico now, roads are limited and generally dangerous. I stick to gravel and forest roads mostly here.
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I almost always ride alone and usually the same route. Occasionally I will just take a side trip up a canyon or something on my westerly ride to the coast and have stumbled onto some nice rides. Last weekend a few guys from my neighborhood were going into Ventura and I joined them . We did a bit different route than I usually ride and it was cool to explore . Sometimes it is best to just find it without a plan especially in rural areas. Oh, and the topic of riding with ebikes, one of my friends has a Specialized ebike and it looks just like a modern carbon bike . He was with us and just rode it like a regular bike no real problem he wasn’t any faster than the rest of us. I was the only one on a vintage racer and we were just social riding so no worries. I am in my late sixties and my wife has a peddle assist ebike because of health issues and now can ride with me and I don’t have to slow for her anymore. Now she has to wait for me at the top of a climb!
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My friend and I are making an app to solve this because we too felt the pain, just for fun. He made a route planning app for running called Trail Router. Tons of people replied to the thread asking for a cycling version, you can find the original threads on Hacker News and r/running with a quick google search.
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Can you elaborate on what makes a good ride? How fast is too fast? What kind of things do you consider unsafe (ie. riding on a shared walkway)?
My friend and I are making an app to solve this because we too felt the pain, just for fun. He made a route planning app for running called Trail Router. Tons of people replied to the thread asking for a cycling version, you can find the original threads on Hacker News and r/running with a quick google search.
My friend and I are making an app to solve this because we too felt the pain, just for fun. He made a route planning app for running called Trail Router. Tons of people replied to the thread asking for a cycling version, you can find the original threads on Hacker News and r/running with a quick google search.
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Depends on what type of ride you are looking for. Road rides are discoverable on Strava Heatmaps - the brighter the line the more people who ride that route.
If looking for off-road or gravel rides, I use Google Earth/ Maps satellite view - look for gaps in the trees that can indicate a road or cut that is not officially a road. If you have access to old topo maps they can be an excellent resource, too - compare old map to new map and you are likely to find roads that used to be marked are no longer included on maps, but are likely still there and passable.
Powerline cuts are also often excellent rides and often have many trails going off in every direction if you keep your eyes open.
If exploring off road, be ready to turn around if you find a dead end, or to sheepishly apologize if you find yourself in someone's back yard and they are out mowing their lawn. The vast majority of people don't seem to mind when this happens to me, and I usually wind up skirting their fenceline towards the road to escape.
If looking for off-road or gravel rides, I use Google Earth/ Maps satellite view - look for gaps in the trees that can indicate a road or cut that is not officially a road. If you have access to old topo maps they can be an excellent resource, too - compare old map to new map and you are likely to find roads that used to be marked are no longer included on maps, but are likely still there and passable.
Powerline cuts are also often excellent rides and often have many trails going off in every direction if you keep your eyes open.
If exploring off road, be ready to turn around if you find a dead end, or to sheepishly apologize if you find yourself in someone's back yard and they are out mowing their lawn. The vast majority of people don't seem to mind when this happens to me, and I usually wind up skirting their fenceline towards the road to escape.
#43
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Are there conditions where you would be ok going on a road 45kph or above for only a short distance? Such as take a 45kph road for less than 300 ft which then saves you a 20 mile detour? If so, what distance would be acceptable and under which conditions?
We can follow-up on a PM if this gets too off topic for the thread.
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Depends on what type of ride you are looking for. Road rides are discoverable on Strava Heatmaps - the brighter the line the more people who ride that route.
If looking for off-road or gravel rides, I use Google Earth/ Maps satellite view - look for gaps in the trees that can indicate a road or cut that is not officially a road. If you have access to old topo maps they can be an excellent resource, too - compare old map to new map and you are likely to find roads that used to be marked are no longer included on maps, but are likely still there and passable.
Powerline cuts are also often excellent rides and often have many trails going off in every direction if you keep your eyes open.
If exploring off road, be ready to turn around if you find a dead end, or to sheepishly apologize if you find yourself in someone's back yard and they are out mowing their lawn. The vast majority of people don't seem to mind when this happens to me, and I usually wind up skirting their fenceline towards the road to escape.
If looking for off-road or gravel rides, I use Google Earth/ Maps satellite view - look for gaps in the trees that can indicate a road or cut that is not officially a road. If you have access to old topo maps they can be an excellent resource, too - compare old map to new map and you are likely to find roads that used to be marked are no longer included on maps, but are likely still there and passable.
Powerline cuts are also often excellent rides and often have many trails going off in every direction if you keep your eyes open.
If exploring off road, be ready to turn around if you find a dead end, or to sheepishly apologize if you find yourself in someone's back yard and they are out mowing their lawn. The vast majority of people don't seem to mind when this happens to me, and I usually wind up skirting their fenceline towards the road to escape.
Strava is great, but I think their heatmap can be misleading due to the way they let user's interact with it. It seems commuter, road biking, touring, MTBing, and road racing are all mixed into a single heatmap. That has led me sometimes to busy main roads which commuters enjoy, but I do not on a road bike. Or I've been sent on single track and gravel when on a road bike with skinny wheels far from home.
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#45
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Some additional sources:
U.S. Forest Service -- https://www.fs.usda.gov
AllTrails -- https://www.alltrails.com/explore?ref=header
TrailForks, by region -- https://www.trailforks.com
Mountain biking routes -- https://www.mtbproject.com
Trek Bikes, in their "greatrides" section -- https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/greatrides
GravelMap -- https://gravelmap.com/search
Your local and regional biking associations, parks & recreation departments, and local bike shops. Many have references to great trails and routes in the area, and some will have maps. Most of the major metro areas, in the U.S., have produced maps of the bike lanes, multi-use paths and bikeable through-ways in and around the city.
U.S. Forest Service -- https://www.fs.usda.gov
AllTrails -- https://www.alltrails.com/explore?ref=header
TrailForks, by region -- https://www.trailforks.com
Mountain biking routes -- https://www.mtbproject.com
Trek Bikes, in their "greatrides" section -- https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/greatrides
GravelMap -- https://gravelmap.com/search
Your local and regional biking associations, parks & recreation departments, and local bike shops. Many have references to great trails and routes in the area, and some will have maps. Most of the major metro areas, in the U.S., have produced maps of the bike lanes, multi-use paths and bikeable through-ways in and around the city.
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#46
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I usually don’t, same 40 mile, mostly car free ride. I just grab a different bike, or different friend or 2, to change it up.
Tim
Tim
#47
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Here in Ohio, bike club routes are often very good starting points. The routes have been refined over many years. It still amazes me how a boring farmland area can have all these side roads that are quiet and scenic. Woods and creek valleys, and essentially no cars.
I posted about planning with heat maps in this post.
Not every "popular" road is actually nice to ride, some may be just the usual way to get out of town, or connect between some better roads. And some riders just don't have a clue and pick really annoying or dangerous roads.
Yes, like brentlarue posted:
Strava is great, but I think their heatmap can be misleading due to the way they let user's interact with it. It seems commuter, road biking, touring, MTBing, and road racing are all mixed into a single heatmap. That has led me sometimes to busy main roads which commuters enjoy, but I do not on a road bike. Or I've been sent on single track and gravel when on a road bike with skinny wheels far from home.
I posted about planning with heat maps in this post.
Not every "popular" road is actually nice to ride, some may be just the usual way to get out of town, or connect between some better roads. And some riders just don't have a clue and pick really annoying or dangerous roads.
Yes, like brentlarue posted:
Strava is great, but I think their heatmap can be misleading due to the way they let user's interact with it. It seems commuter, road biking, touring, MTBing, and road racing are all mixed into a single heatmap. That has led me sometimes to busy main roads which commuters enjoy, but I do not on a road bike. Or I've been sent on single track and gravel when on a road bike with skinny wheels far from home.
#48
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I normally ride by my own. Mainly because I don't cycle because of the sports aspect only. I want to see new surroundings and will also stop frequently to take pictures or just enjoy the scenery. I average around 10-12 mph. Too slow for any group ride. I use a combination of Google maps, Google satellite view, Google street view and the Garmin app to plan my routes. I try to stay on trails wherever possible and try to avoid roads with a speed limit of more than 30mph.
Google maps is outdated in regards to trails in our area. Therefore I quite often use the satellite view to check for new trails or trail expansions or new roads. Satellite view is also great to check for other obstacles such as fences, creeks, grassy areas you may be able to cross. Yes on some of my routes there may be sections where I have to push my bike or lift it over obstacles. Satellite view is also good for rides across parking lots or through back alleys to avoid streets with traffic. All these "special" sections you cannot really plan with routing tools. I then right it down on paper.
As for riding on streets I use Street view to check how the roads look like. Are there shoulders or bike lanes? Are there wide side walks? Are there traffic lights and do they have crosswalk signals?
Out of all these tools I build my routes. And once I have ridden it I save it as a new course in the Garmin app.
Google maps is outdated in regards to trails in our area. Therefore I quite often use the satellite view to check for new trails or trail expansions or new roads. Satellite view is also great to check for other obstacles such as fences, creeks, grassy areas you may be able to cross. Yes on some of my routes there may be sections where I have to push my bike or lift it over obstacles. Satellite view is also good for rides across parking lots or through back alleys to avoid streets with traffic. All these "special" sections you cannot really plan with routing tools. I then right it down on paper.
As for riding on streets I use Street view to check how the roads look like. Are there shoulders or bike lanes? Are there wide side walks? Are there traffic lights and do they have crosswalk signals?
Out of all these tools I build my routes. And once I have ridden it I save it as a new course in the Garmin app.
#49
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I wonder aimlessly until I hit 40 miles through back county roads.
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I use the same roads just with different patterns. Mental exercising trying to imagine the result and then making it happen. What is NOT VISIBLE IN STATS are the unrecorded miles ridden to make things happen.
https://www.strava.com/activities/6557506349
https://www.strava.com/activities/6512676833
https://www.strava.com/activities/6016910392
https://www.strava.com/activities/6557506349
https://www.strava.com/activities/6512676833
https://www.strava.com/activities/6016910392