I'm kinda glad someone decided to post on this subject because I've been in a similar situation for a while now. A little over 15 years ago I moved from a small town (<20K)/rural area to a very densely populated urban/suburban area and more or less figured that my carefree riding on sparsely travelled county farm-to-market roads was pretty much over - unless I wanted to transport the bike to the middle of an adjacent semi-rural county by vehicle just to be able to ride in similar circumstances. Then, I eventually discovered numerous MUPs, one of the major ones of which passed just a few blocks from my house. It's an old inter-urban railroad bed surfaced with compacted limestone tailings and I had to figure out the best kind of tires and gearing for my bikes under those conditions, but once that was taken care of I've been riding on them ever since. And enjoying it! The only dicey parts are where the trails cross busy streets and highways, but many of those are at intersections with traffic signals. I'm in my early 70's, too, and I've had to develop a much more cautious approach to riding than what I used to take 20-30 years ago - such as having eyes on four sides of my head, waiting to see if motorists really mean it when they come to a red light or stop sign, using dual function pedals that let you clip in on one side and have a platform on the other, etc. Since I can go out whenever I want I try to limit my riding to week days, avoiding some of the heavily travelled times on Saturdays and Sundays when weekend warriors, families with little kids weaving back and forth all over the trail, etc. are out and about.
On Friday, January 31, 2020 at 10:51:47 AM UTC-6, Dan Kretzer wrote: > > PG > I've had the same thoughts during the last few years. (will be 72 in > April) > I was living in a high density area and although my past involvement in > motorcycles taught me to anticipate the worst, I was getting less and less > comfortable riding on the roads. > > I retired last summer and part of the decision to move was to live in a > more bike friendly environment. > We now live within a mile and a half of a network of Rail Trails. The area > is also very bicycle friendly with clearly marked bike lanes in a town that > has mandatory traffic stops for pedestrians. > I couldn't imagine life without some kind of outdoor exercise. > > Where I used to live it was difficult finding safe routes but not > impossible. As others have said seek out the better roads. If you don't > live near paved trails perhaps there are some close enough to drive to and > bike from there? > > Read up on bicycle safety. Use a rear view mirror and lights, know your > place in the lane, take "box turns", etc. It's not like it was when we were > growing up. Try to make sure drivers see you and anticipate that they > won't. > > Riding smart keeps it fun and enjoyable. > -Dan > > On Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 7:34:28 PM UTC-5, PG wrote: >> >> I'm turning 67 in a week, and haven't ridden in a couple of months. The >> last time out, a woman blew a stop sign at an intersection -- presumably >> while texting, base on her body language -- and if I'd been 100 feet closer >> to the intersection, I would have been creamed. I shook for a couple of >> days afterwards, and haven't been motivated to go out since. As with most >> of us, this isn't an isolated incident. >> >> My instinct is to quit riding. A couple things are behind that. Because >> of my age, my reflexes, depth perception, and general eyesight are in >> decline. >> >> I only ride on the road, as mountain and trail riding don't appeal to me. >> I guess I could start spinning at home to keep my fitness level up. >> >> I know the odds are that I will be fine, but even a minor accident would >> take months to recover from. A major accident could result in permanent >> damage. >> >> Am I overreacting? It's been several months and I've had no urge to ride >> again. >> >> >> Paul >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/d35d04a9-99c4-470b-9922-dda6d6ec12ed%40googlegroups.com.
