For outdoor rides as of late I’ve been trying my best to stay off the roads. Cycle paths are the order of the day, which does mean the average speeds are far slower, there are more hazards (dogs, pedestrians, horse poo) that must be avoided, but generally things are significantly safer.
Good for a recovery or easy ride, less so for actual intense riding. But then I do all of that on Zwift.
The main thing is, get away from the busy main roads. Once you’re out towards the sticks, or on the aforementioned cycle paths, things are fairly calm and relaxed.
Sadly, in order to get too and from those routes, you do have to deal with the common road user. And I’m convinced some of these clowns want a manslaughter charge with their lunchtime ham and cheese sandwich. Some of the things I got involved in today, in 40 minutes, make me wonder why I bother heading out.
I guess the truth of it is: go early (before 8am), go later on (7pm+), or save it to Sunday mornings.
Beyond that, it’s a game of dice I don’t enjoy playing.
Such a shame really, and maybe I’ve lost a bit of confidence truth be told.
That’s it for my weekday rides though this week. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow, and then it’s a three day weekend. I’m actually hoping to get a 2 hour ride in on Monday – as I’m away with work Wed / Thurs next week, so planning to get my rides in Monday / Tuesday and then maybe Friday. But if Monday’s a big one, it kind of makes up for it.
Seems quite contradictory. But my hope is that Monday, out in the countryside, is fairly quiet. Failing that, or if it rains, I’ll do it on Zwift.
