This whole life of cycling began in earnest along the Southern California coast, where I could pedal just two blocks and turn north or south on the Pacific Coast Highway to ride as far as my imagination could muster with the ocean breeze cooling my jets to the sound of crashing waves and seagulls.
I gave cycling a shot a few years earlier living back in Dubuque, Iowa, along the shores of the mighty Mississippi River. But that powerful watershed left steep shale and limestone bluffs behind since the area itself had somehow escaped the smoothing over by the glaciers that gave us Wisconsin’s rolling hills.
With no cycling infrastructure nor bike awareness among drivers, Dubuque just wasn’t a keen place to be on a bike. I tried a couple of times to drive to a more inviting landscape, to no avail.
I thought about this recently as I drove an hour-and-a-half to ride the very neat Banks-Vernonia rail-to-trail. That destination won the day over an hour drive to mountain bike at Silver Falls State Park.
Again, I’m blessed with great riding right out my door. Seems like I always have been. From SoCal to Boulder. Boulder to Austin. Austin to Knoxville. Knoxville to Eugene.
At each stop along the way, there also have been great cycling adventures just a drive away. Of course, what one describes as “a drive away” varies greatly.
I wouldn’t think twice about driving nearly three hours from Knoxville to get to Brevard, North Carolina and the Pisgah National Forest, nor the hour-plus drives from Eugene to Oakridge or McKenzie Bridge.
These days with the price of gas nearing $4 a gallon, and my new pickup truck needing much more fuel than my Santa Fe to get me there, I’m much more selective about driving for a ride.
This week’s question: What’s a reasonable drive for a ride for you? And does the price of gas influence your trips?
Not just the price of that fuel but also what burning it does to the already poor state of the world is on my mind. I still drive but I’m a lot more selective now.
Also, I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have a quality train service nearby to take them to the start of an interesting ride but if you do, the bike and the train make a good combination.
When riding alone, I’m loath to get in the car. That said, less than thirty minutes is acceptable. I’ve gone much farther of course, even flying to meet friends and have two wheeled adventures.
It feels like using up a lot of the day to drive to ride vs going out the door. Time is precious… But so is a great ride. Always struggle to balance.
I should add some context around my previous comment. When I said I still drive even though selectively, that’s still very little driving. I estimate 90% of my recreational rides are straight out of the driveway and probably 90% of other occasions that I leave my house are by bicycle or on foot as well.