Also in Boulder, also a time I have to be hyper aware. I find the bike infrastructure in this city slightly... uneven. Sometimes, it's great, sometimes it's not very well planned out. I live off of 36 in N Boulder. It can be downright dangerous using the bike lane.
Cycling is extremely appealing if you separate roads for cars from roads for bikes. Boulder is a city that gets this right. As a cyclist in Boulder, you can get almost anywhere in town with minimal riding on a normal street. The network of bike/pedestrian paths is so well integrated into the city.
I loved biking everywhere in Boulder. In Austin or New York I would rather walk and take public transit. NYC and the Connecticut shoreline are keeping me enthralled for now but I will move back to Boulder for the bike paths (and the general paradise vibe) at some point.
Nostalgia is taking hold now. Warm memories of a satisfied ride with a Flat Iron mountain backdrop. In my backpack was just a modest check, but it was a check for the sale of my first venture, and we were happy, and living in Boulder and the future was ours for the taking...
Chiming in from Minneapolis, major bike paths/routes are generally plowed just as often as the roads. It can be a hurdle, but it’s not as bad as you might think.
I found something very interesting in Minneapolis (where I live); it's a path that you wouldn't be able to find using google maps or probably even any bike-specific route finder.
I'll have to check it out in person but I'm guessing it's a mountain bike trail or something, which is what this heatmap would be great for helping people find.
Reminds me of Glen Quaich which I regulary cycle. Single track road, with switch backs and 12% gradients. Often I'll cycle by besumed tourist off the main road wondering where they are. Its a public road but not cleared or gritted in the winter. A couple visiting a nearby village last week were rescued by a farmer after Google sent them along this scenic route in a snow storm.
Another interesting fact is that at least some of the cycle lane markings are projected rather than painted because otherwise they would be covered by the snow.
Denver resident who routinely rides bikes on those trails--mind providing some citations on those so we can know where to avoid? I've never had issues with folks in underpasses while running/biking (mostly early morning hours or commute hours), but could imagine there being issues at different times.
Are you sure they are empty most of the time - bikes are small and so you may not notice them even though that paths are well used.
Are you sure those paths are viable to get places? In my city they appear that way if you don't ride them, but then you discover they can't get places because there is no useful connections. They have have a fence between them and stores. Or they only go through residential neighborhoods. Where I live they are setup to drive your bike to the trail head and go for a long exercise ride.
You can bike along Big Dry Creek Trail for about 10-15 miles without ever having to interact with car traffic. And it runs right across a major suburb of Denver. I actually use it almost every day to commute for errands
Very cool, and something I'd love to bike on soon!
There is a great bike trail near my house that runs for dozens of miles... unfortunately major parts of it have become scary to ride on due to the growing number of homeless camps that have spilled onto the path itself in some areas.
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