I don't ride on the road, but tonight i had to pop round to a friends and thought for once i would go on the bike, BIG mistake. In a space of 10 minutes i was cut up twice and had some old dear pull out right in front of me causing me to mount the kerb. All this happened on eastate roads not some major A or B road. So from now on it's back to driving or walking. Ive aged 10 years from a 10 minute bike ride. 😀
Seriously I have had worse than that walking and driving. _
Don't give up - we do need a lot of changes to make the UK a more cycle-friendly place, but it still beats driving any day for me.
It's a shame, because if people felt comfortable riding on the roads so many people would do it more, including myself, and I'm a 'roadie'! As it is it's stressful.
Although it's worth looking into alternative routes. What makes sense in the car doesn't always make sense on the bike.
It can be stressful at times, but it can also be great fun. Bikes are transport, first and foremost.
I did a cafe ride with my boy today. The first ~25 miles were on busyish roads and stressful. The return journey on quiet roads was not.
Obviously it depends where you live and if you can choose the time of your ride. But road riding can definitely still be fun.
Not victim blaming, but if you don't normally ride on the road it's possible you're riding in a way which makes drivers more likely to cut you up. I ride thousands of miles on the road in a year, and whilst I do get cut up it's not generally all that horrendous.