Bike Month Riding Tips: Planning Your Bike Route

May 24, 2012 at 3:49 pm | Posted in Resources | 5 Comments
Tags: bike maps, bike routes

The best route by car might not be the best by bicycle. Always consider road and traffic conditions when planning your route!

• Major streets offer speed, especially if you’re comfortable riding in traffic; the trade-off is higher accident risk and exhaust fumes.
• Residential streets are cleaner, quieter, and safer, but your ride may be slower and less direct. Look for streets with stoplights at major cross streets. This will help you get access the bigger streets more easily.
• Bike paths and bike lanes are the best options, if they’re convenient to where you’re going.
• Choose roads with good surfaces and wide lanes.
• Sometimes the best route in the morning is not the best route in the evening. Keep experimenting to find the right route for your commute.
• First time biking to work? Try your route on the weekend to see how long it takes. Allow a little extra time to account for rush hour congestion during the week.
• Ask a friend or fellow cyclists. Sometimes you’ll get the best routes from those who have already done the research. Other cyclists are a great resource for finding good routes.

Route planning resources:

http://www.maps.google.com/biking
This Google Map feature provides step-by-step, bike-specific routing suggestions.

http://www.bikemetro.com
Generates bicycle routes for you, based on your skill level and riding preferences. It even provides an elevation graph, calorie calculator, and the amount of pollution and money you’ll save by not driving!

http://www.bikenow.org
Use the “Back Roads L.A.” section to find or port suggested routes in and around Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Area Bicycle Maps:

http://www.metro.net/bike
Metro’s map of bike, bus & rail routes for all of Los Angeles County.

http://www.bicyclela.org
LADOT’s regional map of Los Angeles bikeways and bike maps of surrounding cities.

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