[jaseone]

I recently moved offices from downtown where I could easily catch the light rail to work all the way out to freakin Bellaire and lets just say catching the bus blows so instead I'm putting slicks (slickosauraus) on the MTB and riding it to work as soon as I can work out a viable route, if it goes well I may look at adding a bigger chain ring as well.

Mainly along West University - This has a few potential dangerous points like getting under 610 and onto Fournace, but otherwise looks fairly safe and has one of the shortest distances at just over 5 miles.

Along the bayou cutting up at S. Rice - This could welll be the safest but it is the longest by far (double some of the routes).

Mainly Sunset, Westpark and Newcastle following the official bike paths - Slightly longer than the first but if you believed bikeways it should be safer but I have my doubts as it places you on some major roads.

Does anyone have any experience with any of these routes? Any assistance would be much appreciated.

 

[fmbp]

Jaseone,

I would give 'em all a test run by car and then by bike to see which seems the best to you, preferably around the time of day that you would be riding them.

Route 1 seems pretty good, though riding through the Village area at the end of work time might be a little sketchy.

Route 2: I can't imagine cutting down to the bayou would be worth it with regards to doubling your mileage. Besides, some times it seems that there are just as many scary riders along the bayou as there are scary cars on the roads.

Route 3: Also seems fine. The West End Bikes ride takes part of the Westpark bike lane, and that seems fine in a group, and I've ridden parts of it solo and I don't remember being nervous.

I would be inclined to say that Routes 1 and 3 are the best options. Good luck.

 

[jaseone]

Thanks for the feedback!

I'll check out the routes this weekend, which is probably not an ideal time but it will at least give me a visual on the roads themselves to see what the shoulder is like and if there are any sidewalks to escape to if need be! Seeing how I'll be riding my MTB I'm not stuck strictly to riding on the road.

The only part I'm really worried about is getting under 610 but I've found to be safe in those circumstances you just need to ride like you belong there and be semi arogant about it by riding well into your lane so nobody tries to squeeze past you.

 

[Kalukis]

Westpark not a good idea

The Westpark bikeway was a casuality of the Westpark tollway--I don't think they've really put it back out there. Traffic on Westpark is 50 MPH. I'd avoid that way if I were you.

Good Luck.

 

[jaseone]

I'm going to try the West U. route tomorrow, I think seeing how it is the Monday between the weekend and Independence Day the roads shouldn't be that busy so should be a good way to get a feel for the actual roads minus the traffic. It will be my very first time bicycle commuting to work.

 

[fmbp]

Jaseone,

Good luck Dude. Stay dry. Of the three, the route through West U looked the safest (without adding a ton of miles) to me. Let us know how it goes.

fmbp

 

[jaseone]

The route along West U was so easy and safe! I was riding cautiously, almost casually today and it only took me right around half an hour, not bad considering the bus would take a total of 50 minutes door to door! Although it does even out with the added shower and change time at work, still I'd rather be riding than waiting for and catching a bus any day! I may however get wet this afternoon, oh well I bought baggies for all the important stuff to keep it dry if need be.

There are sidewalks just about the whole way that are in decent condition and easily ridable on my commuter converted MTB, on Bissonnet there is a gap when it crosses the railway but some enterprising soul has already blazed a trail to bridge that gap. Even under 610 has sidewalks and pedestrian crossings so it was easy to get on the sidewalk on the feeder just outside the loop and then up to Fournace for a quick left and then into the work parking lot, there is even a bike rack just outside my building so I can keep an eye on the bike from the window a few feet away. However given the company (Chevron) and how secure they keep this place I'm not really worried about the bike getting stolen but that isn't to say I'm about to ride my Roubaix to work.

Now I just need to get some fenders/mudguards to help minimize the dirtiness factor and probably a specialized backpack that has some airflow like my big camelback does, I'd rather the weight on me and keep the bike light as I can control the bike better that way and I'd hate to have to bunny hop with bags attached to the bike.

My computer said it was a little over 7 miles but I need to recalibrate it after changing tires from big knobbies down to the slick-a-sauruses so it probably isn't too accurate at the moment.

I may need to jerry rig a camcorder to my handlebars and record a video of the route, that'd be cool!

 

[PJay]

west u

yes i would go west u.

also try just north of rice campus instead of just south (rice>sunset instead of univ>main).

on main, the police will do speed traps, jaywalking traps, no-left-turn traps, etc.

they have cops on bikes and you will need to keep your eyes open for the periods when they are generating revenue.