Grand vs. Augusta in low-traffic conditions

Last night I needed to get over to California and Augusta.

For some reason, rather than take Augusta west from Noble like I would normally do, I opted to take Grand.

Holy cow! Especially if you hit the lights, you can really fly!!

I have had less-than-positive experiences on Grand in the past, but I was amazed by how "fun" it was to ride in low-traffic conditions like last night.

I thought maybe it gave me some insight into the view that "vehicular cyclists" take, which is that being relegated to a bike lane (i.e. the door zone) forces you to slog slowly along rather than really zoom.

I still, in general, prefer the safety and calm of a bike lane. (My approach is to ride slowly enough to be able to stop if a door opens, or at least not go over the handlebars.) But it was an exhilarating ride last night. :)

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on November 6, 2014 at 11:40am

lol ;)

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hainey on November 6, 2014 at 12:25pm

Grand is my favority east-west route between Halsted and Kedzie. Great at night as well.

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Permalink Reply by Kyle Mac on November 6, 2014 at 2:24pm

just be careful when you get west of western & grand angles a bit. there are no lane markings on a MASSIVELY wide road, the drivers get excited about the freeway and floor it past smith park.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on November 6, 2014 at 3:50pm

Yeah, my feeling was that it would not be great at rush hour.

Kyle Mac said:

just be careful when you get west of western & grand angles a bit. there are no lane markings on a MASSIVELY wide road, the drivers get excited about the freeway and floor it past smith park.