Like I've said, I'm new in from the beach area in California, so I might ask some dumb questions and I appreciate your patience and answers.  In Newport Beach and the surrounding area, most roads have a dedicated bike lane so road bikers have a little space to ride almost anywhere in So Cal.  You would think that would be fine, but several people die each year because a motorist hits them in the bike lane.  The bike clubs usually paint a bike white and leave it there, so we have little memorials to remind people.


My question:  I have not seen any dedicated lanes for bikes here and I see cars swerving around road bikers.  But in my short time here, I have not heard of people dying or even getting hit by cars.  It must happen, but it doesn't seem as frequent as California.  Is that true?

I usually stay off the road Monday thru Friday. Road riding during the week for me usually means Huntersville Business Park.  There are some bike lanes all over Charlotte, but not everywhere.  They will end abruptly, then begin again and they are all part of the shoulder of the road.  Cars park in them, buses make stops in them, police park in them, etc.

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The road cycling scene is strong here, unfortunately so is the anti-roadie sentiment.  Best to do an established group ride as they tend to go out early / avoid the more heavily trafficked roads.

I grew up riding my bike in California and never had an issue riding in the San Francisco Bay Area. This place is much different and it is not very bike friendly or runner friendly at all. Its ride at your own risk. Good luck.

What area are you riding in specifically?  Some areas of Charlotte/Meck are better than others.  Up here in the Salisbury/Concord/Kannapolis area I feel pretty safe as long as you stay off of the real busy roads.  There are also very congested roads around here though that I would never think about riding a bicycle on.  Take some time to get used to the area and figure out which roads are heavily traveled and which are not.  Yes, auto drivers are more unpredictable than ever, but a reasonable amount of common sense on the cyclist's behalf goes a long way.

Rocky River road is listed as "fair" on this map.  Talk to actual riders or local bike shops if you want to find the safer places to ride.

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