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this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2026
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Fuck Cars
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I am too terrified to ride a bike 20km to the next town. I could probably do a quarter of it on paths. Perhaps a bit more bush bashing. But the highway sections seems like certain death. I envy places that are connected with paths. Huge respect for this guy.
Are you in australia?
I've done a bit of long distance riding here.
Bush tracks are ok, but be very, very mindful of snakes. Bush bashing is generally a bad idea. You'll pick up ticks from foliage, and snakes can't feel your vibrations and you can't see them soooo...
Being on the road is generally ok, but a wing mirror is essential. You really need to be able to see traffic approaching behind you.
Cars can move around you but for road trains I just get off the road and stop on the shoulder. They're too wide to leave any room for you, and the "bow wave" of air pushes you away, but then the void behind them pulls you on to be road, ready to be collected by the traffic following.
Welp, "bike touring Australia" is now officially off of my bucket list. Thank you for that
Actually funny thing I realized is that when I tried to go the next city over from the city I live in the safest paths were the forests and park paths . EVen unofficial paths were a better option, as in forests paths that shouldnt have a path but so many homeless people and drifters there go along thst path so often that the path has now been beaten into the ground and now its just there permanently.
Snakes are a real problem on narrow trails in Australia. On a bike they can't sense the vibrations from your footfalls so they can't get out of your way.
Also mobile / cell coverage is patchy. If you get bit then walking / riding is the worst thing you can do, but if you don't have cell coverage then you're cooked.
No way in hell would I walk , bike (motor bike even) , scooter, any form of transportation other than in a tank a disrance of 20KM or over. Especially if Im going the next city over.
The problem is two fold cause the drivers in north america are inherently bad and they think theyre better drivers than they are. BUT THEN ALSO the infrastucture in most of north america is car centric so when you go to a dangerous a crossing or a dangerous path ....that path was probably made for cars , large emergency vehicles, large constructiin vehicles or military vehicles.... that path was not made for cyclisrs or pedestrians. So youre rolling a loaded dice against your favour any time you go near paths like this without a tank of your own lol
If I wanted to travel such distances? Unless there is a 'no car policy' there and its blocked off ffrom all sides by authorities or Im travelling via a city bus or a train? Im not going. Sorry.
I cycled across Kansas when I was a teenager, in 1971 (yeah, I know, that was a long-ass time ago). I had no problem with cars or trucks. Some curious locals did ask me "why are you doing that?" and once I had to wait 20 minutes for a herd of cattle to cross the road. But that was a long time ago, when cycling was less popular, Kansas politics were pragmatic, the locals friendly, and road rage unheard of. Now, when I go there, people seem pissed off all the time and the state and local governments are malicious. Also, meth and rabid fundamentalism.
One of the best things my parents ever did was leave that state.
I did that ride during a family visit back, training for a ride from Los Angeles to Sonoma County that I ended up not doing. Instead, I got into cycling in the San Gabriels. Now, well past 60, I've started bike touring in Europe, where drivers are generally less inclined to kill you, though it does still happen. Also, there are car-free (with a few exceptions) cross-European cycle routes.
Dang man, there were only 3 billion humans on this planet when you did that.