Bicycling from suburbs to Vanderbilt

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by aaronmidnight

Hm. You could probably bike to Vandy from Crieve Hall (I think there are some decent roads with bike lanes), but I don't believe you'll find any lots more than 1/3 acre or so.

In Brentwood, houses on 1 acre lots for $500 K are kind of hard to find, but you can probably find an older home (1960s - 70s) in 'vintage' condition, especially near the highway (I-65). It would be convenient, but perhaps noise and air pollution.

I don't think cycling from Brentwood to Vandy would be much fun or scenic. Google Maps says it's about 13 miles and about 75 minutes, but I think the route they suggest (Granny White Pike) would be suicidal for a cyclist. It's a very narrow, windy and hilly road. It's scary enough driving it much less cycling. Don't think I've ever seen a cyclist on it.

There's an alternate route through Belle Meade, but that takes 90 minutes to cycle and might have less traffic, but I still don't think you'd have any bike lanes until you hit Belle Meade Boulevard.

As others have suggested, for cycling you're probably much better off in Bellevue or - better yet - someplace closer in like Sylvan Park (although you're looking at much smaller lots there). East Nashville might be a good choice for biking to Downtown, but I'm not sure it would be fun to cycle through Downtown every day back and forth to Vandy.

Good luck! Nashville is trying to increase walk/bike infrastructure, but we've got a long way to go to make it workable!

I'm not a Nashville resident, so what do Nashville residents think about bicycling 13 hilly miles in the heat and humidity of the region? Wouldn't the guy show up to work a sweaty, stanky mess?

[N.Cal]

Originally Posted by usroute10

I'm not a Nashville resident, so what do Nashville residents think about bicycling 13 hilly miles in the heat and humidity of the region? Wouldn't the guy show up to work a sweaty, stanky mess?

They have showers.....

[artemis]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

They have showers.....

Not where I work. PU

[bet1550]

Thanks for the advice. We drove up Franklin road and it looked like it would be ok until you get to the Green Hills area but then maybe he could cut over to some side streets.

And yes, there are showers.

[aaronmidnight]

Still think it's a bad idea.

I work from home so I don't deal with morning/evening rush, but I can tell you that people routinely drive 50+ mph on Franklin Road and I rarely/never see cyclists on the road north of Moores Lane.

(Even then, I usually just see the cyclings during the day on the weekends - i.e., cycling for exercise, not commuting.)

If I never see them, I can't imagine other people will be looking for them. So your husband will be cycling away on the side of the road while SUVs whiz by, their drivers distracted by cell phones, GPS, etc.

And what about wintertime? Sunset this time of year is 4:30 p.m. So your husband will be cycling in the dark alongside heavy, fast-moving traffic.

Obviously, your/his call, and I totally sympathize with the designer for a healthy and low-environmental-impact way of getting around, I just think cycling from Brentwood to Vandy is unsafe for cyclists and drivers (who will see him last minute and swerve out of the way into another lane and/or oncoming traffic).

I still say Bellevue is a *much* better option.

Check out the Greenway maps - Interactive Maps | Greenways For Nashville