Bike Riding in Cary... good for it? (Raleigh, Apex: homes, neighborhoods) - Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary - North Carolina (NC) -The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

Irvinegal · 06-09-2007, 04:42 PM

Are there many dedicated bike paths in Cary (off the road... completely separate bike lanes)? We're avid cyclists. Thanks.

NewUser · 06-09-2007, 05:24 PM

Lots of greenways! Cary has one of the most extensive network of bike and walking paths in the area. Here is a link to their map. Not only that, but the Black Creek greenway links into Umstead State Park, which then links in to a Raleigh greenway which will take you all the way to the museum district.

http://www.townofcary.org/depts/dsdept/P&Z/bicycleplan/bicyclemap.pdf (broken link)

http://www.newsobserver.com/content/lifestyles/story_graphics/20060817_greenway_main.pdf (broken link)

Also, Umstead State Park has a network of mountain bike trails that is supposedly very nice. TORC (Triangle Off-Road Cyclists) just had a "fat tire festival" there this weekend.

TORC - Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (http://www.torc-nc.org/home.shtml - broken link)

That's probably the main thing that I'm going to miss when we move out of Cary next week.

jln69 · 06-09-2007, 09:28 PM

Yes. I agree with NewUser above. They are great places for biking. Some neighborhoods and road have bicycle lanes.

Cary also has the designation "Bicyle Friendly Community". This is given by the League of American Bicyclists. Only a handful of places have this designation throughout the country.

flagstaffgal · 06-09-2007, 10:53 PM

After I saw you comment about Cary being a Bike Friendly Community I decided to check it out as I live in Flagstaff, Az and we are. As I am looking for a second home in Cary area I was quite interested.

I just didn't see them on the list I saw. Am I missing something. Were they on and removed or could they have recieved the designation and just are not listed yet?

Oh I just noticed this is a 2006 list on their website and not 2007.

I will have to contact them as it would be nice if they had a current list on their website.

Linda
Wow I see Cary had the designation before Flagstaff that has had biking lanes for a very long time. Glad to see Cary is so bike friendly.

flagstaffgal · 06-09-2007, 11:01 PM

I think I had too much fresh air today and tired.

There was a link at the bottom to a map and full list.

Thanks again.

As I have a son with Asperger's that will not drive I need to have my homes in areas that are bike friendly so he doesn't lose his independence.

Linda

alice_61 · 06-10-2007, 08:23 AM

Cary won the Bronze award in an earlier year.

OmegaBaby · 06-10-2007, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irvinegal

Are there many dedicated bike paths in Cary (off the road... completely separate bike lanes)? We're avid cyclists. Thanks.

FYI....asking if Cary has bike paths is like asking whether it ever snows in Buffalo, NY.

J_Lurk · 06-10-2007, 02:55 PM

I would hesitate to give Cary quite as glowing a recommendation as you've gotten so far. I grew up in the Triangle and then lived in Minnesota and the western U.S. Biking here is MUCH better than it was, but it still is nothing like as nice as it is in the western part of the U.S. If the roads are not designated bike lanes then they don't have enough of a shoulder to bike safely. Many of the roads with bike lanes don't connect to each other. Sadly, this area has a history of disliking bicyclists (google G105 and bicyclists to see the worst of it) though it is getting better.

I live right by the Black Creek Greenway, and it is nice but the whole connecting path is about 12 miles. The American Tobacco Trail is starting to get in that range too. It is nothing like the kind of distance I used to be able to bike safely and entirely in bike lanes /trails in Minnesota. I also can't get to the Black Creek Greenway safely; to get there I'd have to use both roads with bike paths and ones with two lanes and no shoulder.

I will say that the area is improving a lot, and working to improve a lot, but I just wanted to give you realistic expectations. The Black Creek Greenway is the best path, not an average path. It, and the whole greenway system, are multi-use so great for walking but you can't risk biking very fast. I love being back in the Triangle, and I love this area, but I miss the bicycling opportunities I had other places.

Tracy_Santrock · 06-10-2007, 03:00 PM

If you like organized rides there are a couple of different rides that you might want to pick-up in the area.

1. Cycling Spoken Here has a shop in Cary and also one in Apex. The Apex rides are a bit more rural and go around the Jordan Lake area. The rides range from 15mph to 20mph+. The rides range in length from 90 minutes to 50Miles + depending on the season.

2. http://spincycle.com (broken link) in Cary also has rides but I don't have their schedule.

mkal · 06-16-2007, 07:32 AM

That's great to hear. Bike paths!
My husband and i are relocating to RTP in a few months. We have been in Ottawa, Canada for over 2years now. Bike trails in Ottawa is fantastic. Infact, they close sections of the downtown on sunday (about 6 hours), so that people can ride their bikes around the Ottawa river and Rideau canal.