Safe bike route to work?

[gdborton]

Hello,

Been lurking for the past month, and based on what I've been reading I've decided to try out biking to/from work.  The only problem is that if I were to ride on the road (which is obviously the encouraged behavior), I'll need to cross a 6/7 lane highway 3 times with no crosswalk/bikepath on my way home, with congested intersections and bumper to bumper traffic.

Here is the path I'm thinking of taking.  The major problem point being 96th St. and Hague on the way back.
http://goo.gl/maps/29q5x

A coworker suggested cutting across Hague early, riding against traffic on the shoulder (outside lane ends so it is fairly empty), then taking the southern sidewalk while on 96th.  I know general advise is to follow traffic laws, but I wouldn't feel safe riding on the road there (or on 82nd).  Is this a good idea?

[jpo]

Note that I'm not an experienced biker.

What about something like http://goo.gl/maps/hKNUD? Hop the train tracks and stay on the sidewalk on 82nd as there are no driveways except at the bank. When you cross 82nd, dismount and walk across as a pedestrian. Also on Hague it looks like you could cut across the parking lots of several businesses to get to 86th - not sure if that's safer or more dangerous though.

[gdborton]

Thanks for the reply!  I'm not worried about riding on the road except for the 96/82 stretches, so the parking lots aren't necessary.  Looks like either way I'd be forced to take the sidewalk against traffic.

[rtrnow]

If there is a sidewalk, use it. Looking at that area I doubt there are any pedestrians on the sidewalks anyway. There is one stretch of my commute where I use a sidewalk bc of a large busy street. You'll also find the more you bike the more comfortable you'll get on the roads.

[galaxie]

Another option (doubles your biking time to 30min, though): http://goo.gl/maps/P0i6f
At 106th, the highway goes over the street (there's no exit there).  I think going straight through the 96th & Hague intersection might be easier than having to make a left turn at it.  But then, My commute is 50+ minutes, so I wouldn't mind if it were 30.  I'm not sure if you are looking for that extra exercise.

Both 96th and 82nd have sidewalks at the points where they cross the highway.  I agree with rtrnow -- no one is likely to be walking on them, so you can probably bike on them without much trouble.  Then walk your bike across at 96th and Hague.

[Donovan]

Holy crap a guy from the Indy area! I have to drive that fracking stretch of highway every week.

I would stick with your original idea honestly. In my experience 82nd street is far worse than 96th during rush hour (or any time of the day, really) thanks to the fact that the mall is on it to the west.  So go with the nice right-turn filled route one your way to work, then on the way back use the south side bridge to get over the highway.

However, I don't know if you should go against traffic on Hague on the way home.  It's generally more dangerous if anything were to go wrong thanks to the greater difference in velocity between you and the oncoming cars.  Instead, just go with traffic until you reach Shane Co's entrance, and cross the street there during a lull in cars to get to the adjacent parking lot and the sidewalk across the highway.  You may have to weave between cars stuck at the light, though.

You'll have to be careful crossing the south-bound highway entrance after you cross the bridge (should probably do that bit on foot), but after that it should be smooth sailing.

The route galaxie suggested may be safer, but it's so far out of the way that it would be harder to stick with I think. Especially on cruddy days.

[gdborton]

I was planning on crossing Hague at Castlegate as there is a light there.  I may have to play it day by day as the traffic is usually packed well past Shane Co. around 5.

[ch12]

Like Donovan, I'm happy to see another person from Indianapolis. I would go with the 96th street route because 82/86 is insane. Galaxie's route might be safer, but it adds so much distance to your commute that I think it would be hard to stick with.

EDIT: I notice that you end up near Roche. My cousin works for Roche, but he lives in Fishers. I wish that he would become a Mustachian. Part of the reason why I want to reach FI early is because he's told me horror stories about corporate America.

[gdborton]

~90 views and 2 other Indy commenters... small world :)

I'm sort of in a unique position, I'm a software developer (working as a web developer) pretty fresh out of college.... The bureaucratic stuff that you normally see in the corporate world doesn't really apply to me.  Most of my work is "I want x feature, go live by y date" so not really much room for hell there.  Also I've got to say working at Roche has been really nice for the year that I've been here.

[remaofaes]

I'm very much a vehicular style cyclist, and I think that's how I'd ride that commute. The left turn from Hague to 96 looks like the toughest part. Just make eye contact and signal, be assertive and get in that 1st of the 3 left hand turn lanes. You probably get a green arrow there.
Those areas where the cars are exiting 96st to Rt69, is where I'd make sure I was riding right on the white line between the left most straight lane and the exiting lane. Maybe ride the sidewalk over that bridge if there isn't much of a bike lane. Can't tell from the maps. Anyway, good luck!

[ch12]

@gdborton When he first got hired, he was pretty happy. Roche has fairly good benefits. It's mostly as he's gotten promoted that he's had to deal with strange things from his bosses. And you're right that your experience varies greatly from what he does. He started out as an engineer, but then moved up. He describes his work as "prison with a paycheck" which makes me a little concerned.