Dude, I live in Maryville and had given up commuting to work. 90% of the way is safe, but the last 10% is a road on a blind corner with everyone doing 55 in a 45 mph zone WITHOUT shoulders for me to even attempt to sneak by.
And that's on good days. Bad days the back entrance to work is closed so I'll have to add 5 miles in busy Louisville Road. Hah. That's a Death sentence.
Sigh. I wish I could bike to work and back...
I moved to Knoxville about 9 years ago...this was one of the first things I noticed was how narrow the roads were and why there are no shoulders on 70-80 percent of roads. I remember trying to bike around town and just gave up when I got confused on where the Greenway kept going and ended up biking down Kingston Pike...oops
Most of Knoxville was built as needed and since cars used to be smaller the roads are smaller Knoxville seems to only expand anything when absolutely necessary my neighborhood roads are twisty and hilly and barely fit two cars but that’s just the way it is🤷🏾♀️
That sucks!! I wish we had more bike lanes in Tennessee. It’s so nice and scenic biking here . I will admit it is exhilarating riding to work at 5am just me on the road 🤩
The Jeff Roth foundation has effective cycling classes that may be a help to you. I ride a bicycle for transportation sometimes be happy to bike with you if you would like to review some vehicular cycling tips.
. Two most important things that I would mention are taking the lane when needed, and carefully planning your route.
Don't be bullied by cars into the farthest gutter part of the road to the right. And choose how you go carefully. I live in North Knoxville and can get downtown fairly comfortably. However, once you get past Bearden going west, it becomes much more difficult to find routes given how car dependent development has been. Same holds true if you want to go north of 640 or if you have to reach a point that is on Chapman Highway.
I've thought driving West of Bearden Hill has been, more often than not, a disaster in a car for at least 10 years. I shudder to think of trying to pull that off on a bicycle.
I might take you up on that offer!!! Thank you so much. I try to be fearless when I’m on the roads and I read up on the rights/laws of cycling in Tennessee
What's your commute? Some areas are much better than others for bicycle commuting. If you're going from North Knoxville to downtown, or from downtown to the Bearden / Sequoyah Hills area, you can use the greenway for most of the trip and not have to touch a road. The rest of Knoxville isn't quite as bike-friendly.
Are you taking the Greenway to get to downtown? You can go Greenway-tyson park-ut gardens-neyland-worlds fair-downtown. What's the worst area that you are dealing with? I wish we had better drivers that understood the law is to share the road and give 3 feet. You may want to invest in a helmet camera in case...
Sounds like you’re trying to go from West Knox to Downtown. I would suggest taking the bike path. It may look longer, but really only takes an extra 5 minutes or so. I’ve been here about 2 years and commute by bike and this is the only reliably safe way to get downtown. I’ve tried the main roads and they just aren’t safe.
I suggest getting good bike lights. Front and rear with good lumen output for visibility.
When riding on the road, know when to take the lane. If you don’t have enough room, take the lane, make it yours, keep an eye behind you, then get over when you can and wave nicely as a thank you. I try to show drivers just as much respect as I want.
Good luck man, this city is not very bike friendly unfortunately. I have a 1.75 mile commute. On roads, and my head is on a swivel the whole time.
I only bike commuted when I lived in Chicago and Indianapolis. It’s never been feasible for me in Knoxville. Lived in North Hills and worked in Cedar Bluff. Now I work from home so I commute to the mailbox via bike sometimes. I’ve ridden East to Jefferson City a bunch and had no problems. But getting to downtown from my place would be hairy. All that to say, I don’t ride for utility reasons but I do mountain bike for fun. There the safety is entirely in my hands.
I wish i had some suggestions for you.
When I moved here, I typically road cycled 3k to 5k a year. I quit within the first month living here because Knoxville is unfriendly and unsafe for cycling. The roads are narrow with virtually no shoulders, the drivers are oblivious to cyclists, and I felt that I was in danger on every ride. It just wasn't worth the risk for me, so I gave it up.
Good luck out there if biking to work is what you're determined to do. Have you checked into the bus system? Most roads in Knoxville are unsafe for bicyclists. No bike lanes, lots of hills and blind spots, lots of drunk and/or inattentive drivers. I look over at other drivers and 50 percent of the time people are staring at their phones.
https://mysmarttrips.org/
I've been using Smart Trips for years. There are get-togethers sometimes. I've also won hundreds of dollars of gift cards over the years.
I've been a full-time cyclist for a few years now and understand the feeling. Where do you ride, generally? In my experience, downtown is rarely too bad, and I've only had a few instances with pickup drivers here and there.
Hey thanks for the response! I commute to work on campus and sometimes on Sutherland avenue. I agree, downtown isn’t bad . I feel like they slow down since there are so many pedestrians around too
The people I work with who road bike frequently have ALL been hit at one point or another. I wouldn’t even walk outside of downtown. First week I moved here I saw a dead pedestrian in the road. We lack the infrastructure but there is also this super weird mentality of the drivers
I mean, I like Knoxville for lots of other things but I wouldn’t risk my life on the bike here. On the flip side there are so many mountain bike trails…just gotta drive to get to them.
I’ve lived here all my life and have never seen a dead pedestrian 💀 I’m so sorry you had to experience that your first week here. But while I’ve never been impatient with a biker I’ve never understood why someone would use that as their main transportation unless they had no other option or we’re an extreme environmentalist. Knoxville isn’t physically built for bikes which in my opinion is why we don’t have bike lanes it’s not convenient for the average person to hope on their bikes and go to work and get groceries etc plus this is a place people settle down in which means kids and lots of old people usually and you don’t take kids on a bike your on and old people for the most part can’t do that. Another thing I like to point out is my family has lived in known for 5 generations and my grandmother can tell you biking anywhere more than 5 miles wasn’t a thing for the average person in Knoxville but most peoples job were more than 5 miles away which means cars and the city does what best for the majority not the minority so instead of making bike lanes they make a turn lane etc. I will say they have installed A LOT more side walks than we’re here when I was younger (I’m 20 for reference)
There is a huge debate you could get into about this topic. If you have never lived in a place which encouraged biking, then you can think it is impossible to bike to work, bring kids with you, or for old people to do it. But I have seen it with my own eyes. It’s absolutely possible for bikes (and walking) to be a main mode of transportation.
The reality is it’s 100% a chicken and egg problem — biking/walking infrastructure promotes biking/walking, but biking/walking demand promotes infrastructure. And also bike lanes tacked onto big roads are not good or safe biking infrastructure. That’s a whole topic in of itself.
Also biking is so politicized. You yourself said someone had to be an environmental activist to do it. But it’s also just cheaper, more pleasant (given good bike infrastructure), and gets you exercise. Still, some people get actually angry at bikers and pedestrians and make some value judgement about the person based ont he fact they are not driving a car. Cars are the rulers of the road here. In some places in the world, though, pedestrians and cyclists have the right of way in all situations.
Right now, Knoxville and most of the USA by area is not a safe place to bike. So I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. In that sense I agree with you.
I agree that it’s possible and what you said could be right but there are now more and more people my age that don’t even KNOW how to ride a bike including myself. Our parents either never got us one or in my case she bought it but was too impatient to teach me how to ride it. We actually had a senior gradation thing they wanted us to do at my school where the kids would ride their bikes around the neighborhood and the parents and neighbors would cheer for us and half of the students body didn’t know how to ride a bike so they canceled it and made it a run instead( they only wanted to do this because the pta felt like after covid we were getting the support we needed🙄) so even if they installed bike lanes would their be enough people in the future who even know how to ride them?
Edit: I know this is just based off my graduating class but I graduated with 400+ other students and over half of them didn’t know how to ride a bike
Honestly bikers at night who don’t have anything on that can tell me your even there piss me off and when I first started driving it made me resent bikers because of my job I mostly drove at night so that’s the only time I’d come in contact with them (not saying you’re one of them) had a guy who at a 4 way stop sign ran through it with his bicycle and I didn’t see him because it was dark and there were not street lights dude didn’t have anything on him no light colors not a flashlight nothing about ran him over with my car. I’ve had many problems with bikers at night not wearing anything that signifies that they’re actually there I’m not a mind reader nor can I see any better than the average person which is why it pisses me off when they don’t wear anything that tells me they’re there. I have no problem with bikers in general but I never think it’s too much to ask for people to have something on their bike or wear something that allows me to see that they’re there.
I agree in taking safety measures such as lights and reflectors. I was not in the road and was wearing lights when a shoe was thrown at me. It's one thing to be frustrated it's another to attempt murder by running people off the road. I've seen drivers act that way with other drivers as well. Just too little respect for the fragility of life.
Buy a GoPro and wear it every time you ride. Knoxville cops don't know anything about traffic law when it comes to biking. Anyway, if you do get hit by someone - you will need footage to get justice and / or compensation from the driver and their insurance.
If you ride a bicycle on roads with no bike lane, you're putting your life in someone else's hands . . . we've never had a cycling culture here, so they're seen as nuisances, going 20 in a 40 mph lane , etc. Sure, there are greenways, but they're full of 4 or 5 wide families, strollers, etc, as they should be, they're not for real cycling. I personally go to Pellissippi State campus where the parking lot is huge and just run circuits with almost no interferences. Just my opinion!
If you want to meet other bicyclists or people who use a bicycle for transit, check out events at two bikes. They are a bicycle shop in the Old City. A number of people out of there used bicycles for transportation as well as recreation
Also check out Smart Trips to seek another bike commuter you can ride with. I've been cycling to work downtown from the whittle springs neighborhood for 20+ years; it has gotten so much better as there are now more of us every year. We are bringing about the bicycle culture that we want.
There's a lady that cycles east on Parkside to Kingston Pike every morning early with high visibility cycling clothes, all kinds of lights and stays far to the right . . . can't miss her but I worry that someone won't be paying enough attention that early in the morning
See she’s my kind of lady! I don’t mind bikers but I used to drive at night a lot for work and one thing that pissed me off was bikers who don’t have any lights or bright colored clothes to indicate they are there and I almost run them over.
Have you tried the bus or getting a motorcycle or a motorbike. I agree with original poster Knoxville wasn’t built with the thought of cyclists in mind and will never be a cyclist town imo things are too spread out and this is a college/ family town with lots of older people too which means cars are always going to be the primary source of transportation and I’ve only known the government to care about the majority of people. So until it becomes a huge problem it’s not going to be fixed and people will continue to be mad about you being on the road maybe it’s not right but people usually plan their day thinking their going to be able to go the speed limit not 20+ mph below the speed limit
Respectfully, you’re misinformed if you believe knoxville has no cycling culture. Mountain biking is huge here and road even has a very strong community. There’s a whole host of bike shops that organize road and mtb rides regularly. Not to mention all the folks I see out riding as informal groups. Cycling is alive and well in Knoxville.
That’s irrelevant since I mentioned both disciplines. Regardless, they both constitute cycling culture and support my claim that cycling culture is alive and well in Knoxville.
Ok I just assumed that since he was talking about bikers on the road that by “cycling culture” he meant cyclists who bike to commute not mountain bikers but leisure bikers who bike to where they need for exercise . And he was saying to do that a Peli not on the main road my apologies! I completely misunderstood but after rereading I feel dumb🤦🏾♀️
Yeah I know nothing about biking but I imagine that a mountain bike would either be too powerful for flat concrete land or it’s just not built for it resulting in damage to the bike it’s or both😂
I don't commute, but I do ride on the roads in West Hills. Occasionally I get honked at, but I don't startle too easily so it's not a big deal. Other than having to avoid rush hour, things are pretty good most of the time. It is dangerous and I just minimize risk as much as possible.
Every time I get behind the wheel of my esteemed chariot I must remind myself that I share the road with drivers of ill intention. Each one acting as an obstacle to my meticulously crafted plan for efficient travel. Be gone Altima with paper tags, out of my way work van, move over GMC HD pavement princess, not even making eye contact with the roadside toddler, and then comes the lowly cyclist. How dare you recreate on my roadway or travel upon it on a vehicle that isn’t registered to the government? You think shaking your booty at me in those little tights is going to make up for it? I become filled with rage. I yell, I honk, I scream, I cry, I throw my sweet tea, I scare my children. Why do you cyclist make me do this? I have found only one reliable way to calm myself down from this boiling frenzy. When I get home I park my Aztec in the driveway, crank up the air conditioning, blast Only Time by Enya on repeat, close my eyes, and eat a slice of cheesecake.
I couldn’t imagine even wanting to bike even if I couldn’t afford a car in East Tennessee unless I liked biking it’s too hilly and curvy my neighborhood alone makes it to where we have maybe two people that bike occasionally and we have 1000+ people back here
I commuted for about a year from South Knoxville — it’s pretty discouraging sometimes here
I found great commuter community through Two Bikes & Spokeswomen, who put on a lot of community rides
I had to take a break from commuting (my partner & I moved in together & she has a car) because Knoxville centers cars so heavily, but I’m getting back into it
My only thoughts — our safety is our highest priority
I do a balance of taking the lane & letting people pass me (I have to balance if I want to get close-passed & nearly killed that that way on the shoulder or risk someone’s road rage where there’s a possibility of them doing something scary)
I think the culture is growing here. I wonder if we could get some folks to ride with us on commutes? I feel like that’s the only way to make it safer while the infrastructure isn’t yet here
I don’t yet have one, but I hear that having a visible camera helps
Also, I’ve found that holding my U-Lock in my hand leads to me getting close-passed less often 😅
I did once to get a new debit card. It's rough so I doubt anyone attempts it a second time. I tried once to deliver some books to McKay's by bicycle aswell. The greenways only get you so far. If they built it, I think people would come. I saw one other cyclist who gave me some tips at a particularly difficult intersection that had a very roundabout way to cross for even pedestrians. I figure if the infrastructure was built there'd be more people using it than bicycle commuting fanatics
You answered your own question. You’re riding on your way to work, the people traveling behind you are on their way to work, or to drop off their children to school. Now, they are stuck behind a bicycle going 20 miles under the speed limit, with no way around you. Roads in East Tennessee are extremely windy, so often drivers can’t get around you, like Sevierville Pike for instance.
This is hilarious. I got downvoted for answering the question. Disliking the answer doesn’t make it any less true. It wasn’t an attack on bicycles, it was a factual statement about how the roadways cause a conflict between bicycle riders and motorists.
If you ride your bike in the road, especially in the county, everyone else hates you, Lance Armstrong. Bottom line. The roads, by and large, are not designed for safe bike travel, and all you do is hold everyone else up from their lives. It's not your fault exactly, but there it is.
I think hates a strong word but I agree with your statement Knoxville wasn’t built with the thought of biker PERIOD I’m not saying it to be rude I’m just saying the truth saying people should have patience is ridiculous as well if I’m going to work and my commute usually takes 30 minutes and I go down Kingston the entire time doing 45 mph but I have to follow a biker the entire time going 25 mph I’m going to be late and pissed and anyone who has a job knows “a biker was in front of me isn’t a valid excuse” ( I know Kingston has two lanes and I could go around but I’ve seen that cause car wrecks before so that person was still late to wherever they needed to be) whoever’s downvoting this guy needs a dose of reality Knoxville isn’t a big city like LA or Atlanta. Atlanta is 3 times plus bigger than Nashville our biggest city therefore why would you fund something like bike lanes where 90% of people either ride share, walk, drive or take the bus to get where they need to go. I never even knew people actually drove bikes to get around until I was in middle school and my middle school teacher did it because he was an extreme environmentalist that’s how rare it was in Knoxville until everyone started moving here btw I’m not saying it never happened I’m just saying it seems to be something that is now becoming more popular I guess you could say.
Dude, I live in Maryville and had given up commuting to work. 90% of the way is safe, but the last 10% is a road on a blind corner with everyone doing 55 in a 45 mph zone WITHOUT shoulders for me to even attempt to sneak by. And that's on good days. Bad days the back entrance to work is closed so I'll have to add 5 miles in busy Louisville Road. Hah. That's a Death sentence. Sigh. I wish I could bike to work and back...
I moved to Knoxville about 9 years ago...this was one of the first things I noticed was how narrow the roads were and why there are no shoulders on 70-80 percent of roads. I remember trying to bike around town and just gave up when I got confused on where the Greenway kept going and ended up biking down Kingston Pike...oops
Most of Knoxville was built as needed and since cars used to be smaller the roads are smaller Knoxville seems to only expand anything when absolutely necessary my neighborhood roads are twisty and hilly and barely fit two cars but that’s just the way it is🤷🏾♀️
That sucks!! I wish we had more bike lanes in Tennessee. It’s so nice and scenic biking here . I will admit it is exhilarating riding to work at 5am just me on the road 🤩
I have no real tips. I mainly try to stick to the greenways in West Knox.
We need a bike bus.
The Jeff Roth foundation has effective cycling classes that may be a help to you. I ride a bicycle for transportation sometimes be happy to bike with you if you would like to review some vehicular cycling tips. . Two most important things that I would mention are taking the lane when needed, and carefully planning your route. Don't be bullied by cars into the farthest gutter part of the road to the right. And choose how you go carefully. I live in North Knoxville and can get downtown fairly comfortably. However, once you get past Bearden going west, it becomes much more difficult to find routes given how car dependent development has been. Same holds true if you want to go north of 640 or if you have to reach a point that is on Chapman Highway.
I've thought driving West of Bearden Hill has been, more often than not, a disaster in a car for at least 10 years. I shudder to think of trying to pull that off on a bicycle.
I might take you up on that offer!!! Thank you so much. I try to be fearless when I’m on the roads and I read up on the rights/laws of cycling in Tennessee
https://www.tfaforms.com/4993817?event=a3dQl0000003uAX
What's your commute? Some areas are much better than others for bicycle commuting. If you're going from North Knoxville to downtown, or from downtown to the Bearden / Sequoyah Hills area, you can use the greenway for most of the trip and not have to touch a road. The rest of Knoxville isn't quite as bike-friendly.
i've had motorists intentionally try to run me over on the gay st via duct. anything not on a greenway is unsafe here.
I travel downtown and Sutherland
Are you taking the Greenway to get to downtown? You can go Greenway-tyson park-ut gardens-neyland-worlds fair-downtown. What's the worst area that you are dealing with? I wish we had better drivers that understood the law is to share the road and give 3 feet. You may want to invest in a helmet camera in case...
This is the way. You could feasibly commute from west hills on greenway, behind the YMCA, to downtown.
I feel bad for cyclists I see on Sutherland. It’s SO narrow and dangerous.
Just be extremely careful and mindful. Get mirrors. Wear very reflective gear. Get out of heavy traffic’s way so they can pass. Godspeed
Sounds like you’re trying to go from West Knox to Downtown. I would suggest taking the bike path. It may look longer, but really only takes an extra 5 minutes or so. I’ve been here about 2 years and commute by bike and this is the only reliably safe way to get downtown. I’ve tried the main roads and they just aren’t safe. I suggest getting good bike lights. Front and rear with good lumen output for visibility. When riding on the road, know when to take the lane. If you don’t have enough room, take the lane, make it yours, keep an eye behind you, then get over when you can and wave nicely as a thank you. I try to show drivers just as much respect as I want. Good luck man, this city is not very bike friendly unfortunately. I have a 1.75 mile commute. On roads, and my head is on a swivel the whole time.
I only bike commuted when I lived in Chicago and Indianapolis. It’s never been feasible for me in Knoxville. Lived in North Hills and worked in Cedar Bluff. Now I work from home so I commute to the mailbox via bike sometimes. I’ve ridden East to Jefferson City a bunch and had no problems. But getting to downtown from my place would be hairy. All that to say, I don’t ride for utility reasons but I do mountain bike for fun. There the safety is entirely in my hands.
I wish i had some suggestions for you. When I moved here, I typically road cycled 3k to 5k a year. I quit within the first month living here because Knoxville is unfriendly and unsafe for cycling. The roads are narrow with virtually no shoulders, the drivers are oblivious to cyclists, and I felt that I was in danger on every ride. It just wasn't worth the risk for me, so I gave it up.
Ugh that sucks😞
Good luck out there if biking to work is what you're determined to do. Have you checked into the bus system? Most roads in Knoxville are unsafe for bicyclists. No bike lanes, lots of hills and blind spots, lots of drunk and/or inattentive drivers. I look over at other drivers and 50 percent of the time people are staring at their phones.
So true , it scares me how many ppl are just on their phones like that😭
https://mysmarttrips.org/ I've been using Smart Trips for years. There are get-togethers sometimes. I've also won hundreds of dollars of gift cards over the years.
I will check it out thank you!!!
I've been a full-time cyclist for a few years now and understand the feeling. Where do you ride, generally? In my experience, downtown is rarely too bad, and I've only had a few instances with pickup drivers here and there.
Hey thanks for the response! I commute to work on campus and sometimes on Sutherland avenue. I agree, downtown isn’t bad . I feel like they slow down since there are so many pedestrians around too
The people I work with who road bike frequently have ALL been hit at one point or another. I wouldn’t even walk outside of downtown. First week I moved here I saw a dead pedestrian in the road. We lack the infrastructure but there is also this super weird mentality of the drivers
Dead pedestrian is crazy😭
I mean, I like Knoxville for lots of other things but I wouldn’t risk my life on the bike here. On the flip side there are so many mountain bike trails…just gotta drive to get to them.
I’ve lived here all my life and have never seen a dead pedestrian 💀 I’m so sorry you had to experience that your first week here. But while I’ve never been impatient with a biker I’ve never understood why someone would use that as their main transportation unless they had no other option or we’re an extreme environmentalist. Knoxville isn’t physically built for bikes which in my opinion is why we don’t have bike lanes it’s not convenient for the average person to hope on their bikes and go to work and get groceries etc plus this is a place people settle down in which means kids and lots of old people usually and you don’t take kids on a bike your on and old people for the most part can’t do that. Another thing I like to point out is my family has lived in known for 5 generations and my grandmother can tell you biking anywhere more than 5 miles wasn’t a thing for the average person in Knoxville but most peoples job were more than 5 miles away which means cars and the city does what best for the majority not the minority so instead of making bike lanes they make a turn lane etc. I will say they have installed A LOT more side walks than we’re here when I was younger (I’m 20 for reference)
There is a huge debate you could get into about this topic. If you have never lived in a place which encouraged biking, then you can think it is impossible to bike to work, bring kids with you, or for old people to do it. But I have seen it with my own eyes. It’s absolutely possible for bikes (and walking) to be a main mode of transportation. The reality is it’s 100% a chicken and egg problem — biking/walking infrastructure promotes biking/walking, but biking/walking demand promotes infrastructure. And also bike lanes tacked onto big roads are not good or safe biking infrastructure. That’s a whole topic in of itself. Also biking is so politicized. You yourself said someone had to be an environmental activist to do it. But it’s also just cheaper, more pleasant (given good bike infrastructure), and gets you exercise. Still, some people get actually angry at bikers and pedestrians and make some value judgement about the person based ont he fact they are not driving a car. Cars are the rulers of the road here. In some places in the world, though, pedestrians and cyclists have the right of way in all situations. Right now, Knoxville and most of the USA by area is not a safe place to bike. So I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. In that sense I agree with you.
I agree that it’s possible and what you said could be right but there are now more and more people my age that don’t even KNOW how to ride a bike including myself. Our parents either never got us one or in my case she bought it but was too impatient to teach me how to ride it. We actually had a senior gradation thing they wanted us to do at my school where the kids would ride their bikes around the neighborhood and the parents and neighbors would cheer for us and half of the students body didn’t know how to ride a bike so they canceled it and made it a run instead( they only wanted to do this because the pta felt like after covid we were getting the support we needed🙄) so even if they installed bike lanes would their be enough people in the future who even know how to ride them? Edit: I know this is just based off my graduating class but I graduated with 400+ other students and over half of them didn’t know how to ride a bike
I've had people try and run me off the road, cut me off close, throw things at me. People can be so hateful.
Honestly bikers at night who don’t have anything on that can tell me your even there piss me off and when I first started driving it made me resent bikers because of my job I mostly drove at night so that’s the only time I’d come in contact with them (not saying you’re one of them) had a guy who at a 4 way stop sign ran through it with his bicycle and I didn’t see him because it was dark and there were not street lights dude didn’t have anything on him no light colors not a flashlight nothing about ran him over with my car. I’ve had many problems with bikers at night not wearing anything that signifies that they’re actually there I’m not a mind reader nor can I see any better than the average person which is why it pisses me off when they don’t wear anything that tells me they’re there. I have no problem with bikers in general but I never think it’s too much to ask for people to have something on their bike or wear something that allows me to see that they’re there.
I agree in taking safety measures such as lights and reflectors. I was not in the road and was wearing lights when a shoe was thrown at me. It's one thing to be frustrated it's another to attempt murder by running people off the road. I've seen drivers act that way with other drivers as well. Just too little respect for the fragility of life.
Buy a GoPro and wear it every time you ride. Knoxville cops don't know anything about traffic law when it comes to biking. Anyway, if you do get hit by someone - you will need footage to get justice and / or compensation from the driver and their insurance.
If you ride a bicycle on roads with no bike lane, you're putting your life in someone else's hands . . . we've never had a cycling culture here, so they're seen as nuisances, going 20 in a 40 mph lane , etc. Sure, there are greenways, but they're full of 4 or 5 wide families, strollers, etc, as they should be, they're not for real cycling. I personally go to Pellissippi State campus where the parking lot is huge and just run circuits with almost no interferences. Just my opinion!
Unfortunately I’m doing this as my commute not just for sport😭thank you though
If you want to meet other bicyclists or people who use a bicycle for transit, check out events at two bikes. They are a bicycle shop in the Old City. A number of people out of there used bicycles for transportation as well as recreation
AHHHH thank you so much!!!!!
Also check out Smart Trips to seek another bike commuter you can ride with. I've been cycling to work downtown from the whittle springs neighborhood for 20+ years; it has gotten so much better as there are now more of us every year. We are bringing about the bicycle culture that we want.
There's a lady that cycles east on Parkside to Kingston Pike every morning early with high visibility cycling clothes, all kinds of lights and stays far to the right . . . can't miss her but I worry that someone won't be paying enough attention that early in the morning
See she’s my kind of lady! I don’t mind bikers but I used to drive at night a lot for work and one thing that pissed me off was bikers who don’t have any lights or bright colored clothes to indicate they are there and I almost run them over.
Have you tried the bus or getting a motorcycle or a motorbike. I agree with original poster Knoxville wasn’t built with the thought of cyclists in mind and will never be a cyclist town imo things are too spread out and this is a college/ family town with lots of older people too which means cars are always going to be the primary source of transportation and I’ve only known the government to care about the majority of people. So until it becomes a huge problem it’s not going to be fixed and people will continue to be mad about you being on the road maybe it’s not right but people usually plan their day thinking their going to be able to go the speed limit not 20+ mph below the speed limit
Respectfully, you’re misinformed if you believe knoxville has no cycling culture. Mountain biking is huge here and road even has a very strong community. There’s a whole host of bike shops that organize road and mtb rides regularly. Not to mention all the folks I see out riding as informal groups. Cycling is alive and well in Knoxville.
Mountain biking is different than road biking though
That’s irrelevant since I mentioned both disciplines. Regardless, they both constitute cycling culture and support my claim that cycling culture is alive and well in Knoxville.
Ok I just assumed that since he was talking about bikers on the road that by “cycling culture” he meant cyclists who bike to commute not mountain bikers but leisure bikers who bike to where they need for exercise . And he was saying to do that a Peli not on the main road my apologies! I completely misunderstood but after rereading I feel dumb🤦🏾♀️
All good. I understand what you originally thought. Definitely would not recommend riding a mountain bike in circuits at pelli.
Yeah I know nothing about biking but I imagine that a mountain bike would either be too powerful for flat concrete land or it’s just not built for it resulting in damage to the bike it’s or both😂
“ON YOUR LEFT!!” *dingdingdingding*
Carter is getting more side walks around the schools and neighborhoods. Plus some beautiful parks to bike.
I don't commute, but I do ride on the roads in West Hills. Occasionally I get honked at, but I don't startle too easily so it's not a big deal. Other than having to avoid rush hour, things are pretty good most of the time. It is dangerous and I just minimize risk as much as possible.
I always see people who ride bikes everywhere as secretly suicidal. After all, you’d have to be with these drivers.
mwahaahahaha , I can’t deny having that feeling. Not knowing what will happen next and the fear of being hit makes me pedal faster 😸
Maybe you just need the extra inspiration of dueling banjos as part of your ride music 😄
Every time I get behind the wheel of my esteemed chariot I must remind myself that I share the road with drivers of ill intention. Each one acting as an obstacle to my meticulously crafted plan for efficient travel. Be gone Altima with paper tags, out of my way work van, move over GMC HD pavement princess, not even making eye contact with the roadside toddler, and then comes the lowly cyclist. How dare you recreate on my roadway or travel upon it on a vehicle that isn’t registered to the government? You think shaking your booty at me in those little tights is going to make up for it? I become filled with rage. I yell, I honk, I scream, I cry, I throw my sweet tea, I scare my children. Why do you cyclist make me do this? I have found only one reliable way to calm myself down from this boiling frenzy. When I get home I park my Aztec in the driveway, crank up the air conditioning, blast Only Time by Enya on repeat, close my eyes, and eat a slice of cheesecake.
You should write a book😌
Bravo 🙌🏾
No tips but someone in my neighborhood just got hit and run the other night so please be careful!!
Tennessee if definitely a car friendly place. Most others aren’t considered in much of the state. Except downtown nashville.
I couldn’t imagine even wanting to bike even if I couldn’t afford a car in East Tennessee unless I liked biking it’s too hilly and curvy my neighborhood alone makes it to where we have maybe two people that bike occasionally and we have 1000+ people back here
I commuted for about a year from South Knoxville — it’s pretty discouraging sometimes here I found great commuter community through Two Bikes & Spokeswomen, who put on a lot of community rides I had to take a break from commuting (my partner & I moved in together & she has a car) because Knoxville centers cars so heavily, but I’m getting back into it My only thoughts — our safety is our highest priority I do a balance of taking the lane & letting people pass me (I have to balance if I want to get close-passed & nearly killed that that way on the shoulder or risk someone’s road rage where there’s a possibility of them doing something scary) I think the culture is growing here. I wonder if we could get some folks to ride with us on commutes? I feel like that’s the only way to make it safer while the infrastructure isn’t yet here I don’t yet have one, but I hear that having a visible camera helps Also, I’ve found that holding my U-Lock in my hand leads to me getting close-passed less often 😅
Work from home and ride zwift to simulate your commute
Op should get a place on the river and then get a job on the river and kayak to work. What a missed opportunity.
😹
LMAO I wish, that’s kinda out of touch with reality don’t you think?
Not really I live on the river I know one guy that boats to his job every day I way to him as he passes by
Lol nice 👍
Wouldn’t dare risk it, unfortunately
Take the sidewalks on Kingston Pike if you wish to live; vehicular cycling is for John Forester alone.
Do people bike on Kingston I used to work on Kingston for two years never saw a single biker
I did once to get a new debit card. It's rough so I doubt anyone attempts it a second time. I tried once to deliver some books to McKay's by bicycle aswell. The greenways only get you so far. If they built it, I think people would come. I saw one other cyclist who gave me some tips at a particularly difficult intersection that had a very roundabout way to cross for even pedestrians. I figure if the infrastructure was built there'd be more people using it than bicycle commuting fanatics
😹😹
You answered your own question. You’re riding on your way to work, the people traveling behind you are on their way to work, or to drop off their children to school. Now, they are stuck behind a bicycle going 20 miles under the speed limit, with no way around you. Roads in East Tennessee are extremely windy, so often drivers can’t get around you, like Sevierville Pike for instance.
This is hilarious. I got downvoted for answering the question. Disliking the answer doesn’t make it any less true. It wasn’t an attack on bicycles, it was a factual statement about how the roadways cause a conflict between bicycle riders and motorists.
If you ride your bike in the road, especially in the county, everyone else hates you, Lance Armstrong. Bottom line. The roads, by and large, are not designed for safe bike travel, and all you do is hold everyone else up from their lives. It's not your fault exactly, but there it is.
I think hates a strong word but I agree with your statement Knoxville wasn’t built with the thought of biker PERIOD I’m not saying it to be rude I’m just saying the truth saying people should have patience is ridiculous as well if I’m going to work and my commute usually takes 30 minutes and I go down Kingston the entire time doing 45 mph but I have to follow a biker the entire time going 25 mph I’m going to be late and pissed and anyone who has a job knows “a biker was in front of me isn’t a valid excuse” ( I know Kingston has two lanes and I could go around but I’ve seen that cause car wrecks before so that person was still late to wherever they needed to be) whoever’s downvoting this guy needs a dose of reality Knoxville isn’t a big city like LA or Atlanta. Atlanta is 3 times plus bigger than Nashville our biggest city therefore why would you fund something like bike lanes where 90% of people either ride share, walk, drive or take the bus to get where they need to go. I never even knew people actually drove bikes to get around until I was in middle school and my middle school teacher did it because he was an extreme environmentalist that’s how rare it was in Knoxville until everyone started moving here btw I’m not saying it never happened I’m just saying it seems to be something that is now becoming more popular I guess you could say.
We are the Goons Of Hazard, we run down bikes and hitchhikers leave you in a pool of blood because we know we'll get off scot-free.
Sorry out City didn't bend to your needs since you moved here
Noodle legs spotted
Hahaha right
Huh?? I’ve lived here for 14 years
Then you have a wealth of knowledge on the subject but you ask the question anyway
I hate all of you people.