How do you all pick your routes?

[Tristan]

We have both really bad roads around here, and some some roads/paths too. Do you have any paved rail trails? For the long runs where you want to focus on the distance and not worry about the soles wearing to bloody pulp I hit the rail trails. There are two close by here, one is 13.5 miles paved, the other is about the same but only 8 miles of it are paved, and when I get up to more extreme distances I could even connect the two together just have to cut across a couple miles of city streets between the end of one and the start of the other.

My road is rough eroded pavement, and pretty much all connecting roads to it are chipseal (particularly bad right now since two of them they re-chipped n sealed this year). But parallel to my road a couple miles across each way run two main roads that are fairly recently repaved and smooth. So I have a little of everything. And I cant usually handle my long runs 100% bare if I am running around here on the roads. And pretty much all loops I can make from my house involve the smooth highway in the middle, and going from that back to chipseal near the end is tough on my soles. So I often carry my huaraches. I dont go back and forth, as I rarely end on smooth stuff. I can take the rough stuff at first so I go bare as long as I can then towards the end when I get into the rougher stuff again I put them on.

 

[scedastic]

The chip sealing used to be just part of the process and after a while the road would be made smoother; or, they wouldn't do it SO often and it would have time to wear down during the year. It seems like they are doing it more often AND using something that just stays pointy! hmph!

Yep, same issue here lately. In general, I actually like the one last mile of well worn chip seal in my area, and find it nicer than sidewalk concrete and very doable barefoot. I ran a 5k bf this summer on somewhat rougher but well worn chip seal, which was fine (except for avoiding the gravel chunks), not a thrill, but also no problem. The other country roads with worn chip seal for whatever reason only get worn down nicely in some places, and keep lots of gravel towards the sides. Gravel on top of hard pavement is not fun, but, well, tolerable if I can pick around it.

However, this new stuff with the black coating that makes the road perma-pointy is happening here in the midwest as well and it's UNPLEASANT.
You couldn't pay me to run it bf and it's not smoothing out with time.

 

[happysongbird]

However, this new stuff with the black coating that makes the road perma-pointy is happening here in the midwest as well and it's UNPLEASANT.

Sounds like you know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't have it everywhere yet, but they seem like they are trying!

 

[happysongbird]

We have both really bad roads around here, and some some roads/paths too. Do you have any paved rail trails? For the long runs where you want to focus on the distance and not worry about the soles wearing to bloody pulp I hit the rail trails. There are two close by here, one is 13.5 miles paved, the other is about the same but only 8 miles of it are paved, and when I get up to more extreme distances I could even connect the two together just have to cut across a couple miles of city streets between the end of one and the start of the other.

My road is rough eroded pavement, and pretty much all connecting roads to it are chipseal (particularly bad right now since two of them they re-chipped n sealed this year). But parallel to my road a couple miles across each way run two main roads that are fairly recently repaved and smooth. So I have a little of everything. And I cant usually handle my long runs 100% bare if I am running around here on the roads. And pretty much all loops I can make from my house involve the smooth highway in the middle, and going from that back to chipseal near the end is tough on my soles. So I often carry my huaraches. I dont go back and forth, as I rarely end on smooth stuff. I can take the rough stuff at first so I go bare as long as I can then towards the end when I get into the rougher stuff again I put them on.

Sounds similar to what I have been finding myself doing. It's good to hear how everyone deals with it.