+ Biking in Greenville
Etiquette
Around town, bike traffic is light and unstressed, with almost no one bothering to use (or really needing to use) hand signals. Cars are largely patient and friendly, and pedestrians seemed to be aware of their surroundings. On the Swamp Rabbit rail trail, there is a mix of roadies exercising at 20 mph and children toodling along on scooters at 0.5 mph. In both cases, you don’t really need to worry much about etiquette. Just remember to smile and say “hi” to everyone you pass and you’ll fit right in.
Safety
A front white light is legally required, as is a red rear reflector and we could not find any helmet law. On some of the outlying roads, there was faster traffic (often of the gigantic diesel pickup variety), and no shoulder to speak of. Those roads are easily avoided, however, with some care and google mapping. Downtown roads were mostly well designed for humane speeds and clear sight lines. We found biking around town to be stress-free, safe, and easy.
Security
Greenville appears to have lower theft rates than average but still lock your bike up during the day and definitely u-lock it if leaving out overnight.
Greenville Culture
The bike culture in Greenville seems pretty new. There is a well-developed road bike culture, with spandex and drop bars popping up regularly, but the transportation biking scene is less well established. Non-racing bikes are mostly a mix of fat tired cruisers, 3 speed city bikes, and repurposed mountain bikes. Bike shops we visited had a properly diverse and useful set of bikes for sale, hopefully setting the stage for more and more people opting to do normal daily things by bike.
Explore Jordan Rumsey's favorite culinary spots downtown and off the Swamp Rabbit Trail.