Touring - Why ride a bike thousands of miles instead of drive?

Sometimes for me it's hard to articulate, especially after a long day. But I think it has to do with how immediate everything is - I feel very in the moment when on tour. Feel more real somehow... I'm guessing that this has been addressed a few times on BF, but I'd like to see what people think.

-Scumglob

This is a very appropriate question, for me since I've spent some idle time at work today (shhhhhh) charting "wish list" routes on Google maps. I'm trying to find my own TransAm route from NC to either CA or Oregon and I keep seeing that it would take 40-50 hours of car driving time to do what instead might be a 7-week bike tour.

I'm a lifelong Easterner and I'm determined to bike across the US before I drive across (note: I've been to the West Coast numerous times via plane). There's just something about discovering the country mile by mile, town by town, county by county, state by state, time zone by time zone. I've read dozens of journals on CGOAB and the best ones convey this sense very well. Each day is an adventure, with some things under one's control but many things left to chance or the control of others, including the weather.

Plus, it's the opportunity to connect with people who live different lives from oneself. I'm a city boy born and raised, and it's an exotic thing for me to be out in farm country, or ranch country, or a place like the prairie where there are no towns for miles ahead. Charles Kuralt was very correct when he observed that the Interstate Highway System made it possible to drive from the Atlantic to the Pacific without seeing anything. I'm longing to meet some road angels and hear all the life stories out there waiting to be told.

One more thing. There is something glorious about doing it all under your own power, your own resourcefulness and your own energy -- both physical and emotional.

Ken

For me, there are three things that make me look forward to a bike tour. One is the feeling of independence that I get from carrying everything I need to survive and sustain myself. Another is the satisfaction I am moving across the land under my own power. The most important one, though, is that riding a loaded touring bike is the perfect speed to see the world go by.

Ray

For me it was an amazing experience. Reasons? The following are a few:
* The local people we met were interesting, warm, kind, and generous.
* The other riders we met became good friends.
* It is great to actually see the country in a way that you can't unless on a bike or on foot.
* The sense of accomplishment on completion is a great feeling.
* The routine of just riding everyday is addictive. After a while you can't imagine wanting to do anything else.
* The downside is how hard to go back to "real life", but at least you get to answer a million questions and blabber on about your Summer without people's eyes glazing over.

Why live a thousand days instead of ending it all, right now?
A million years from now, who'll know the difference?

Start small. I tell people that when I got a bike I found myself living in a different city. In a cage, I used to whiz by. On my bike, a tiny sign pointing to a warehouse
sale was enough of an excuse to take a break. Turns out it was expensive oriental art and furniture. It was a warehouse, but some of the pieces would have been at home in a museum. Yes, you can get somewhere faster. But faster is not always better.

Great topic!

When I've driven a car long distances, even while on vacation, there is usually a sense or unsettling urge to be in a hurry. At the end of the day I'm road-weary--not from physical exertion, but from speeding along at 70 mph needing to arrive at a destination. The scenery zips by in a blur and occasionally you say, "Oh, look at that. That was nice. Did you see it?" And it's gone. I only pray that I never have to endure another car holiday.

Raybo summed up some of my thoughts regarding long-distance travel by bicycle. I love the sense of independence derived from transporting everything necessary for survival, and under my own power. I love how the daily rigors fine-tune my physical machinery. I love how the pace, a soaring hawk, a lonely road, a bubbling stream, a majestic mountain, or a quiet conversation at camp, clears my head and puts me in touch with...the real reality. I love how, instead of watching the scenery go by in a blur, that I become a part of the scenery. I love how I interact with nature while combining cycling and camping (and hiking). (There's more, but I'd better stop.) Needless to say, I've never experienced these "highs" when traveling by car, regardless of the make or model.

One more thing...after a rigorous vacation by car it's always a relief to finally get home. After 25 years of touring, at the conclusion of every bike tour, I've ALWAYS wished I could continue on.

Safe journeys,

I'm trying to find my own TransAm route from NC to either CA or Oregon and I keep seeing that it would take 40-50 hours of car driving time to do what instead might be a 7-week bike tour.

Having done long car trips, I can assure you there is no way on *earth* you'd make it across the US in 50 hours. With experienced drivers running shifts, you can do about 2000 miles in 36 hours with no substantial stops. That trip did not involve the Rockies, so I have no idea what they'd do to the time. You're not going to do the remaining 1000 miles in 14 hours so... *g*

You also don't see much of anything on a drive at that pace. We all came out of it sleep deprived in a big way. And without backup drivers, the pace you can set safely gets a lot slower.

A bike trip is going to be a lot better for having a pleasant tour of the US.

Each day is an adventure, with some things under one's control but many things left to chance or the control of others, including the weather.

Plus, it's the opportunity to connect with people who live different lives from oneself. .... I'm longing to meet some road angels and hear all the life stories out there waiting to be told.

One more thing. There is something glorious about doing it all under your own power, your own resourcefulness and your own energy -- both physical and emotional.

Ken

Yep. Ken said it way better than I ever could.

As much as I love bike touring, there ARE some places where I would prefer to drive (or take some other form of transport if available). As examples, I'll mention 4 large countries where I've toured: Canada, USA, Australia, Argentina. I've enjoyed bike touring in all 4 of these countries, but there are substantial parts of all 4 where I would not want to tour.

A couple of weeks after I'd finished my crossing, I sat down with pen and paper and this came out:

I remain awed by the richness of the experience. Few of us ever really link up in such a way, for such a sustained period, with what's out there. I miss it. I miss the routine--making and breaking camp, cooking on the one-burner stove, shopping and snacking, showering and shaving, keeping the panniers organized, even fixing the occasional flat tire. I miss the people--the exuberant, unbridled admiration and wonder, the generosity, the faces and handshakes and hugs, the touching of hearts. I miss the scenery, the elements, the sounds, the silences. But most of all, I miss the road. I miss seeing it pass beneath me, as a river appears from atop a bridge, every patch and joint coming in its own time, every foot of its shoulder inspected for hazards. I miss the sounds of the tires contacting the pavement, a different one for each surface, the most pleasing just following a rain. I miss the feel, the resistance, the spinning of the pedals and crank arms, five thousand times an hour, and each revolution's small victory over distance. I miss that strange illusion of pedaling hard but remaining stationary against a featureless, flat plain, with no markers to gauge forward progress, and the lonely sight of that straight, unbroken ribbon of asphalt, infinite. I miss the road...and one in particular. It connects my driveway to the west coast down a path whose length only I have traveled. It gave me strength and health, it expanded my senses, it stretched my sense of the possible. I kept my wheel to its shoulder, and we are well acquainted now, my road and I. And I miss it.

A couple of weeks after I'd finished my crossing, I sat down with pen and paper and this came out:

I remain awed by the richness of the experience. Few of us ever really link up in such a way, for such a sustained period, with what's out there. I miss it. I miss the routine--making and breaking camp, cooking on the one-burner stove, shopping and snacking, showering and shaving, keeping the panniers organized, even fixing the occasional flat tire. I miss the people--the exuberant, unbridled admiration and wonder, the generosity, the faces and handshakes and hugs, the touching of hearts. I miss the scenery, the elements, the sounds, the silences. But most of all, I miss the road. I miss seeing it pass beneath me, as a river appears from atop a bridge, every patch and joint coming in its own time, every foot of its shoulder inspected for hazards. I miss the sounds of the tires contacting the pavement, a different one for each surface, the most pleasing just following a rain. I miss the feel, the resistance, the spinning of the pedals and crank arms, five thousand times an hour, and each revolution's small victory over distance. I miss that strange illusion of pedaling hard but remaining stationary against a featureless, flat plain, with no markers to gauge forward progress, and the lonely sight of that straight, unbroken ribbon of asphalt, infinite. I miss the road...and one in particular. It connects my driveway to the west coast down a path whose length only I have traveled. It gave me strength and health, it expanded my senses, it stretched my sense of the possible. I kept my wheel to its shoulder, and we are well acquainted now, my road and I. And I miss it.

Wow! Well put!

When I've driven a car long distances, even while on vacation, there is usually a sense or unsettling urge to be in a hurry. At the end of the day I'm road-weary--not from physical exertion, but from speeding along at 70 mph needing to arrive at a destination. The scenery zips by in a blur and occasionally you say, "Oh, look at that. That was nice. Did you see it?" And it's gone. I only pray that I never have to endure another car holiday.

I think it has a lot to do with one's mindset, whether travelling by bike or by motor vehicle.

I've spent a lot of time on the road in the last few years, putting some 20,000 miles per year on my rig. It's all been business miles and would have been totally impractical by bike. But I travelled a lot of the same roads that would make good bike touring routes -- off the beaten track, little traffic, lots of stuff to see. In 2003 and 2004 I was chasing wildflowers to photograph for a book [Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, published 2006]. The best days were spent meandering along forest roads, often with a friend who knew where certain plants grew, stopping often. I slept in my truck, cooked on my one-burner, met some great people. What was missing compared to a bike tour was the physical experience of moving under my own power. Last year and this year I'm back on the road shooting another book, this time in towns so there's more fast driving and less meandering across BC, Washington, and Oregon. I still prefer to drive the back roads, particularly on the way home as a way to unwind.

When the next book is done I plan to make time to revisit much of Washington by bike and I expect the experience to be quite different even though the territory will be mostly familiar.

I do agree that a 70 mph speed trip across the country wouldn't be much fun although I've never cross the continent that way.

I don't own a car, I never want to own a car again, I don't want to fly in airplanes, and trains are ok, but I just like to travel by bike. When you bike or hike somewhere there is a real sense of accomplishment at the end of the day that other forms of travel don't necessarily engender.

Drive across the US? Are you crazy--With the price of gas what it is now?! I'm just a stingy ******* who happens to like riding bicycles. (In addition, I agree with everything previously mentioned)

Also, it's much easier to meet people, as I think locals appreciate the effort you put in making it to their little (or not-so) corner of the world, and they understand that for cars a town is just a town, but for cycle-tourists each and every one can be absolutely wonderful to see (food, water, shelter, etc.). Maybe I'm romanticizing it a bit.

Oh cool, it censors automatically!

I was kind of thinking the same thing recently, only in a different way. Why drive thousands of miles to go ride a bike? In other words... why do people put their bikes into/onto cars and drive them to go ride someplace else?

It seems odd to me that on many days I see more bikes on cars than I see people on bikes. Sure there's lots of valid reasons, like touring (hence this forum), riding with other people, better scenery, better roads, etc. but doesn't it seem kinda strange? And what about the people who do it on a small scale... like taking their bike 2-4 miles to ride 10 miles on a bike path. Or the people who just drive around with bikes on their vehicles and never really ride at all!

I ride to and from my club rides... even if it means adding 40 miles to a 25 mile ride. It's a great way to net 200 miles of touring preparation during a work week!

At the very least I prefer to have my ride miles net out to more than the driving miles to get to said ride. Car pooling counts. 4 people in one van can go 400 miles to ride a century and call it a tie. Doesn't always work out that way, but as long as I have more miles on my bikes than I do on my car at the end of the year... I win! :D

A couple of weeks after I'd finished my crossing, I sat down with pen and paper and this came out:

I remain awed by the richness of the experience. Few of us ever really link up in such a way, for such a sustained period, with what's out there. I miss it. I miss the routine--making and breaking camp, cooking on the one-burner stove, shopping and snacking, showering and shaving, keeping the panniers organized, even fixing the occasional flat tire. I miss the people--the exuberant, unbridled admiration and wonder, the generosity, the faces and handshakes and hugs, the touching of hearts. I miss the scenery, the elements, the sounds, the silences. But most of all, I miss the road. I miss seeing it pass beneath me, as a river appears from atop a bridge, every patch and joint coming in its own time, every foot of its shoulder inspected for hazards. I miss the sounds of the tires contacting the pavement, a different one for each surface, the most pleasing just following a rain. I miss the feel, the resistance, the spinning of the pedals and crank arms, five thousand times an hour, and each revolution's small victory over distance. I miss that strange illusion of pedaling hard but remaining stationary against a featureless, flat plain, with no markers to gauge forward progress, and the lonely sight of that straight, unbroken ribbon of asphalt, infinite. I miss the road...and one in particular. It connects my driveway to the west coast down a path whose length only I have traveled. It gave me strength and health, it expanded my senses, it stretched my sense of the possible. I kept my wheel to its shoulder, and we are well acquainted now, my road and I. And I miss it.

That was nicely said.

as long as I have more miles on my bikes than I do on my car at the end of the year... I win! :D

If I didn't already have two sig lines, I'd steal this!

Because biking is fun; motoring is a drag.

For those motorized stink cages it's all about the destination. On a bike tour it's all about the journey.

"..and each revolution's small victory over distance"

I don't like getting whiplash looking at roadside flowers. Seriously, I have an amazing picture, one of my favorites, of a beautiful valley of fall color framed by serpentine tree branches. I would never have seen that vista had I not been going uphill on a bike at maybe 7mph. I had driven that road dozens of times in a car without knowing what I was missing. That view alone was worth the ride, but the horse I met and fed some sweet clover to across the fence was a nice bonus.

I think there is a tension in life between enclosure and exposure. Enclosure is safer, less demanding in almost every way. Exposure is full of risks and challenges but also opportunities, new perspectives, and ultimately the chance for more and better life. Humans are the preeminent exposure animal. But riding in automobiles is obviously an act of self-enclosure while bicycles are clearly self-exposure.

The thought of going long distances in a shell, divorced from whatever's around you is an extreme turn-off. I both bicycle and motorcycle tour, the former having taught me how to do the latter.

They're the only way to travel.

I drive about 1.5 hours everyday to work (I work in the forest, and as such these are on gravel roads), then I do physical work for 7 hours and drive 1.5 hours back home. I hate driving, especially when you get to the four hour mark, it drives me nuts, crazy, I start to yell, my legs cramp up, my hands get sweaty and I don't feel comfortable. When you cycle for 4 or 5 hours you feel great, you legs aren't cramped up, you feel glad you have made thus far without any gas and you are carrying everything on your own steam. You don't feel lethargic and you don't need to do anymore exercise to feel good. You can't beat the view and the speed at which you move is perfect to enjoy life. Plus you get to go against the status quo.

Because the journey is often more important.

I was kind of thinking the same thing recently, only in a different way. Why drive thousands of miles to go ride a bike? In other words... why do people put their bikes into/onto cars and drive them to go ride someplace else?

Because we've got events to go to, and we want to see different things and broaden our horizons. :)

Same reason I fly all over the world to cycle.

Why cycle rather than drive? Well, here in NA, I probably drive more than cycle ... but in Europe there is very little that would entice me to drive ... driving looks really frightening there, and there's never any parking. I'd rather cycle.

If I didn't already have two sig lines, I'd steal this!

LOL.. steal away.

But today I broke my own rule. I rode 90 miles doing training on the Calvin's Challenge 50 mile loop and then over to the area where a buddy of mine was racing and back.

Only problem was that my roundtrip for the drive turned out to be 94 miles. Rats! I should go out and ride 5 more, but I'm tired.

As of today the car is ahead by 124, but I put 1000 miles on a ski trip to NY barely more than a month ago and have erased 600 miles of the deficit in the past two weeks. By Wednesday I'll have the bikes back on top. Last year I finished with 11111.11 miles on the bikes (yes.. on purpose) and 7268 on the car for a net win of 3843. Oh, and of those 7268 driving miles, about 50% was driving to and from bike tours.

a constant paced but not vigorous excersice probably adds to the realness sensation. Your blood is pumping faster all day, metabolism speeds up, your body gets rid of toxins, while at the same time producing more chaotic free radicals. you just become tuned into being more vital. not to mention, the freedom, the radical change of pace, and the not only the blessed ability, but the actual NEED to eat waaaay more food.

And what about the people who do it on a small scale... like taking their bike 2-4 miles to ride 10 miles on a bike path.

Weirdest of all: those who drive 30 minutes to the gym, sit on an exercise bike for 30 minutes, then drive home again. 90 minutes to get 30 minutes of cycling exercise. By contrast on that one, I replaced my 35 minute driving commute with 55 minutes of cycling. I spend 20 minutes to get 55 minutes of exercise! woot :)

Steve

A question I often get asked is 'why by bike?'. It's hard to sell the idea of bicycle touring to a non-cyclist. The idea of cycling to the local shops is often a frightening thought to them. So upon hearing of my upcoming 4500 mile journey, they damn near explode trying to process it. Truth is though, the physical act of biking 60+ miles a day is often the easiest part.

Yes I could drive and probably complete the journey in a few weeks as opposed to a few months but where would the fun be in that. Driving at 50 mph the scenery just passes you by in a blur and is gone in an instant. Whereas on a bike going 10mph you are a part of the scenery and you appreciate it a whole lot more. You smell the smells, hear the sounds and feel the wind, rain and sun upon your face.

Travelling by bike means you are exposed to a whole lot more and are instantly accessible to the local people. Who are often curious about the crazy guy on a bike and are only too willing to help you out and wish you luck.

On my last tour countless people came up to me just to ask where I was headed and helped me with directions, I had beers brought for me, food and drink given to me, a pair of cycling shorts donated to me and even a handful of condoms given to me for 'the Scandinavian girls' as he put it. I never got the opportunity to use them sadly. :(

I had a much richer experience by travelling on a bike and I still think about that tour almost everyday and it was 8 months ago. I don’t think I’ve thought of any other form of holiday (vacation) that I've had for more than a week after returning. I am officially hooked for life.