Touring - Southern Tier this time of year?

I have no desire to go home yet and I have no money. I hold a sign for food and camping money when I get into a town or play my harmonica to hopefully get 50 dollars a day or so. I want to keep traveling, I feel so alive and I don't want to rot away in one city for the winter.

Would it be sane to head south and keep going across the southern coast all the way to San Francisco?

Somebody please talk me out of this because I am on my way out of North Carolina and into South Carolina. I am going to go unless somebody has a good reason for me to just collect my self and go back home.

With the way the economy is going I don't know how many people will be willing to support your tour. Just a thought. 50 dollars a day? What are you spending all that on?

It seems as if you are asking people for money just because you don't want to work. Go home and live more responsibly, or at least get a job and save some money before you head out.

What I would do if I was in your shoes is pick a place you think you would enjoy living during the winter and find a job there, use it as an oppurtunity to tryout a town you were always interested in living. See if you can save up about 300 dollars and go on Craigslist and find someone renting out a room on a month to month basis. Give them the first months rent, then save up for your next tour while working and living in the area...

If you have trouble finding a job, go to a temp agency or a day laborer place.

Another idea, since you have some bike shop experience I believe is to find a busy shop and ask if they hire bike builders. If you can put together pre assembled bikes pretty fast you can make up to 15 bucks an hour, then go do dishes at a resturaunt in the evening.

Work your butt off for a few weeks in one place, find a good stealth camping spot and continue on until you run low on money again or until you land some side work.

See if you can use your connections from your last tours sponsor, and network a job from that.

Good luck and have fun.

Good points all around. I made a connection in Naples, FL to work with a community Theatre all winter doing light riggings which is my favorite line of work. In a few cities along the way I will look into bike building jobs at shops and temp agency jobs to help me out. I put my signs in the trash and gave up depending on others, looking like a fool, as well as giving touring cyclists a bad rap. I will be in Florida before Thanksgiving and then I will settle in for a while and save up money as well as get an iPod touch to stay connected without relying on public library computers. I could go home and work and start school but I am only 21 and traveling is tops for me right now. Danger, excitement, good people, bad people, all sorts of people, and the ever changing scenery. Nothing better right now. I have a sister in San Francisco so I will have a home base to start with when I eventually make my way out there. At that point I will settle down and start getting responsible. Thanks for the outlook. Wish me luck! :D

As long as you're not dead or dead drunk you can usually find work down here in Key West. BUT... It can be expen$ive to live here. Another tip? Some state and national parks concessionaires hire on a seasonal basis and a lot of them provide housing. I worked in Yosemite for a year it was great!

Good points all around. I made a connection in Naples, FL to work with a community Theatre all winter doing light riggings which is my favorite line of work. In a few cities along the way I will look into bike building jobs at shops and temp agency jobs to help me out. I put my signs in the trash and gave up depending on others, looking like a fool, as well as giving touring cyclists a bad rap. I will be in Florida before Thanksgiving and then I will settle in for a while and save up money as well as get an iPod touch to stay connected without relying on public library computers. I could go home and work and start school but I am only 21 and traveling is tops for me right now. Danger, excitement, good people, bad people, all sorts of people, and the ever changing scenery. Nothing better right now. I have a sister in San Francisco so I will have a home base to start with when I eventually make my way out there. At that point I will settle down and start getting responsible. Thanks for the outlook. Wish me luck! :D

Follow your heart, just don't ask other people to pay for the travels. :D Glad you considered the panhandling and decided against it. Have fun out there!

Follow your heart, just don't ask other people to pay for the travels. :D Glad you considered the panhandling and decided against it. Have fun out there!

Thanks, its the positive words that keep that heart beating and keep my feet pedaling. Can't wait to see what life's next horizon brings. The world is my oyster... er, can of beans (hobo style).