robert schlatte

I camp as well. I like the idea of carrying the minimal necessities and being self sufficient.

tom cotter

Hotel/motel versus camping? There is no right or wrong answer. The answer is purely personal. No different than what color bike do you prefer.

Both choices have advantages and disadvantages.

Lastly, a pol isn't going to change the fact that you want what you want. if everyone here said they camp, are you going to give-up your warm bed? I hope not! One of the best things about touring is being able to do it your way. And credit card touring, as it is called, is a perfectly acceptable way to tour.

Tony Marley

I have done stayed at hotels/motels; B&Bs; cabins; on gymnasium floors; in very nice RV campgrounds; National Park camping areas with no services beyond a water pump and outhouse; as well as "wild camping." Hotels are certainly comfortable. I hate taking down a tent in the rain, then riding all day and having to set up a wet tent on wet ground. On days like that, I nearly always look for a motel/hotel.

When on long tours (4+ weeks), I try to spend about one night per week in a motel.

JerrySTL

On a 5 to 7-day tour, I like to spend one night in a motel/hotel somewhere near the middle of the tour. It gives me a chance to do some laundry.

A few years ago my son and I were riding through Sedalia, Missouri and the weather was looking bad. There was a Holiday Inn and we jumped at it. With a very bad thunderstorm that night, we had made a very good choice.

cyclingovereu

Seeing your experience, I counted it for both (1 and 1)

CourtJester

A hotel.
Gotta have the shower and the bar in the evenings.

Leebo

Camping only. Cheaper that way. My only tours have been short ones ( 3-5) days, pedaling from home. Fresh air, swimming in ponds, campfires, nice.

Bandera

Not really touring anymore but I ride to a beautiful old hotel with a nice wine cellar and a good chef at least once every spring and fall.
The ride is a stiff day's journey through the Hill Country with welcoming accommodations to look forward to.
For the past few years at least one trip is an excuse for friends drive over to join in for a pleasant weekend, and I'm happy to let them carry my kit back and forth.
The chef/owner has become a friend and I can look forward to excellent meals and lively company.

-Bandera

Jim from Boston

Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Back in 1977 we did a cycling honeymoon from Los Angeles to Washington DC, so we had no lack for companionship. We were totally self-supported and even carried a day’s water supply in the desert. Our basic daily goal was to ride at least 50 miles and stay somewhere with a shower.

We did somewhat over 50:50 motel:camping, with about three nights considered as “stealth, or “improvised.” Most motels were off the beaten—path, and relatively cheap, with two nice chain-motel stays, one for recreation on a day off, and one on her birthday.

Now, over thirty years later, not having cycle-toured since 1986, I replied to this thread on the Fifty-Plus subforum, What do you find hardest about cycle touring now we aint spring chickens any more?”

I guess 30 years of a stable, predictable cycle-commuting lifestyle erodes that exhilaration of the uncertainty. But an even more common complaint was typified by this post on that Fifty-Plus thread:

with several remedies suggested further down the thread.

gpsblake

Camping because I can stop whenever I find a good spot and set up camp. When I did my long tour, I camped every single night but if money was no object, I would probably stay at a hotel room every few nights just to refresh.

cyclingovereu

Hi Jim from beautiful Boston!!!

I'm a road biker, my only experience with bike touring was last summer. In a tour like that, to me was hard to ride for 90 miles underneath an incessant rain, climbing two mountains (one of which constantly at 15-18%) at about 57° F up to an high of 4921 ft. Or to ride, completely wet, for 40 miles always underneath an incessant deluge, stop at Inssbruck trembing for the cold, then restart for the last 30 wet miles, then climb last 3 miles on a road at 18%. After that I ask just an hot shower and a bed!!

fietsbob

Here we have many Motels, restaurants, bars and BrewPubs. and a couple Hotels .. You ready for a $200 per night stay? some People dont Mind.

Others stay in Motels..


On my own tours I liked Hostels. Europe has a Lot more .. some, like in Kortrijk Belgium, have a Pub in them

Jim from Boston

Thanks for that nice reply. Apropos of cycle touring, rain, and camping, just this morning I read this funny exchange on this Touring thread, ” How crazy is this, exactly? 4000 mile ultralight unsupported trip.”

gamecock

camping if possible

curlyque

I've only been touring since I retired 4 years ago at 65.

I traveled self-contained with camping the default, but I usually ended up in motels more often then the tent.

Probably not going to 'bag it' anymore. I'm going to look at Airbnb options a little closer for one thing.[h=3][/h]

wheelinthai

I've camped a lot in my younger years, in the Arctic, Alaska,Yukon, way down to Arizona. I also camped in Zambia and Tanzania. So I'm not too hung up on sleeping out door. Setting up a tent at dusk is tiresome, but worse is breaking camp with wet tent, particularly when you'd like to start out early. I live in Thailand, and tour SE Asia exclusively. Accommodation is widwly available and reasonably cheap. Nevertheless, I carry light tenting kit, and still camp out at scenic places. I average about 5 nights with roof over my head, and one night in silence. I don't cook perod, prefering to sample local delicacies.
I cycle tour to enjoy cycling, reasonalby fast.

transporterjr

I was thinking I have only camped, but then it hit me, in New Zealand, I stayed only in Hostels. Not possible in the US, but there I could reach one every night. Since I was touring solo, it was a great way to hang out with like-minded people, from all over the world, every night. Far better than sitting in a campground alone, or off the side of the road.

But here in the US, I'd favor camping for sure - part of the experience for me.

ak08820

Depends on your budget and style of cycletouring (credit card or self supported)
I once went to a lecture by a guy who toured across the USA and wrote a book. He claimed that he did not know how to fix a flat and stayed in hotels every night. He spent $14K a few years ago for an 8 month trip. Another book author also chose to stay in motels every night. It does reduce the stuff one needs to carry - tent, sleeping bag and pad and some cooking gear.

capejohn

I stay in motels and B&B's mostly but there are nights when it's just too nice not to camp. This year we will be looking at airbnb.com for accommodations while riding the GAP.

Nerdanel 

My first and, so far, only tour was 8 weeks in France from August to November 2014 after I retired at 62. Mostly camping in campgrounds, a few warmshowers hosts (would have been more but I never knew where I was going to wind up far enough in advance) and a couple of hotels. I love the idea of being self-sufficient, and meeting other travelers in campgrounds and on the road.

irwin7638

I prefer to camp because I know how to comfortably and I haven't seen a hotel as interesting as nature. A lot of campgrounds have modern facilities to boot.

Marc

snow_echo_NY

i don't know what i'd prefer as i haven't toured, but if i had to guess, i imagine hostel - low cost but you get your money's worth. i wouldn't mind camping though.

Champlain Rider

Have done LOTS of camping and backpacking in my "Ute" (nod to 'My Cousin Vinny" there), and just got into cycling long distances and doing tours in the last 12 years or so. I'm 59 and agree that attitude has everything to do with whether to camp or have a roof over the head. That said, I've only toured with partner or friends and we opt to stay in B&B or motel and eat in local eateries. Still get plenty of outdoor time all day on the bike. Always have buddies to hang out with, and meet locals at the watering holes. Love kicking back with a beer (that I didn't carry) after that shower! Feels a bit 'spoiled', but/and I've earned it at this point

Boudicca

I'm a great fan of a real bed, a hot shower and sound-dampening, bug-proof windows after a long day on the bike. And not taking camping gear means I only need one set of panniers, so that makes the travel easier.

Costs more money, of course, which means fewer trips.

Jim from Boston

Yes Marc, but as the Couch Potato Handbook states (In a Hotel Room), "Art imitates Life, but Life imitates TV."