DavidARayJaxNC

Well, for people that go through small communities, you know, the ones with one stop light... those towns, how doyou do it... do you just stop at the bar and talk to people or what?

jibi

I seem to attract people, with the trailer, and I look so friendly

at camp sites I wander around, or other people wandering around come over.

in bars and cafes I have had great conversations, in many languages.

I just get out there and, because I want to meet people, I do.

I have been to places where they have no horses, or stop lights, and still chatted to people

george

GTcommuter

I feel extremely fortunate to have found a few close friends who I can tour with. We ride at the same speeds, enjoy the same snacks, get distracted by the same roadside attractions, and always have something interesting to talk about.

However if I waited around to coordinated all of our schedules I wouldn't ever get to ride. Some of my best trips are with these guys, but all of my solo trips are great too -- and a lot more frequent.

jharte

I read most of the posts and didn't see an idea. If you can find a small sagged, scheduled ride, it might something to check into. I also tour solo. Even when I ride something like the MS150, I pack all my stuff on my bike, talk to lots of people, but I am still solo (so to speak). I ride my own pace, stop when I want, for as long as I want..........wait, someone said that already!

Solo touring is safe, very peaceful. It give you time to reflect on your life. It's also a great adventure.

DavidARayJaxNC

Well are there any safety tips that someone can give for solo touring? Like, how to avoid gettting all your stuff stolen when you are camping in the woods, what kind of dog repellant to use, what to avoid, how to map routes to make them better.If I map my own route and dont do much of the set routes, how likely is it that I will come across another tourist?

PurpleK

1) If you're camping out in the woods, it's not very likely anyone else will be out there to steal your stuff when you're not around. The woods I've stayed in aren't exactly freeways of pedestrian activity. Even so, keep your stuff in the tent if you're not around. At least a thief would have to take the effort to look inside your tent rather than have the potential booty outside for him to see.

2) Haven't used dog repellent in years.

3) Use county level maps, such as the NCDOT 1 inch = 2 miles set, or the DeLorme road atlases. It also works to get local maps from the tourism office or chambers of commerce of the place you plan to visit. The Lonely Planet travel guides can be a wealth of detailed information, especially for foreign countries. For foreign tours, try the Michelin maps. The yellow color roads are often pretty low in traffic volume and relatively direct.

4) If you stay off of set routes (suc as the NCDOT Bike routes), it is less likely you'll stumble upon other bicycle tourists, though you may come across several local ones out riding day loops. Touring in popular bike areas will offer higher chance of coming across other bike tourists than say, riding across the Mohave Desert.

NoReg

Only you really know the answers to those specific questions, since you probably have an idea of where you will likely be, stop and so forth. If you go along know touring paths there are always other bikers out, unless you are really pushing the seasons.

I think your chance of being molested, or even found, are pretty minimal in any woodland setting. Even people who live and work the land often don't get to certain areas from one year to the next. You can also find areas that are positive no go zones because they are cut off in some way. Nobody would ever think of going there.

The first rule of hunting is to hunt where the game is. So if you want to murder beautiful females, you don't hang out in the woods in absolute bog knowhere, you troll parking lots at colleges, pick up hookers, hitch hikers, etc... The main methods of hunting are spoting game and moving to it. Ambush, which involves hiding and waiting. Or some form of luring, calling, baiting. Or simpler still you know exactly where the game will be. What you want to do is eliminate as many of these options as possible.

You can choose campsites with security in mind (though I don't believe it is geneerally necesarry). Never camp where you are overlooked, or can be seen entering the area. Avoid obvious stopping points, even if you are doing your own stealth thing, there are probably factors that force other tourists to sellect the same general areas over and over. Such as time out from ferries or wonder-park campsites that a pulse of people leave every day. When you see an appealing option, ask yourself why you wouldn't use the area across the road, etc.. which doesn't appeal, maybe a contrarian place is a better one.

Sellect spots with more than one exit if possible. Sellect them relative to screaning cover, or against natural features that prottect you in a given direction, like up a hill on a bench, or with water coverage, not lakeside, but knowing they can't come in from behind may help you orient you tent. Or take advantage of noisy ground cover. Choose camping gear that you can get out of. The hammock looks to me like the worst in this one regard. Lie under a sleeping bag not all cocooned in it. Get camping gear that is subdued, but not camo where possible. Choose a bike of stealthy colour.

Deny any visitor weapons, like fire, hand rock, or sturdy sticks. And on and on. Just evaluate any site against possible weaknesses. Not to say you will reject any practical site, but even how you occupy it can give you comon sense advantages. For instance, don't camp where you can be reached by car, or accidentally run over by a trail bike or horse.

Consider extra issues like holidays, weekends, anything that may lead to un-usual trafic.

Another option is to choose urban locations where you won't be bothered but have at least access to help. Under a bridge in the city abandoned lots in well housed areas, etc...

If you are worried about sleeping at camp grounds, I would recomend trailer parks, they often have 24 hour security, there is a large density of people, most of whom are old, and normally have curfews for loud behaviour. Our public parks are not so good, they take your money and go home for the night, but doubtless practices vary all over the place.

Snoring. If you are a big time snorer, and ask someone who sleeps with you, you may want to see if there is anything that can be done to reduce that signature.

Ask other riders in your area about dogs. In my province they are rarely a problem, but occasionally in other regions where I guess bikes are rare, they have been a huge problem. First be aware that you can't behave the same way as you might on an unloaded bike. Out-running large country dogs is rarely possible. If you do have a local problem see what can be done about it. No force is to high, you can always scale back. I say shoot them if they seem serious, but I'm not really sure where that would be legal, in a casual way. Many jurisdictions ban discharging firearms on the roadway, so you are down to a self-defence claim which is pretty unweildy Good batotn or prod is probably the best thing. I have this sword which actually only has a short blade section so there isn't any problem with blade length. I wish there was an easy supply of pepper paintballs, but all I could find were reserved for the police. That would be the ideal solution, and there are some areas where the weight would be justified.

lighthorse@eart

Even though I have participated in an organized, supported, group tour, I prefer to tour solo.
My first tour was solo, unsupported, across the southern tier. Funny thing, even though I was riding solo I sure fell in with a lot of fellow cyclists along the way. We would always stop and talk about the route, ride together for awhile, and then proceed on at our own pace. When I ride with others I ride faster than I would if riding alone, sometimes that is okay, simetimes it is not okay.
I did meet three different individual cyclists who had each started their trip with a small group. Each of those three groups had split up due to different interests of the individual riders.
Don't worry so much about it, just do your route planning and RIDE.

onbike 1939

When I was younger I always rode with a friend. Now I'm addicted to touring alone as I enjoy the benefits which for me are: living inside my head for a couple of months.; riding every day and at my own pace; having to make no compromises re stopping places, food, route et al.; meeting and conversing with other nationalities who are more likely to talk if you are on your own.
It is also a fact that not everyone can go off for a couple of months at a time, even if retired.

DavidARayJaxNC

Well if I tour solo, for say 10 days, how much money should I bring, I plan on stealth camping, and eating at diners or eating lil bags of peanuts and crackers, you know, handy snacks on the way. So, how much money should I bring?

onbike 1939

I'm told that in America food is cheap. When I'm in France I live more cheaply than I do when living at home. Re money I take what I think I'll need then I can always draw cash from hole in the wall machines.Take what you think is sufficient and a little more in reserve.

jibi

DavidARayJaxNC

Have you looked at the couchsurfing website, they have a cycling group so you could arrange to stay with someone while travelling.

Sometimes on the road it can be a while before you meet another cyclotourist, and sometimes they are all over you, just get out on your route and see what the day brings.

george

DavidARayJaxNC

So, if I ride a NCDOT route, like ports of call. then it is likely that I will find many other tourists?

PurpleK

many? nope.
A few....maybe...but it also depends on when you go. Don't expect any in January. There are a few out-of-state bike touring companies that offer tours in coastal NC.

https://www.vbt.com/North-America/Uni...r-Details.aspx

I've occasionally run into some of these van supported groups as well as some independent tourists/groups.

Shifty

I did a solo tour of the Pacific Coast a few years ago (well it was more than a few years ago), I had no idea of what to expect, but I was OK with what ever I encountered for 4 weeks in the summer. I flew into Portland OR and took some beautiful back roads to Astoria, I was solo on that leg of the ride, but never again for the entire trip. I camped in the State Park hiker-biker campgrounds where as many as 15 cycle tourist would meet up every night for fun and info swapping. Most days I would ride with groups of two to 5 riders, and maybe peel off to explore individually, and maybe meet up with them again at that night's camp. If I took a day off of riding, I'd meet the next days group of riders, most of them very friendly and interesting.
Bottom line is that I went on this tour solo, but was never alone unless it was my choice. Pacific Coast Bicycle Route from Canada to California is well used between July 1 and the end of September. If you choose a busy cycling route like this you'll have a good experience either way.