irwin7638

It really becomes a matter of logistics and apprehension. A lot of people ask if I do it alone, and when I ask if they would like to the answer is inevitably "Well yes, but...." Even among the local club, a lot of people express an interest in unsupported touring, but when I invite some body for a weekend "test" ride nobody shows. It's a strange idea for most cyclists for some reason.

Marc

Tourist in MSN

I am fortunate that a former co-worker is interested in the same types of tours as I am, we are both about equal in speed. Our preferred diets are not identical, but similar enough that we can cook a meal while camping without having any arguments. We do not see perfectly eye to eye on the camping vs motels question, but we are both willing to compromise. Overall, we both enjoy touring together and have done three very good tours. Planning our fourth at this time. Yup, we are lucky.

Last year my touring partner was not interested in doing a tour, I went with an Adventure Cycling group and had a great time with them. I however wanted to sight see on my own for several days so I went out to the trip locale about four days early and toured on my own for that period of time.

You might get lucky and find someone that you want to tour with in your community. If not, consider a group tour with Adventure Cycling. There may be other groups that do self-supported tours that you may also enjoy.

But, until that happens, sounds like you are not letting your lack of a touring partner get in your way of having a good time.

Machka 

I met all my cycletouring partners through Randonneuring ... including Rowan.


So for the OP, here's the schedule and links for the club in Raleigh, NC. It looks like there is an event with two distances coming up in mid-August, and looking at their actual website, it appears that the event is a casual picnic thing which might be a good chance to get to know people.
https://www.rusa.org/cgi-bin/eventsearch_PF.pl
https://www.unc.edu/~alanj/


I also did a google search using the terms: raleigh nc bicycle touring club
That search came up with several sites which might be worth exploring.


The thing is, you've got to find a bicycle club whose members cycle long distances and/or tour ... long distance riding or touring being the point of the club. Then you might find some like-minded people who would be interested in doing weekend tours or longer with you.

Aushiker

+ 1. That said I have toured with three other guys in the past and we have a cycle touring club here. Maybe see if you have a club in your area?

Andrew

loky1179

Great quote - probably why I never signed up for an adventure cycling trip. I swore after college i'd never have a roommate (or travel companion) I didn't already know. I DO Not have a high tolerance!

indyfabz

To clarify, I used the example because it was a long, unsupported trip with a small number of people (13). On such a tour, you have more contact with everyone and have to share cooking and cleaning duties. A few years ago I did a ASCA's supported tour in Vermont. That sort of trip is different animal. Dozens of people, and it's catered. You can easily distance yourself from anyone who gets on your nerves. I suppose one of their short, unsupported trips wouldn't be that bad simply because it would be short, meaning you wouldn't have to spend a long time with everyone.

My cross country group included a bigoted alcoholic who almost got arrested for in North Dakota for D&D. There was another guy who liked to walk around campground bathrooms completely naked while he did things like shave. That did not go over well the night we camped at a conservative religious retreat for kids. People made comments a couple of other places we camped. Then there was the guy who, in addition to being a generally unpleasant, arrogant jerk, routinely shirked his cleaning up duties. When it was his turn, he would do things like toss one bag of trash and then hop on his bike and sneak off, leaving his partner for the day to do all the group dishes. That caused a major inconvenience since, with all the gear being shared, those of us who carried things that were used to make breakfast and stuff for lunch could not start riding until the things were cleaned. He also tried to get away with carrying as little of the grocery load as possible. When there was no grocery source very close to camp we had to carry supplies to camp. It was never that far, but when the groceries were brought out by the people who did the shopping, this guy would rush to the bags, root through them and grab the lightest things he could find, like tortilla chips. We had two Bobs on the trip. We called that guy "Angry Bob" behind his back.

tarwheel 

Good suggestion about randonneurs. I will look into that, altho I am not really into doing 300, 400, 500 K rides. It is certainly worth checking out because they may have a different approach than the other recreational bike clubs in my area -- which are mostly into fast weekend group rides consumed with having the highest average speeds, seeing how many riders they can drop, and finishing rides as soon as possible. As far as I know, there is not a touring club in my area, or at least I have never heard of one. Around here, touring mostly consists of riding in large supported rides like Cycle NC, which I ridden in several times. I enjoy those sorts of rides, but they are very different than choosing your own route -- plus you are riding, camping and eating with hundreds of other riders.

Machka 

Well, it looked like the event in the middle of August had a choice of distances: 100 km or 200 km, with picnic etc.

Rowan and I have been doing some of the shorter distance Randonneuring events in recent years, and they can be quite sociable and relaxed.

capejohn

There are three of us who take an annual bike tour. There is also a large gap in our abilities. I am usually so far behind that I cannot see the lead rider and the middle rider is just a speck on the horizon. Every once in a while the lead man pulls over and we all regroup for a few minutes usually to plan what's next. It works fine.

There are lots of challenges when you tour and having someone to commiserate with you takes a lot of the sting out of bad days. On last years tour, if I were alone, I may have packed up, rented a car and ended the ride. Instead, in the evening over a beer we would all say "Well that sucked", had a good chuckle and ordered another cold one.

tarwheel 

Saw that. Thanks. I'll check it out.

BigBlueToe

I got into a group put together via the internet. It was for a ride on the Great Divide where the thought of being alone was daunting. Most of us got along great. One person drove the rest of us crazy.

My usual stance is to only go with a partner if I know them really well, like my son or my wife. It's not that I'm a loner. When I tour alone I often fall into riding with others and I enjoy that. However, if I start alone there are no commitments; I can go off on my own at any time.

cyccommute 

I often tell people that the only thing worse than touring solo is touring with someone else and the only thing worse than touring with someone is touring alone. But the absolute worst is touring with 3 people.

I tour mostly by myself because I have crap loads of vacation time and my wife doesn't. I've done a tour with my daughter which was a delight. I've done a tour with my wife which was also delightful. But I tried to do a tour with both of them on the Natchez Trace and it was a disaster. The levels of fitness and attitudes towards effort were just too different. I felt obligated to ride with either one or both of them and that just didn't work. If it had been just me and one of them, I could have done it but with 2 others, one was always left out of the group. I can easily go faster and further than either one of them but then I'm just doing a solo tour with occasional company.
I couldn't imagine doing a tour with someone I didn't know but, then, I not a very social person.

Don't let the fact that you can't find someone to ride with keep you from touring. Riding solo can be a very enriching experience. You are taking on the world on your own terms and your own devices. Sure it's lonely but it can also be enlightening. You learn to do things for yourself that you never knew you could do. You have time to reflect on all kinds of things or just be in the moment. You have no worries other than the ones you bring with you.

One way to deal with that issue is to tailor the trip differently. My wife would never consider some of the stupid tours that I've done. However, she does like riding a bike and has done some touring with me. One that we did was the Katy Trail in Missouri. Her stipulation for a week long trip was that she wouldn't sleep on the ground. That's okay because camping along the Katy isn't all that great anyway. We did a week long trip...low mileage...where we stayed in hotels or bed and breakfasts for the whole trip. She had a wonderful time.

Pitch something like that to your wife if she rides. Find a rail trail with a B&B at each end and take her on it. Go extremely light and do very short trips and you carry everything. You might be amazed at what her response is.

robow

Nice Save !

alan s 

Is loaded touring essentially a solo endeavor?

It is, unless you are touring with others.

shipwreck

One of the big refrains about touring with others is that there may well be someone who is really irritating to the rest of the group. Everyone rolls their eyes and makes comment when the person is not around. One benefit of that person is that they bring a level of solidarity between others in a group.
But they should serve as a cautionary tale as well, in that that person may well have no idea that they are such a irritant. The lesson being that it may well be you that causes all the exasperated sighs and focal point for the groups ire.

So watch your snoring, *****ing, body odor, racial/political/religious opinions, carry your own weight, don't borrow and break everyone's tools, pumps, or stoves, communicate your plans if they involve veering off and not meeting up at the agreed location(causing worry and guilt among others who wonder where you are, but are secretly glad your not there), so on and so forth.

Rowan

Say what?

You say that, but I bet you'd be one of the more entertaining people sitting around camp with myriad stories of your adventures plucked from your panniers.

Touring in groups is also a good way to appreciate how others go about their riding, what they pack, and what works for them.

It can be enlightening to say the least to think "that guys got it all wrong" only to see him (or her) at the finish waiting for you to drag your sorry butt in... with a smile on their face and a hearty greeting (not that that's happening to me... well, not often, anyway).

Rowan

One of the real issues is having a tour "leader" who is capable of tactfully broaching these matters with the offending party. Group dynamics can become very destructive, but often the issues can be nipped in the bud early on, especially if there are "rules" discussed via email, etc, prior to the trip starting.

Generally, I think it's also important that everyone understand that they should join the group equipped as if they are touring solo. That means having all the tools and spares and camp gear and cooking equipment they would need themselves to cover the same route. For example, with the group i toured with regularly, everyone had their own food and cooking utensils, and the only ones who shared with couples.

It doesn't mean, however, there is no support. I remember on one trip, a couple had a disastrous time with their cooking, but we all had enough to chip in to save the evening.

MassiveD

I isn't inherently a solo activity, but it is an activity that is completely doable solo. Not all activities fit that bill and touring does, which is cool.

cyccommute 

Once I warm up, yes. But I'm painfully shy so it takes a while to get me talking. At parties, I'm the guy inspecting the plants...and I'm not particularly fond of plants

SurlyLaika

I loved my solo California tour over 2 months. I met and talked to lots of great people. The best conversations are in passing. People just kind of open up about themselves and their areas. Unfortunately, I'm in Korea now. I had plans for a week tour with my girlfriend who is Korean, but now her boss has changed his mind about giving her the time off. I did a week tour last summer and it was really, really lonely not being able to talk to anyone and not being able to read anything with great detail. (I can read some basic stuff, mostly food a bit of directions and town names) I wouldn't mind doing this trip alone back home, but I'm not looking forward to another solo Korean tour. I did a trip in the spring with someone I met on here actually. He'd convinced that I should come to Korea to pay off student loans and bike tour, so we finally met up after about a year and some change. That was fun.

RWBlue01

Not exactly a tour, but it is the same for human interaction.

I have been to the BWCA 3 times.
1. I invited a few others. Everyone bailed over the course of a couple months. It was a solo trip.
2. I invited a few others. Everyone except my brother bailed on me. He didn't prep and I didn't feel comfortable trusting him in the wilderness.
3. I invited no one and went on my own.

For my fall bicycle tour this year, I invited a few people, but I knew they would not do the prep work so they would not make it. I will also say that I don't really want to get a group together for this trip. I am not that fit and I am not that fast. Unless something changes, I will be pushing myself to my limits. If I fail, it is just my trip I ruin.

robow

On shorter tours, I don't mind going solo such as this weekend when I'm heading out for a "mini-tour" of 3 to 4 days but on longer rides, I enjoy the companionship. I deal with people all day long so I don't find it a chore to adapt to those around me and in fact that's part of the game. Here in the Midwest, unless you're on a very established route which almost doesn't exist, you're not likely to see other tourers to hook up with. At one time I was fortunate to have a wonderful group of friends to tour with but because of death, divorce, and re-location that group no longer exists. That in my mind was ideal.

loky1179

- -

You paid the price - and it sounds like you've got some great stories from the trip! It really takes some courage to roll the dice and decide to spend multiple weeks with a bunch of people you've never even met.

But whether the trip is the best thing ever, or a living nightmare, one thing's for sure - it is something you'll remember for the rest of your life. Maybe when I'm retired I'll think about this again!