Originally Posted by
mulveyr
As for panniers - heck yes. Sometimes it seemed we couldn't go a mile on our tour without someone stopping to ask about our trip, offer us lunch, or a place to camp out. Part of that was clearly that they had no idea that a small kid would be able to ride that far, but there was also intense curiosity about what I was doing, too. ;-)
Touring is way more popular in Europe. I got way more of what you talk about in the US than I did in France. People just don't care that you are touring in Europe, as it is not such a big deal to them. That's just my experience.