Originally Posted by
Rowan
One thing that needs to be reinforced is to be cautious about telegraphing your plans. breezybikes intends to blog. Be careful if it is open to all to see, and be selective about who you tell along the way. This is not being paranoid, but it certainly is a primary protection to ensure that unwanted people won't track your intended movements and be waiting for you.
Absolutely ... when I've posted information about my travels it usually tends to be about where I've been rather than where I'm going. The "where I'm going" information goes to close family or friends.
When I toured Australia in 2004, I emailed stuff for my website home to my father who then posted it. By the time it was posted, usually a few days had passed. On my shorter tours, I've waited till I got home to post anything.
I would be very cautious about putting details about where I'm going tomorrow up on Facebook, for example.
Originally Posted by
Rowan
If someone approaches you and asks where you are headed (usually without expressing any other interest in what you are doing), you will have to use your judgment and give the "right" answer. Machka is very good at this. I think she uses very nebulous answers, and in some cases indicates a route out of town in the completely opposite direction.
I do this whether I'm on tour or just doing a day ride somewhere relatively local ... and especially if I'm riding solo (which I've done a lot).
I'll also mention friends or family.
For example, I did a solo 360 km day ride when I lived in Winnipeg in preparation for the 2003 PBP. I decided to cycle up to a particular park on one of the lakes and back to Winnipeg. On the way up to the park, I stopped in at a grocery store to get something to eat and drink, and a customer talked to me outside the store asking where I was headed. I didn't feel 100% comfortable with that question, so I told him I was going to a place on the way to the park (and I was, but I was going well beyond that too) where I was meeting a group of friends who would be driving by shortly. He kind of pushed for more info wanting to know if I'd be cycling back that way the next day, and I indicated that I'd be driving back with my friends. So he walked off.
I've done similar things on several occasions, and it really helps to be aware of the towns, parks, and places approx 20 km from wherever you are so you can tell people (people you're not comfortable with) that's where you're headed if they start to push for information.
And if I'm asked (as I have been on a few occasions), "Are you out here all by yourself?", I laugh like that's a ridiculous idea and tell them that my father, brother, cousin, friend, or whatever will be driving past shortly, or is just up the road, or something along those lines. (But when I lived in Alberta, that was indeed sometimes true because my father was often around somewhere on his bicycle or in his car.)
Sometimes I'll be really vague, and if I'm asked where I'm going, I'll say something like, "Just cycling around the area, here and there ... it's a beautiful afternoon for a ride." ... or "Nowhere in particular, just out for a bit of exercise and fresh air" ... or something like that to suggest I either live or am staying in an area.
I've been asked sometimes how long I'll be staying in an area, and again, I'll be vague ... "Not sure" ... or evasive ... "Not sure, it depends what my friends are up to."