A smile and friendly hello will take you a long way.

It took me 5100 miles across and plus some and I can tell you that you will find exactly the opposite of what you fear. Arrive at a small town in the middle of nowhere and either knock on the door of the local church, fire department, or police and you will have a place to camp and in many cases a drive by later that evening to make sure you're ok.

Quick story, I was befriended by a Dutch couple doing the Transam same year as me. They confided that they were worried about the police, very afraid of the American police, so I took them to the police station at the next small town we were both camping at. I did introductions (with a friendly smile and hello) and asked where we might camp for the night. They helped us out and one officers came by that night and brought us half a birthday cake. I got ahead of them for the next several weeks, but they caught up to me in Colorado. So I ask if they have had any problems with the local police? They just laughed and started telling story after wonderful story of the great experiences they have had. Meeting Americans, overcoming language / accent barriers and how wonderful everyone had been to them, especially the police.

A smile and friendly hello will take you a long way, and not just on a bike tour