This is it exactly.

Each of us, wherever we live in various parts of the world, go out and ride here, there and everywhere in the evenings and on weekends. We aren't overly concerned about it. Friends and family aren't overly concerned about it.

So I figure if I go to another part of the world, where other cyclists (like all of you, for example) ride quite happily, why should I be nervous, concerned, worried. You ride there and you're all right.

When it dawned on me, many years ago, that the "foreign" places I was visiting were someone's home, that they weren't foreign at all to the people who lived there, that people lived there quite contentedly and carried out their day-to-day business just like I did in the place I lived ... my fear factor almost disappeared.


That said, it is good to be aware. Pay attention to traffic, pay attention to shady situations.

As a female who has cycled solo a fair amount, I am also very reserved with the information I hand out. I wouldn't, for example, tell anyone I was cycling solo to North Dakota. If asked, I might say I was cycling to ... whatever the next town on the map happened to be. If asked whether or not I was alone (and I have been asked that), I indicate that I am not alone. I hint that I'm meeting people there, or that my father will be driving by shortly to check on me, or something. If I feel at all uncomfortable with an area or a situation, I leave.

Communication with family and friends is also helpful. When I've travelled, I've sent emails home almost every day. My parents (not the whole world ... I don't broadcast it on facebook, for example) know my plans for the next few days, and I check in with them regularly. If you've got friends or family along the route, that's really helpful too. You might be able to stay a night with them, or stop in for coffee or something. It can be reassuring for those concerned when you've made personal contact with someone along the way, and it can also be comforting for you too ... to see a familiar face, to talk to someone you know.

Under the communication category, many towns have bicycle shops and cycling clubs. If you get feeling uncomfortable riding alone all the time, look up the clubs along the way and see if they've got events on. Maybe you could take a Saturday and ride with a particular club ... you'll see the area and meet some people. I've done something like this a couple times with the CTC in the UK ... gone on a mid-tour club ride. Really enjoyed it!

Flexibility with the plans is helpful as well. If something happens along the way (let's say for example, a heavy rain floods the road you're riding and you have to take a long detour), if you've built flexibility and days off into your plan, you won't be tempted to do silly things like taking dangerous shortcuts or riding much longer hours than originally planned etc. to make up for it.