What's your current situation?
Originally Posted by
bulevardi
I'm actually wondering what type of people are touring the most.
Or in which situation.
For example, I'm currently dreaming of touring, however, there's a wife and 2 little children (2y 4y) I can't just leave home for a couple of months touring.
And they don't want to travel along (with the bike).
(I maybe do later on in my life when they're older, so than I have now lots of time to plan journeys in advance)
I know a few other people touring around, but they all are single or couples or friends who are kind of free to travel without strings attached.
They easily can leave their job, home or family for a long time.
But once you're settled, mortgages, children, things get more difficult.
So, tell me what's your situation?
And if you're in a more difficult situation, how did you get out? (without much damage)
During college and postgraduate education, my girlfriend-now-my-wife did week-long tours in Michigan and Ontario, a cross-country cycle tour honeymoon of the US in 1977, and weeklong tours in New England, until our son was born in 1988. Fortunately, Metro Boston is a great place to cycle, and exploring it the first few years was a form of touring. Even now, cycling here is satisfactory, though I do miss the novelty of touring. I have posted about my fantasy of riding the perimeter of the country.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…
When I win the big lottery, I want to buy a luxury RV as my sag wagon and cycle the perimeter of the country,so I’ll need a driver [my wife].
I have daydreamed about it to the extent of defining the perimeter as riding within 50 miles of the border all around the country. The only other definition I know of is in the motorcycle community,where I have read the definition as traveling from the cornermost towns in the country..
In the course of my fantasizing, I have discovered The Perimeter Bicycling Association of America Inc.which maintains perimeter cycling records for various political and geographic entities. For the USA, the record is 12,092 miles in180 days held by Richard DeBernardis (date not specified).
FYA, on the Fifty-Plus Forum is a current great series of posts by recently retired @jppe with day-by-day descriptions of his cross-country ride from Oregon to Boston, with his wife driving a support van.
Finally, for a contrarian point of view, see this thread, “What do you find hardest about cycle touring now we aint spring chickens any more?
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 09-22-16 at 06:50 AM.