Originally Posted by
Walter S
Is that because North America (where?) was especially more challenging to avoid driving compared to everywhere you’d been? Or more coincidental?
Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
I could be wrong, but I suspect that for most (maybe all) people who tour "Round the World", including Rowan and Machka, the purpose of such long distance travel is to see and do things not available at home, and that the "challenge of avoiding driving" while touring is far down the list of priorities, if it exists at all as a concern.
Originally Posted by
Walter S
If I weren't trying to avoid driving I'd expect to find occasion to drive during 4.5 months of traveling around the world. Around certain airports I know about for example.
During the first 4.5 months, we were in Hong Kong (easy to get around by public transportation), Taiwan (where we used the train to get out to our "hub" city, and then we cycled in different directions from there), and Japan - Hokkaido (where we just cycled from the airport).
Then we flew across to the UK ... 3 weeks in Scotland on bicycles with a train or two thrown in. A ferry across to The Netherlands ... 3 weeks cycling the Rhine Route, then a combination of trains and cycling for the remaining time as we roamed through Luxemburg, Switzerland and around France, then back into the UK.
It was just easier to use the bicycles and trains than to try to arrange rental cars. In fact, I've never used a rental car when I've been in Europe ... always just bicycles and trains.
But once we got to North America, we wanted to get from the Vancouver area (where quite a number of my family members are), across to Alberta to visit more family and friends, down to Louisiana (where my brother and his family is) in time for American Thanksgiving, a quick dash into Florida to visit a friend, and back to the Vancouver area in time for Christmas, while dropping in at various US Tourist Attractions (Bryce Canyon, Arches, Grand Canyon, San Diego, etc.). While we would have liked to cycle all that ... we just didn't have the time.