Originally Posted by
indyfabz
I have to wonder whether some people who have never spent a significant (or any) amount of time on the road living out of bags attached to their bikes have romanticized notion of what it can be like.
Even tossing the bikes aside, having even just lived outdoors with only a tent for any length of time. You mentioned one of my biggest reasons why I prefer cheap hotels/hostels to any sort of camping while touring, minor things you don't even think of like stuff not drying overnight just wears on you day after day. At one point in Iceland I was wearing sandals with thick wool socks. My biking shoes had gotten drenched in a sudden downpour the day before, and the lush grass we were camping on soaked my boots through. It was about 40F that morning, so wet shoes really weren't an option. After four days of already dealing with wind and weather and elements, I was pretty much over it at that point.
On the positive, sandals actually worked out surprisingly well, I just wish I would have gotten a pic of the absurdity of the scene
