On my '79 'tour'. I was 21, riding my '75 Fuji, and only carrying two changes of clothes. No tent. sleeping bag, or food. Nothing else, really. OK, my instant oatmeal for breakfast (eaten dry, and washed down with water) and maybe an apple from the day before. I was never too far away from a produce farm, small-town diner or restaurant, so no other food or cooking gear needed for lunch or dinner. I found most people were fascinated that I was riding a bicycle, solo, and that I was averaging around 100 miles/day. In reality, it wasn't that tough in that it was barely six hours of riding each day out of almost fourteen hours of daylight at my latitude, so I had LOTs of time for resting, eating or socializing. I never once felt unsafe or threatened. No one seem afraid of me either.