Originally posted by mike
I notice very often that people will chose NOT to tour because they are afraid they cannot tour witht the bike they have. At the same time, they don't want to buy a new bike, so the simply opt not to tour at all.
There's a lot of variation in people's comfort level for potential problems, also.
When I was 18, I thought nothing of jumping on my homebrew 10-speed, built out of used parts, in my jeans and sneakers, with a backpack on my shoulders and a laundry sack full of "camping gear" roped to the rack, and just heading up into Wisconsin, sleeping anywhere and depending on the kindness of stangers to get me out of jams.
Now I'm 50, and things are just different. I account for risks I never knew existed 30 years ago. I'm a lot more careful, and a lot more prepared. Maybe I've lost something, but I've gained something as well.
RichC