We're all a product of experience and education. If the bar for entry into an activity is already being part of the activity, you've got a backwards mindset. Encourage others, share perspective, erase uncertainty whenever possible. Just because the OP is asking how it's done, doesn't mean they could never learn to see it from your perspective.

I find a zen in cycling onwards over bleak landscapes. In the deserts of Eastern Colorado in late fall, I found peace and tranquility. There's a surprising amount to see in nothingness, from small interruptions from passing cars and roadside properties to the sudden presence of a new feature like a far-off peak, a river, or a new cloud. It changes from instant to instant like the densest city would.

If you told me five years ago that I'd be biking across a desert for two days, I'd say "Sounds boring." Luckily, I got to experience it. If sharing that experience encourages someone else, like the OP, to quit worrying about boredom and broaden their outlook on cycle-touring, this forum is doing it's job.

If you just want to sit around with the seasoned veterans and tell the young whippersnappers "Get lost kid, you ain't got what it takes for this racket," then I pity your outlook.

MD, thanks. I already love hiking because the duration of hiking is well worth the hard work when you reach the end, for example the summit or the pass, and you view the breath taking scenery. I was curious about different people's opinion and from what I've read, I think it is worth the time and effort to actually get out and ride the bicycle. Bicycling is part of my life since I was a young 'un. and I do not intend to stop riding my bicycle. Like I mentioned before, the wandering bug have bitten me so I am glad I found this forum with like minded people. Now I can learn more about preparation, what to buy, how to get ready, and other stuff. I still have one fond memory of that time when I was leading a group of young whippersnapper, and in reality, I did not want to lead, but they all forced me to get in the front. Some how I got into the groove of pedaling and just enjoying the scenery I actually got so far ahead that they couldn't keep up. So from that point on, they refused to allow me to get in front. :)

wrldtraveller.

Keep us updated on your next trip and please make a thread if you have any questions about anything. Chances are, some lurking non-posters have the same question as you and would love an answer as well.

I agree, the subtler pleasures of "boring" landscapes can surprise one. DelMarVa peninsula is mostly flat farmland, almost like the midwest. Peaceful & quiet with nice roads, no hills to fight. On car trips to the Midwest it's been a bit similar while driving on the non-interstate roads. Vast stretches of quiet corn fields etc...weirdly it starts to feel almost heavenly after a while.

Yea, but if you have toured long enough, it's not uncommon to find that the motivation which was there in the beginning can escape you later on. Maybe it's because things didn't turn out as planned or for any of a thousand reasons. Been there, done that, and bailed. The first time it happened I felt like I had failed but over time, I've came to realize that it wasn't a failure but rather an educational experience and a situation that just wasn't right for me at that particular time.

As a European who has toured extensively in Canada, maybe I have some perspective on this.

my biggest Canada/US tour was a two-month loop from Toronto through Ontario and Quebec to the Atlantic (Gaspe) and back via New England and upstate New York. At no point was I bored. I do have some sympathy for your attitude to the prairies, though; my original plan had been a coast-to-coast ride, but I ditched that because day after flat day struck me as less interesting.

I find that motivation is never a problem for me on tour. Solo touring is meditative, it's like an exercise in mindfulness. One becomes attuned to the rhythms of the ride, aware of one's surroundings, often not thinking, just being: it's a very zen-like state and the opposite of boring. And I tend not to plan routes in too much detail. I have an idea where I might end up that evening, but am content to explore byways along the way and change my plans altogether if somewhere or something looks worth investigating. On longer tours I am living very much in the moment - riding the bike doesn't feel like a holiday activity, being a cyclist just becomes my primary raison d'etre.

Try it.

So, OP when is the first trip? You have a bike and waderlust, start there. Sometimes it is helpful to get out of your comfort zone. Start with a small trip, 3-5 days, even an overnight trip to sort out bike/gear/packing issues. Post back and report.

To those who fear to have a go at touring I say forget the doubts and do it.

The sense of adventure at the start of a tour when you have a thousand or so miles to travel and are totally dependent upon your own resources is something that I miss so much it hurts. I'm too old and decrepit now but with the advent of each summer I feel that old itch to set off and tour. There is no better way to engage with people and get to know the country and I came back from each tour with a renewed faith in the goodness of my fellow-man. So many small acts of kindness from strangers in a foreign land and so many bright mornings when all is right with the world.

Cycling alone for so many miles does engender a certain state of mind and creates this routine of cycling and camping which requires little thought. When the body has ceased to protest and is accustomed to the constant pedalling, and the bike has become as familiar as any of your body parts, then it is your thoughts which are prominent.....Zen-like it may be. I loved it and it became an essential part of my life and a prerequisite to my well-being.

No, you're not. See below.
My view precisely. If you're worried about decrepitude, I'd be happy to set aside my preference for solo touring and make up an elderly pair for a week r so in the Cairngorms. Seriously.

While younger I used to ride racing bikes for fitness & fun; I always had the idea to tour sooner or later. But in olden pre-internet days there wasn't always much info about routes & such so I always worried about logistics/breakdowns/traffic etc. I'm sure I missed out on some good tours by thinking too much about potential problems. But now one can do a little research & pick out suitable routes etc. & there's so many commercial tour companies offering a wide array of supported tours everywhere; I think that could be a great option for newbies too.

If you are willing to say, I'd be curious how old you are.

I have found that these types of comments can come from some fairly young folks, but mostly it isn't from folks who have toured. On the Trans America, I often heard "I'm too old" from folks who I met on tour who said "I wish I could do that but, I'm too old". They usually were 10-20 years younger than I was and I figured that at 55 I still had at least 20 years of touring left in me if not a bit more.

It would seem like one ought to be able to tour well into their 70s if they stay healthy and maybe longer if they are lucky in the genetic lottery. Of course health issues can get in the way, but that isn't strictly just age and could happen at any age.

I'm guessing onbike was born in 1939, given his username. I agree with you about touring at any age, health permitting. A couple of years ago I rode a few miles with a Swedish couple touring the UK on a fully-loaded tandem. They were in their seventies but still plenty fast.

thanks you all for the responses. I have been viewing a lot of you tube videos about people's experience touring either north america, or in europe. I find it truly amazing and can't wait to start doing that for myself. like one the post suggested, I am thinking about starting small, like a 2 or 3 day trip, then work my way up. touring by bike has been in my mind for a long time, I just did not put it into action until I started to read some books about people travelling by bike. The books triggered my interest in touring and made me want to learn more about preperation. I went to a bike shop to find out how much would a bike cost, and to my surprise, the owner already did two tours across canada by bike, so he gave me some excellent answers and pointers. He said what most of you said, Its an rich experience, and I should go do it.

Wrldtraveller.

For me, motivation isn't the issue. It's time and money. I only have about 4 weeks vacation a year, some of which must be spent on family trips. And, as others mentioned, bike touring can be very expensive even if camping out.

Expensive? Just sleep in the woods. In MA, plenty of options available.

Actually, I've always felt the opposite, that my bike touring vacations have been rather cheap compared to say "Disneyland with the kids"
Now if you're talking about commercial organized tours where people carry your gear and powder puff your____, well then yea, I agree with you.

I've never had any great desire to bike across N. America east-west or west-east, for precisely the reason you cited. I have, however, biked from BC to California, and from Colorado to Jasper NP. Similarly, I pick my overseas routes to take advantage of whatever a country or region most has to offer. I have no qualms about taking a train, bus, or boat so that I spend my time in what my research has convinced me will be the best areas for touring. I've gotten better about this after I've gotten older and had more experience touring. For example, I devised a very nice loop in northern Thailand which began and ended in Chiang Mai. However, the traffic getting in and out of Chiang Mai was bad enough that I decided to take a bus to get myself about 70 km north of Chiang Mai to start riding, and I returned to Chiang Mai taking a bus the last 80 km from the east. In France on one recent trip, my friend & I had limited time but there were some very specific things my friend wanted to see and do. So after biking in the WWII beach landing area of Normandy plus a few other nearby sights, we hopped on a train to get to another region in France.

It depends on the tour, but in at least one case when reviewing the bills afterward we noted that I had spent less on tour than I would of at home in large part due to not putting gas in my car. That said some tours I spend more and some less, but it certainly can be cheap if you want it to be and make choices that allow that to happen. I guess if you have lost income that makes a big difference, but if retired or on paid leave it can be pretty cheap.

cool. I just found out that my bicycle needs a overhaul, both cranksets, and rear axle bearings. I was riding my bike a couple days ago when my rear tires started to be wobbly which never happened before. So I checked it today. I am curious, Have it ever happened to you while you are on long distance tour? Do you carry spare parts with you, or you just keep riding hoping that the bike will hold together to the nearest town and hope that the town actually have a bike shop?

So for the next few days or weeks, I will have to repair my bicycle. C'est la vie...

Wrldtraveller.:bike2:

Bikes rarely breakdown in a momentary catastrophic way, making it not too hard to get to a shop. Check your bike before you tour and replace anything that's heavily worn and you don't trust. The only spares I carry are a couple of spokes, one fiber spoke, a quick link, and one tube. Any other spares that I'd contemplate I just put on before leaving rather than carrying it.

As BigAura said most failures are not catastrophic or sudden enough to strand you. Be prepared to fix a flat or do some minor repairs, ride a bike that is fairly well maintained, and don't worry. The worst case is that you will need to hitch a ride. Places where there are very few cars, a larger percentage of them will stop to help. In the cases where I know of folks needing to hitch a ride they typically waited 20 minutes or less. If it is obvious that you are broken down, folks will want to help. On roads where there is only a car every few hours most cars will stop, but how often do most of us ever travel on roads where that is the case?

When I biked across country last summer every day was a visual literacy. I was excited to go somewhere that was unknown to me, or figuring out where i'd end up camped for the night. I had a goal in mind for the day and strategies that I'd plan out the night before, kinda like the "Art of War" if you will.

+1 on this and +1 on dengidog's "people" response. No two days are ever the same irrespective of the scenery. Heck if you ride a bicycle it's because you don't want to shed the scenery of one area and replace it with another until you have drunk your fill. Otherwise fly.

Here's something I put in one of my trip reports. I think it sums up my motivation for long tours: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." (H.D. Thoreau) substitute "road" for "woods" and you have it.

Its been a while since I last posted. My bike is all repaired and good to go. I've noticed in most youtube posts, that cyclists who do cross country trip, usually do it one way and fly home?
and what is most bikepacking average speed while cycling?

Why I ask those questions is because I typically do a round trip so I would be expecting to do a cross country round trip and it would be impractical to do a 7 thousand km one way and turn it into a 14 thousand km trip. Also, speed...when I cycle, i tend to cycle pretty fast and it tend to cause issues with my knee and legs as I grow weary at about 50 or 60 miles. Just wondering.

Thanks guys.
P

Start with a short tour, even 1 overnight first to get feel of bike and gear. Do some loops from your house, that's what I do. Speed ? It's up to you. Hills and headwinds? Weight of bike and rider conditioning? For me, mostly New England hills and such, I figure 50- 70 miles a day. Some days are 5 hours some are 8+ of pedaling.