Do any of you do any bike touring by yourselves, or do most of you go in groups?
I've been dreaming up a bike trip for this summer in and around Vancouver Island. I have been thinking about doing it solo since I am enjoying making all of the decisions for the planning part. Does anyone think this is a really bad idea for safety reasons or otherwise? I would be interested in hearing anyone elses solo experiences.

My tours have usually been with one other person ... not solo, but not a group either. That works all right because decisions can usually be made much more easily, with everyone concerned being happy, with only two people to please, rather than a whole crowd. You don't have to stick to a particular itinerary like you most likely would with a group ... but having another person along also gives you someone to talk to, or watch the bicycles, or whatever.

However, I do most of my centuries and randonneuring (very long rides, in remote areas) solo. I would prefer to do them with someone, but have learned to manage on my own.

One tip would be to really pay attention to what's going on around you, and go with your gut instinct about situations. If you feel at all uncomfortable with an area or surroundings or whatever ... bad vibes ... move on. I've been in a few situations like that ... and I don't know if anything would have happened, but kept rolling rather than find out.

I also try not to let on that I'm out there completely alone. If people ask what I'm doing out there, or where I'm going, or whatever, I'll tell them stuff like ... I'm cycling an event with a group of cyclists (but won't mention that the group of cyclists is long gone ahead of me!) ... or ... I'm cycling out to a particular town, up the road a little ways, where I'm going to meet friends ... or if they express a lot of concern about me being out there alone ... I might tell them that a sweep vehicle or sag wagon comes along periodically to check up on me .... or something.

Some cycletourists feel quite comfortable bush camping etc., and I didn't mind it when I was with another cyclist, but when I'm on my own, I prefer to stay in more populated areas ... family campgrounds, hostels, etc. After a long day on the road alone, it can be nice to spend the night near other human beings in a populated area with services. So if it were me planning the trip, I'd aim to spend nights in those sorts of places.

All the best!! Vancouver island is definitely on my list of places to go.

You might want to post this in the touring forum, because more people who have ridden on Vancouver Island might see your question.

I don't like to go by myself for safety reasons, but, often ride at a different speed as the other person, so, I'm essentially riding alone.

I have done many thousands of miles of bike touring alone including a solo across Canada and back across the Northern US. My logic was this: everyday when at home I ride my bike alone back and forth to work or out on training rides. On a tour I'm taking the same risks but I perceive more risk when I am in more unfamiliar surroundings but are the risks really any greater? So, think of it this way, if you lived on Vancouver Island would you ride alone? If you would then why not while touring?

Certainly there are safety issues involved in any solo ride and you must take them into consideration. Having a partner can make you feel safer, and in some ways may be safer, but you could also plow into your buddy's back wheel while you're taking in the sights.

Lest you get the sense I'm some kind of fearless mo'fo' I'll add to this I always deal with a lot of fear on all my long solo tours. Everything from thunder and lightning to whacko drivers and things that go bump in the night can send me into wondering why in the world I didn't bring someone else along. But there are phenomenol advantages to being on your own out on tour. One of them being an extra sense of accomplishment when you return. You'll know yourself a lot better when you get back.

I worried about touring alone, but as it turned out in my case, needlessly. There were some real advantages:
1) not having to consult another person, so no comromises on the trip
2) no frustration with another person's lesser/greater riding ability or enthusiasm
3) this is the main one for me- when you're alone you either enjoy moments for their own sake or else you're wasting your time or being dishonest with yourself. For example: you might visit a museum of some sort. Alone, you will stay there EXACTLY the amount of time that you wish, looking at what you want to look at, and the significant social distraction of discussion with a friend is missing. This basically forces you to appreciate what you are experiencing for its own sake; you pay more attention to the museum say, rather than focusing on it more as a shared experience.

Like buzzman said, you'll know yourself a lot better when you get back. I never got lonely either, met lots of people along the way.

Interesting question. I'm thinking of the same locale for a first mini-tour. It's close for me as I'm in Everett, WA.

I always do my long tours alone because most people I know either don't ride or don't have free time like I do.

I can't talk about group touring because I've always gone solo (cross-continent). If you can't stand to be with yourself, you may have a problem! On a lot of trips you will encounter many other cyclists that you can relate to (or not if you prefer) - I've never hooked up with one another for more than a few hours. Inevitably differences in preferences (I'm usually slower!) bring a parting. Riding is one thing, but camping is another - I tend to share campsites quite frequently.

One advantage of sharing a tour is that some main items can be limited to one and the load shared ....ie: tent, stove, pots. Also an important aspect of having a partner that I envy is getting the added encouragement from another. Sometimes it's very difficult to conjure up incentive from a tired inner self - but another person's very presence can be a motivation in itself. And no one likes to appear weak in someone else's eyes. I do some training rides with a friend who is a better cyclist than me, and I find I push myself more just to prove to him I'm better than I actually think I am.

Another factor to consider, alluded to by other posters, but not explicit: some people can not stand to be alone for that long; others thrive on it.

The only thing worse than doing a tour solo is doing it with someone. When you ride with someone, there is almost always a speed differential. The other person is too slow on the uphills or on the flats or too fast on the downhills or on the flats. You have two people to worry about, two bikes, two sets of gear, food for two people. One of you may be able to ride 80 miles without breaking a sweat but the other person might not want to go further than 30 miles a day. One of you might be a vegetarian, one only eats meat. Maybe one of you snores like an old bear. Maybe one of you smells like an old bear! One likes coffee and one likes tea. It's harder to tell lies about the trip to other people because there's a witness. The combinations are endless as are the problems.

But at the end of the day, you have someone to share the experience with. At the end of the trip you share something that no one else can share. You have seen the same sights, you've eaten the same bad food, ridden the same bad rain storms or heat waves. You have also seen in the other person things that you never thought was possible. You share a bond that is like none other.


And the only thing worse than doing a tour with someone is doing it solo. You go too fast. You go too far. You hurt yourself. You are alone in the world and there is no one to share with at the end of the day. You experience the pain of loneliness. You experience depression and doubt and, a little, fear. You are on your own. If something breaks, you have to figure out how to fix it. If you crash, you have to treat your own wounds. If you hear someone snoring like an old bear, it is likely an old bear!

But at the end of the day, the pain and loneliness drive you to create. You want to share with others and the only way to do that is to create the story to tell them. You paint the scenes, you make yourself heroic. You battle storms and heat and bears. You also find, within yourself something you never knew you had. You find strength and purpose. You have done something that few others dare to do. You've met the world and spit in it's eye! You are who you are and you know what you can do! And there aren't any witnesses.

+1 This pretty much sums it up.

I rode 206 miles alone this past weekend ,it was quite refreshing & invigorating.

If you really enjoy touring by yourself, then do it. Just make sure that you have a safety net to fall back on if you need it. Be prepared for all the problems that may come your way and you will have a great tour. Personally, I would rather share touring with someone so I have someone to talk to about it later. Alternately, I ride almost all of my training rides solo because I'm not far from home or safety.

Any kind of bicycle touring is a high wire act without a net. Even when you are touring with someone, you still don't have a safety net to fall back on. That's part of the alure. Touring should be about meeting the world with your wits and skills. If you want safety, stay home or get someone to carry your gear.

That said, touring isn't an activity that is that unsafe to begin with. I've toured in Colorado, I've toured in Virginia, I've solo toured the Colorado mountains a couple of times, I've soloed the midwest, I've toured in Scotland and in the Northwest US and I have never felt unsafe. When I was getting ready for my trip this last summer, a guy at work asked if I was afraid of riding out there, just the two of us. He asked me if I wasn't afraid of all the serial killers that wander America. After I stopped laughing and got up off the floor, I told him no. The people you meet out there are good people, whether you are solo or touring with someone, you meet good honest people who are usually facinated by what you are doing. They may think you are touched in the head but they are still facinated.

Ride alone, ride with others, but just ride. You won't regret it.

Having someone with you is a built in net. In the case of an accident/injury to one, the other can get help. Riding on the road IS inherently dangerous to a degree. Accidents happen all the time. You have had some great experiences, more than most and that is great! When riding alone, I make sure that someone knows approximately where I will be and I always carry my cell phone. Wits can get you through most things, but sometimes you can’t do everything on your own.

I've done all three: going solo, going with one friend, and going with groups, big and small. The key is to be brutally honest with yourself about yourself before the trip. Are you comfortable being self-reliant? Can you handle being alone with your thoughts for significant periods of time? Can you work through disapppointments and frustrations by yourself? If not, do not tour solo.

On the other hand, are you fairly tolerant of other people's foibles? Can you be flexible about meshing your wants and needs with someone else's? Can you be direct about something important that is bothering you without being confrontational, judgmental or accusatory? Can you let the "little stuff" go without having resentment build up? If not, do not tour with someone else, and don't even think about touring with a group.

Think about other things you like to do. Do you primarliy like to do them alone? With one or two other people? With a group? Sometimes one, sometimes another? However it works out is okay? That should go along way toward tellin you what you need to know.

One advantage of touring solo - I found that when I did, I was a little more open to interacting with the locals. That led to my meeting and talking with types of people I would otherwise never encounter in my life. I regard that is a very good thing. That is not to say that touring with other people is worse. I offer it simply as a possible factor to consider if you are still on the fence after digesting my incomparably brilliant pearls of wisdom.

Wow, thanks for all of your responses to my question. I probably will end up going alone. It seems near impossible to find someone who has the time available when I do, who is at the same skill level, who wants to do the same things, etc. Plus I love the idea of being alone with my thoughts and being more open to meeting new people. I'm pretty new to bike touring (have done mostly local commutes and leisure rides) and I guess I just wanted to know that I wasn't nuts for wanting to go alone, glad to know lots of others do it. I am anticipating friends and family being worried about it. Thanks for all the info.!

Probably, as has been said, the most difficult thing when riding alone, is living inside your own head for a considerable amount of time. As my trips have tended to be reasonably long (1-2 months) this is initially difficult but after a while one becomes accustomed to this and one enjoys the little routines which develop. I ended up enjoying the time it gave me to think about every aspect of my life.

These days, I welcome being on my own and enjoy the freedom of action this brings....no-one to consult, no need to conform to another's pace or habits and the hard-won security that comes with successfully coping with the problems that come along, whether they be patching yourself up after an accident or repairing the bike. Again, when travelling in a foreign country alone you are is far more approachable and more likely to communicate with the natives and that for me is the joy of foreign travel.
I've read of tours, even in Scotland, which praise the scenery but have little mention of contact with the people, and I find this sad. Meeting new people from a culture different to one's own is to me the essence of cycle-touring.

Just to show how different everyone is, I find that when I tour solo I have far less interaction with people. I am generally a shy person who likes to watch and observe from a distance. When I did my solo trip in the midwest, I have very few interactions with people at all. Basically, no one approached me to see where I was going (go see my search light story on the crazyguyonabike website) for an example. When I rode the Northwest this summer, I was with my daughter and we got approached all the time. I think it had more to do with having a pretty 19 year old woman along then with anything I did

I do find, from a creative standpoint, that I do more - and better - writing when I'm alone. When I'm with someone, I find I spend my time with them and don't talk to my inner voice as much. He tends to sulk when that happens

I have toured with a friend or lover a handful of times, and it has been great. Touring can be intense. Sharing these kinds of experiences is fun, and makes for a memorable trip.

But most of my tours are solo. The people who are in my life now are not into long distance touring, do not have time to get away, or have commitments that prevent them from getting away. So I go alone.

I believe travelling solo is riskier than travelling with another person or a group. Sharing the road with cars and trucks does increase the likelihood of an accident. It is not a huge risk, but worldwide, hundreds of bicycle riders are injured and killed in traffic accidents every day. If I were injured on a tour, I would want a riding companion there to help.

On solo tours, the idea that I am on my own is always at the back of my mind. I think the thought makes me extra safety conscious.

I not only tour alone but ride alone almost exclusively. It never works out to choose a time, route, distance, speed with others. And I enjoy the time to reflect and just cruise. My wife and I ride together once in awhile and that is enjoyable, but I end up going shorter and slower than I would if I were alone. Even when touring across the U.S. I came upon several fellow tourers and rode with them for short distances. Then we went our separate ways. I also met several solo riders on tour who had started out in a group but the group split up soon after beginning.
But, we are going on a group tour this spring for a week. We are mostly focused on the siteseeing, not the miles for this one.

Interesting thread as I've been wondering the same thing about my impending Japan tour (my first tour).

If I had the choice I would bring a good friend but unfortunately none of my close friends share my desire to bike around Japan, and work and family commitments make it impossible for them to come. My only option is then to cancel my dream or carry on and do it solo.

I'm going to just go for it but also worry about how I might feel on my own for 2 weeks on the roads. To this end I've decided to not stray too far from towns and cities during my tour and will try to get out and about for drinks in local bars whenever possible in the evenings.

This is a loaded question. Whether you choose to tour solo, with a couple riding buddies, or a larger group of strangers is personal preference. On a long tour, you may have the opportunity to do all three. I started one tour with a couple good friends. They left after the first week (a planned exit), then I hooked up with another solo rider at a campground for another week (it was nice to share the day... and camping expenses). The rest was alone except for a day or so here and there where I was joined by other riders. I guess what I'm trying to say is that no matter how you choose to do your tour, there's nothing quite like it... it's all good. Have fun on your first tour.

I've done my long trip solo and I definetly don't regret it. Though I had started solo it doesn't mean I spent all the time by myself. I found it very easy to meet fellow travellers/cyclists on the way and to join or to make friends for a while. If you are interested in meeting locals on the way, travelling solo is a big advantage for sure. Sometimes you might find it hard to cope with all problems by yourself but on the other hand you are always free with your decisions. If I'd go in a group for a longer journey once, I would make sure to be able to split up for a while. There's nothing worse than being forced to stick together all the time and on every step you take.

I'm curious to know how many females here have done solo tours. I want to do at least one tour this summer, and I'm not sure if I can recruit someone to come along. On city streets, you get whistled or honked at occasionally, which is no big deal (of course, I've been compensating by dressing more and more like a homeless person), but I am nervous about looking like a target because I will be visibly travelling with all my stuff on my bike.

I doubt if anything will scare me from doing a bike tour alone if need be, but any tips are appreciated.