bored while touring?
 

do you get bored touring? what do you do?
ive done 1 night tours, riding all day.
i plan on doing a cross country tour, only riding about 30 or 40 miles per day.

I'm not going to say that every moment of every ride is super exciting. Of course there will be boring moments. On a cross country tour I would bet there would be plenty but a boring day in the saddle is a thousand times better then having to spend even a minute at the desk in the office. :)

I can't say I've ever been bored while touring, in fact, I'm rarely ever bored while cycling. The one exception I can think of was the Last Chance 1200K randonnee. That was a boring ride ... and even so, it is the only US randonnee I'd be interested in doing again.

Touring is all about exploration ... seeing new things and experiencing new things. When touring, you've often got the freedom to decide where you'll go that day and what you want to see. You can stop and check out tourist attractions, swim in the ocean, take photos of views, have lunch at an interesting cafe, or whatever you want. You can start riding when you want, stop when you want, and go wherever you want.

If the road where you are riding isn't interesting enough for you, pick another road ... or catch a bus or train to another point some distance away and ride there.

There are lots of options ... an no reason to get bored.

There are boring days and there are days where the weather is awful to ride in. It's not all glamorous 70 degree days with no wind. And I suspect boredom is the #1 reason why people abandon tours. But this is case for a lot of adventures, hiking the Appalachian Trail, climbing Everest, rowing across the ocean, building a house, driving your car across the nation, stacking dominoes, etc.... Boredom does play a factor.

This forum rarely covers the biggest obstacle to touring, that is the mental aspect of it. It is work to do a tour. There are times when you are wet,cold, riding into a nasty headwind, and you will be asking yourself why in the hell am I doing this when I can be warm and dry and comfortable.

however, there are rewards to touring that go beyond words.. Being able to see things at 10mph that no one else will see. Being able to completely ignore world events. Becoming almost one with your bicycle. Not having to worry about the price of gasoline, the sense of an accomplishment. The thrill of crossing a state or country line, meeting unique people, and countless other personal rewards that are unique to every person.

To me, is bike touring worth it? Yes it is. Would I want to be touring 365 days a year? No I wouldn't. If you dream of doing a tour, go for it, as the only failure is failing to try something you dream of doing.

The previous 3 posts said it very well.

If you get bored touring, maybe you should be doing something else.

Every tour I've been on has had a "what is it about this experience that I seek out?" moment. These usually come in the rain on a long slow uphill with the wind in my face.

Boredom? Only occasionally. For those times, I have music or audio books to pass the time.

Of all the concerns I have about doing a bike tour, boredom is not one of them.

Yeah there are boring stretches. In the desert on a long straight road where you can see to the horizon...nothing but pavement and dirt. It can get boring. But like others have said, the boredom rarely lasts long.
To be honest, since getting out of the army, getting a corporate job and having a kid and all the busyness that entails, I now relish boredom...having the time and mental emptiness to just be alone with my thoughts is a luxury I don't often get these days. Some bike rides I pick the most boring route just to get that.

Trafficcasaurus, are you talking about being bored while you ride? From the way you mentioned having ridden all day on short tours, I kind of suspect that you mean "what do Ido with myself when I`m done riding for the day?" Well, I suspect that I suspect that because I have the same issue- only ride short tours, and keep on pedalling until sundown because I don`t know what else to do. Either way, I can`t offer much advise because I`ve never tried to actually solve the problem- I just keep doing short tours that don`t require rest days and keep riding from sunup to sundown. I am curious to see what other people say about it, though. Ya never know, I just might end up unemployed and ready to try my hand at a long one some day.

Once:

West Texas, hwy 180, head winds and cross winds for 4 days. I bought an I-pod shuffle at a wally world.

On the bike, I like talking to myself.

Off the bike, I tend to bring a book, or a companion, who I tend to ignore and read the book.

:lol: that's a good one

Okay I'm not some big time religious guy but I have found through a lifetime of traveling by foot and bike...being a big bookworm and interested in religious stuff and philosophy, the major religious books of the world...bible, Koran, Torah, Rig-Veda, Upanishads, Tao de Ching, provide the biggest bang for the buck in stimulating mental interest versus weight.
My book list usually includes one novel plus one of the above mentioned books. I've read the bible, the Koran, and the Tao de Ching each at least ten times and always it's a different book to me depending on my circumstances. Perhaps that's the big value of them?

I've had occasional moments of boredom, but it usually passes when I remind myself of where I am and what I'm doing. When that's not enough I turn up the volume on my Podio music player.

I often enjoy the time off the bicycle more than I enjoy the time on the bicycle.

Off the bicycle options:
-- Go for a swim in the local pool or at the beach
-- Go for a hike on a nearby trail
-- Check out a museum or other tourist attractions
-- Walk up and down the streets of town to see what's there and do a little window shopping
-- Go shopping
-- Take in an organised tour
-- Write in a journal
-- Write short stories
-- Read books
-- Read the local newspaper
-- Do Sudoku or other puzzles
-- Stop in at an internet cafe or library to go online for a little while


For example ... On my 3-month tour of Australia, some of the most memorable days were completely off the bicycle. I spent a day wandering around Canberra, a day in Brisbane, and a couple days wandering around Melbourne, Sydney, and Hobart ... checking out the markets, watching the street entertainers, doing some little tours, etc. etc.

I spent one day doing this tour in Tasmania: http://www.gordonrivercruises.com.au/ ... and another day at the Port Arthur prison. Up in Queensland I did an organised tour out to the Great Barrier Reef and one on Fraser Island.

I injured myself along the way and took 5 days off toward the end of that tour. I stayed in a little tourist town in Queensland and spent part of my days by the pool, and some of my days walking around and/or taking little bus trips various places. I spent time in the internet cafe and lots of time reading and sleeping. It was nice.

Meeting and talking to people always helps.

For me, the answer lies in the motivations behind a tour. What is a tour going to achieve for you? Is it the ride or the destinations that is most important?

The answers are as varied as there are touring cyclists.

I have come to the conclusion that people that are destination oriented tend to be bored with the ride. To me it is the ride that makes the tour and the destinations are a bonus.

Aaron :)

If we are talking about evening boredom, go crazy on cooking. Challenge your self to make some seriously gourmet meals with just one pot. Fresh ratatouille's with found fresh herbs, beetroot risottos and foraged mushroom soups are all easy enough.

Alternatively, go for a swim and don't get poisoned by the mushrooms (:

so it seems all you guy never relax enough to get bored, if your not reading listening to music talking to yourselfs cooking up extravagant meals reading the bible my god the list goes on the fact is you do get bored not all the time but the op asked the question do you get bored. well of course you do and it can happen any time any place and thats a fact.but the only saving grace is its not a permanent condition.

I'd get bored too is I only rode 30 or 40 miles a day.


That's like saying" I get bored at my job, but I only work a few hours out of an 8 hour day."

Why don't you work a little more? You might not be so bored.

I have been bored on days off. I crossed the country with a small group. Democracy ruled, so sometimes there were days off in places that offered nothing to do or see. We also had some short days where we ended up finishing early in similar places. During my tour in Spain, weather and sickness socked me in a couple of times and I found myself somewhat bored.

I could see getting bored with multiple days of only 30-40 miles unless there is are beautiful spots to linger or interesting towns/attactions to visit. I am a morning person who likes to get an early start. Even at 10 mph, that's only 3-4 hrs. of riding. But, as noted above, there are things you can do if you find the need to fill time with activities other than simply relaxing. I have had some wonderful times simply laying on the ThermaRest with my eyes closed, feeling the sun and the breeze and listening to the birds.

Same here. I love being on the bike! But, I can knock off a 30-40 mile ride in 2-3 hours. At that point, I'd be stuck someplace that likely looked just as the same as the last place I was in. That's when boredom would set in for me...

I toured other peoples countries, so every day was seeing someplace new.

Same chain franchise stores make this country un unique, town to town.

Now, old guy, I'd probably cut the milage , stop in more taverns
and meet the locals ..
:beer:

I don't wait for tours to do that...:innocent:

Aaron :)

This question was asked here before and I still am astounded by the question. On my last tour I rode for over 4 months and can say I was never once bored!!! Maybe my route across the US wasn't as boring as what others have done, and maybe boredom occurs for those that ride solo. As long as there is at least one other human being travelling with me, I ain't bored. I also carry my camera in a handlebar mounted bag and am constantly searching out photo ops. If the scenery isn't spectacular, I suppose I get absorbed in internal thoughts (happy memories, solving the world's problems, inventing better gizmos for bike tourists). But bored? Not a chance.

Absolutely!! Being out on the bicycle gives me a chance to think. At work, I have to think work-related thoughts ... focus on the projects I'm working on. At home, I've got the TV, computer, and lots of other stuff to do and to think about. But when I get out on the bicycle, I can let my thoughts go wherever they want to go, and that's wonderful.

Also touring offers the opportunity to relax and enjoy doing things I try to squeeze into the rest of my life ... like reading, for example. At work I read manuals. At home, there's hardly ever time to read, but on a tour, I can relax and read.

And the photography thing is a great way to encourage me to look at the beauty in smaller things ... if I'm in an area where there doesn't appear to be much beauty in the larger scenery.




+1

To a Canadian, Europe and Australia (the two main areas I've toured) are fascinating places because they are different from the usual Canadian scenery. There's so much to look at and take in. :)