Bicycle touring across USA, Tent Camping

[elcolombiano]

I am retiring from 33 years at work next week. I am considering bicycling across the USA. There are many commercial tour companies. I found one that takes a northern tier and crosses the US in 87 days, 79 riding over 4407 miles. It is van supported and you sleep in tents in campgrounds. You have to share with the cooking chores. I am not worried about being able to do the ride. I am worried about riding all day long every day and then having to cook, clean pots and pans and set up a tent and sleep on the ground for 87 days. When its raining not only do you have to ride all day in the rain but have to spend the late afternoon and night outdoors exposed to the elements. If you stay in a hotel at least after riding in the rain you can take a hot shower, eat indoors and sleep in a bed protected from the elements. Can anyone who has taken a trip like this please comment on your experience?

[kenw]

America by Bicycle (abbike.com). I did the Fast South ride several years ago.
Good experience, good people (no connection other than as a participant). Motels/hotels all the way. They supply breakfast & lunch, on your own for dinner. They have fast-paced rides and moderate-paced rides. PM if you want more info.
Ken

[choke]

While I haven't done a ride of such length, I have done four 7 day cross state rides where we camped every night. The average daily mileage was similar to the one you're considering and most days we had the camp set up and were relaxing not long after lunch. The weather was good for the most part but there were days when the skies opened up and let go. Some people definitely got soaked but my tent was a good quality one and it never leaked a drop. The only downside to my experiences were that they ended after 7 days.

IMO the chores at the end of the day wouldn't scare me at all.....in fact it sounds like a dream vacation.

And congrats on retirement!

[Willy]

I can second America by bike - did the cross country trip with them a few years ago. They supplied breakfast and dinner, you get your own lunch but the did have sag stops every roughly 20 miles. Hotel/motel stays - clean rooms. Nothing to worry about except ride your bike, eat and enjoy.

[Bradford]

I've done unsupported tent trips, unsupported motel trips, van supported tent trips, and on our honeymoon, we did a van supported hotel trip. I like them all, but I strongly prefer tent trips.

If you like to camp and have great equipment, camping is the best way to go. Hotels are usually in towns and campgrounds are usually in nicer places, and I much prefer to be out in the country. Some of the most amazing experiences I have had touring, like having a buffalo stick his face up against my tent screen in Yellowstone or seeing the most brilliant night sky at 2:00 AM in Lubec Maine, came because I was camping and not in a hotel.

You will have plenty of time to set up camp, relax, cook, clean, and get ready for bed. For the most part, you will be up with the sun, eating dinner early, and asleep as soon as the sun goes down. What a great way to live.

You also build up a nice relationship with the other people in the group when you cook and eat together in a way you don't get to do with you go back to a hotel room.

If you don't enjoy camping, or don't have good equipment, you might not like it as much. On the trips I have done with a larger group, the people who were miserable were the ones who had crappy tents, bags, and pads. There were a couple of really rough storms during a trip I did on Cape Breton Island and the folks with bad stuff were soaked in the AM. I was warm, dry, and slept like a baby.

I tour because I love to be outside. The nights in hotels really take away from the experience for me.

[elcolombiano]

America by Bicycle (abbike.com). I did the Fast South ride several years ago.
Good experience, good people (no connection other than as a participant). Motels/hotels all the way. They supply breakfast & lunch, on your own for dinner. They have fast-paced rides and moderate-paced rides. PM if you want more info.
Ken

The across america tours run about $250/day for a single. The Adventure Cycling Association tours run $83/day. Obviously hotels and restaurants cost a lot more. Maybe the campground is more of an adventure all hotel rooms look the same.

[elcolombiano]

I've done unsupported tent trips, unsupported motel trips, van supported tent trips, and on our honeymoon, we did a van supported hotel trip. I like them all, but I strongly prefer tent trips.

If you like to camp and have great equipment, camping is the best way to go. Hotels are usually in towns and campgrounds are usually in nicer places, and I much prefer to be out in the country. Some of the most amazing experiences I have had touring, like having a buffalo stick his face up against my tent screen in Yellowstone or seeing the most brilliant night sky at 2:00 AM in Lubec Maine, came because I was camping and not in a hotel.

You will have plenty of time to set up camp, relax, cook, clean, and get ready for bed. For the most part, you will be up with the sun, eating dinner early, and asleep as soon as the sun goes down. What a great way to live.

You also build up a nice relationship with the other people in the group when you cook and eat together in a way you don't get to do with you go back to a hotel room.

If you don't enjoy camping, or don't have good equipment, you might not like it as much. On the trips I have done with a larger group, the people who were miserable were the ones who had crappy tents, bags, and pads. There were a couple of really rough storms during a trip I did on Cape Breton Island and the folks with bad stuff were soaked in the AM. I was warm, dry, and slept like a baby.

I tour because I love to be outside. The nights in hotels really take away from the experience for me.

What a great description. Buying good camping equipment is a good investment that can be re-used for years and years. I will need a good tent bag and pad etc. It is not expensive compared to the cost of the trip.

[Ken Robb]

I have done tours on bicycles and motorcycles starting with tent camping. It is easier to carry plenty of gear on a motorcycle than a bicycle so I had good gear for comfort since I didn't have to worry as much about size/weight of tents/bedding as I would on a bicycle tour.

On a tenting tour I had one brake pad lose its friction material on Sunday morning so I had to leave the group campsite and get a room in town so I could buy new pads Monday morning. That night in a modest motel showed me how little I really cared about tent camping in crowded campground. My room didn't cost THAT much more than a campsite and I had more privacy/comfort/air conditioning. Then I realized how much time was spent setting up camp at night and taking it down and repacking the bike every morning. Hmmm-I became a "credit card tourer" on motorcycles and bicycles from then on. I did enjoy the occasional wonderful tent site next to a rushing river especially when the campers next door let me use their black bag solar heated shower but there were too many ugly expensive KOA-like nights for me to enjoy that kind of traveling.

I think I'm done with bicycle touring but if I went again I would choose the freedom of credit card (carry my clothes, etc. but not camping gear) riding a not-too-loaded bike from town to town with the freedom to hole up if the weather got ugly or I got weary. A single rider in local cafes/parks,bars attracts all the company he can stand in my experience. EVERYONE wants to share their tales and hear yours.

[Louis]

Are there any outfits with hybrid options, with say, X nights a week in a hotel or motel?

Seems like that would be a good compromise of adventure and comfort / convenience, and allow them to pick and choose the best of both worlds.

[echelon_john]

I rode across the country with two buddied; we camped most of the time, but every third or forth night we'd get a hotel room. Worked for us. Camping in the Pacific NW was awesome, but camping at private, honky-tonk campgrounds in Indiana were not as 'back to nature.'

Doesn't sound like going by yourself is something you're considering? Very different trip, for sure, but also the only way to make sure you can do 100% what you want to do, when you want to do it.

[pinkshogun]

i would start out doing smaller 3-7 day tours before tackling a grand tour

[AngryScientist]

while i've never taken a long bicycle tour, i'm the type that would never pay a touring company to make my decisions for me. i would much rather strike out on my own, or with friends than to pay for a "touring experience".

have you considered just acquiring the routes you would like to take and roughly planning your own trip. select some options along the way, camp if the mood strikes you, and go for the motel option if the weather is gloomy and you crave a hot shower. that's what i'd do anyway; not pushing either/or, just another option.

where do you live, and what would be your ideal start/end locations?

[TimD]

If the tour you are referring to is run by Adventure Cycling, I'd say that it is likely to be extremely well-organized and a great experience for you.

If you want a van-supported tour, or a more cushy tour, you'll have to pay more.

[FlashUNC]

Rule #5, mostly.

[lukeheller]

I've down 2 self-supported, 3 month, 5,000 mile tours across the US; Summer 2010 (with one friend) and Summer 2011 (solo) on a budget.

Since you're retiring and not putting yourself thru grad school like I was, your means and desires may be a bit different than mine were. Each time, I chose my own route. I sampled from the Adventure Cycling Association maps here and there but not much. I wanted my own journey, not someone else's idea. I found connecting my stops between people I knew or places I wanted to go to be very beneficial. It helps to keep you going when you have a person/place to pedal to rather than just the next stop on the map.

Self-supported? between both trips, I shared 1 hotel room for a night between 2 other guys... mostly because a guy we met up with for a bit really wanted some "luxury" r&r. I may have paid for a total of 5 or 6 campsites between the two trips. I mostly camped off the beaten path to save money. Riding along the Pacific Coast Hwy was a little more difficult and I often found myself with paying for a site as my only option. However, always worth it. That's the best bike tour around IMO.

Cooking? I never did. On my first trip, I brought an MSR whisperlite stove. I started my 1st ride on the coast of NC and hadn't used my stove once by the time I got to Wyoming. I was carrying 2 fuel bottles and a stove. I burned the fuel and sent it all home. On my second trip, I made a "penny stove" out of those aluminum beer bottles. It's super durable, super lite, super compact and you can buy fuel for it for cheap in any gas station anywhere. I only used it to heat up water for tea or coffee. I ate my meals in towns before/after setting up camp or carried tortilla rolls with peanut butter and other road food to hold me over. I always started my day with the coffee and breakfast hunt. If I couldn't find coffee within the first 20 miles, it was a rough start to a day. I never made breakfast. Pack up and ride out.

Riding across country is enough effort. Having to cook along with it just wasn't attractive to me. However, I believe eating at restaurants as you're going along here and there and carrying a good bit of your own food is far more economical than paying for any guide service.

[eddief]

You need to take all the variables into consideration. Are you looking for a vacation, challenge, both or what. This summer I did an organized tour with hotels in N. Spain. I can say, after riding one 50 mile day with a lot of climbing and a lot of rain, I was not so keen on doing that again the next day. And had really no choice as we had to get to the next reserved hotel in the next city. Upon reflection, the trip was an amazing experience with lots of great memories and the opportunity to see Spain up close and personal, but at time on the bike I was wondering what the hell am I doing paying good money for this "vacation?" Setting up a tent in the rain after riding 50 miles in it, does not sound that great to me. At least with a hotel, you get a bed, a shower, and a place to poop.

[dawgie]

I've ridden a number of week-long tours, some of them camping, some staying in hotels and some combining the two. I enjoy camping and you develop a certain comraderie swapping stories, eating and drinking around the campsite. If camping in scenic areas, that is also a real plus. However, camping can totally suck when the weather is bad, the campsite is lousy or when you are sharing the space with noisy obnoxious people. Even when the weather is nice, you often have to pack your gear wet in the mornings from dew, and that is extra weight if you are riding fully loaded.

My foremost preference in a tour is not having to carry my gear. Altho fully-loaded touring has a certain appeal, a bike simply isn't as fun to ride when it's loaded with 30-50 lbs of gear. Camping is much more appealing when you are not having to lug your tent, sleeping bag, etc., around on your bike all day. It is also nice to camp when you have the option of staying in hotels if the weather turns lousy or you just want to clean up and get a good night's sleep.

That said, I can understand the appeal of a fully-loaded tour such as those run by Adventure Cycling. It would certainly be less expensive than staying in hotels, and even their loaded tours have occasional hotel days on their schedules. If the tour is camping in scenic locations and you are sharing cooking a cleanup chores with other participants, that would make it much more appealing to me. I'm actually considering signing up for one for their shorter tours (10-14 days) next summer, the one that goes from Portland to Crater Lake, Oregon.

[maxdog]

crazyguyonabike.com.

[eddief]

how much tolerance or affection do you have for sitting on a bike day in and day out...and then camping out too. You are going to be crossing this great land...will there be time to smell the roses? Or just get on the bike and ride some more? As Jackson Browne once said "get up and do it again, amen."

[johnnymossville]

I've roughed it on two long touring trips 2k+ miles each time, by camping out in the woods along the road both times.

If I could afford it, I'd do something better, but I will say there are so many great memories from those trips that I'd do it again.

Enjoy your trip!

[PaMtbRider]

What is your current touring experience? I would hesitate to commit to a cross country trip, either camping or staying in hotels, if I didn't have some previous exposure to either method.

I have done everything from self-supported cross country, to commercial 2 week van supported trips. They are different experiences and will appeal to different people.

How big of a group will you be riding with? The supported trips I have done have varied from 5 - 25 riding customers. In a group of 25 you have a good chance of finding someone with compatible riding and personality. It is also big enough of a group if you feel the need to avoid someone you can.

If you are camping, don't expect a peaceful lake side campsite each night. I remember camping for 3 nights in a row in Kansas. Each night we ended up camping near a railroad. Being woke up by a train at 2 am was not pleasant after riding 100 miles in 100 degree heat each day.

Riding cross country is a dream / goal for many cyclists. The reality is you are going to spend some time riding in weather and terrain you might typically avoid. The scenery doesn't change too quickly, and frankly after the 4th or 5th day of sage brush or cornfields it can get monotonous. I am glad I had a unique opportunity to ride cross country, self supported, with my father as my high school graduation present. I might ride cross country again if my wife is interested. More than likely, we will take retirement as several week long trips in our camper. We will bicycle and enjoy the country, moving on to the next destination when were ready for a change of scenery.

[charliedid]

Bike camping is great, when the camping is great. Otherwise it's merely sleeping on the ground.

The Northern Tier will have it's share of both but don't be surprised if you find yourself sleeping next to a bunch of RV's

Have fun.

[znfdl]

Everytime that I have ridden across the USA it has been either a fully supported tour or a 4 person RAAM team.

I can give you my opinion based on my experiences, as you have to think about what you need to do when you have a bad day on the bike, as you will eventually have a bad day on the bike.

When you have a really bad of weather, what are you going to want to do when you get off the bike. For example, if you have an 80 mile day, with a constant headwind and thunderstorms all day; do you want to sleep outside and have to cook your food?

Another common example would be if you are riding during the summer. If you have a 70 mile day, it is 95F and 90% humidity and the temperature at night only goes down to 85F, do you want to sleep in a tent and have to make your own food?

I know that at the end of each day that I appreciated having a dry bed, hot water and restaurants nearby. If you are going at your own pace you can adjust the day's distance based on how your body feels. If you are riding as a group, then you do not have that luxury.

Just my $.02

[Marcy]

I did the Cycle America Seattle to Boston ride in 2003, after finishing a Peace Corps assignment in Senegal, West Africa. It was a wonderful way to rediscover America after being away for several years.

http://www.cycleamerica.com/cc-tour.htm

In fact, that's me in the yellow jersey in the picture for their New England leg:

http://www.cycleamerica.com/cc9-history.htm

Cycle America arranges breakfast & dinners, you find your own lunch. They truck the gear between overnight points, which are a mix of high schools, churches, campsites, or hotels. It's usually a school, and you can sleep in the gym if you like, thus avoiding the soggy camp gear thing. It's very nice not to have to schlep your gear on the bike.

We joked it was the vacation that became a job -- 2.5 months is a long time on the road, but a great adventure. Did a little racing while visiting my sister in PA when it was over, an excellent way to get into competitive shape.

Cycle America breaks the trip into 9 different week-long legs, with some folks coming in for a week or two, slowly lacing together an entire cross country trip over several years (if you can't take the time to do the whole thing at once).

There were about 50 core coast to coast folks who did the entire distance. We had an "EFI" club for "Every Fu..ing Mile" -- no SAG-ing.

This Sept did a 700 mi self supported ride from Washington D.C. to Pittsburgh and back along the C&O Canal Towpath and GAP (Great Ohio Passage). Excellent trip, with virtually no exposure to roads and cars.

Was my present to myself for completing an Air Force deployment in Kabul, Afghanistan. Weather was very good, except for one extremely wet cold front on the way to Pittsburgh. Picture is of me crossing the Eastern Continental Divide, bike is my trusty older Co-Motion Americano.

Like folks say, different types of touring have various pros & cons. Experience it all, give each type a try. It's like different bikes -- they're all fun! :-)

[Coluber42]

I think a big part of it has to do with how the day's distance feels to you. My partner and I did a 3-week tour a couple of years ago where we were self-supported and camped some and stayed in motels some. We went ~95 miles most days on fully loaded touring bikes, and on the nights we camped, we found that we often didn't really have much time (i.e, remaining daylight) or energy for some of the more fun aspects of tent camping, like sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows, or going for a dip in the swimming hole or whatever. We basically pitched the tent, cleaned up, cooked instant food on the camp stove, and went to bed. So we really appreciated the nights we stayed in air conditioned motels. And we did have a couple of short rest days where we only did around 40 mi and had more time to do something else fun.
But had we been doing, say, 60 mi/day, we'd have had more time to hang around the campsites before and after and that would be much more fun and interesting than hanging around any of the dumpy places where we stayed in motels.
At the same time, had we been only staying in motels, we wouldn't have carried as much stuff, 95 mi/day wouldn't have taken as long, and we'd also have had a little more time to relax.
I haven't gone on a big organized trip, but as such things go, Adventure Cycling surely knows what they're doing. My guess would be that on a trip like that, the mileage and timing is planned out so that if the trip is a good match for you, you won't be too exhausted to do anything when you get into camp. And if you're the sort of person who enjoys a big group activity (and if you're not, why sign up for a big group trip?), the "chores" like cooking and setting up camp probably become a fun, rewarding, and integral part of the social experience of the trip.

[Bradford]

...We went ~95 miles most days on fully loaded touring bikes, and on the nights we camped, we found that we often didn't really have much time ..But had we been doing. say, 60 mi/day, we'd have had more time to hang around the campsites before and after and that would be much more fun and interesting

That is exactly what I found over the years. The first tour I did averaged about 80 a day, but I eventually settled on averaging 60. Some days end up being 45, some end up being 75, but a 60 mile target ends up being the best mix of riding, stopping along the way to see things, and camping.

[Ken Robb]

A guy from La Jolla rambled around the USA on his bike interviewing business leaders along the way. He recorded his experiences in his book : "Preppie Gadfly". That might give a different outlook on bicycle touring with a purpose other than just riding.

[RFC]

I feel your pain.

Thirteen days of backpacking through the Philmont Ranch in Northern NM as a BSA leader during a drought, no showers and a 65 lb pack dampened my enthusiasm for fully loading hiking and camping. I loved the hiking and the physical exertion, but would have enjoyed it more if each night was spent in a cabin with a shower, hot food and one or more adult beverages.

[weehastogopee]

I would say to not use a tour company and just plan it out yourself.
If you don't like camping too much, you can minimize the days you have to camp by using warmshowers.org. It's a site like couch surfing but specifically for cycling tourists.

But I just wanna say on my tour, staying in a motel (we only did one night) was pretty miserable because we didn't get to meet anyone (and spending a lot of money for a place to sleep really sucked compared to a warmshowers host or a 5 dollar campground). Meeting people was a big thing that was so great about our trip!

But I'm glad you're looking to do it! I think bike touring should be more popular than it is....It was such a great experience for me and my friend.

[Sheldon4209]

Each of us are different in how we like to bike. I would second the idea of trying a camping tour of a few days before you make a commitment of so many days. I have done many week long, cross state camping rides. I enjoyed every one but after a week I was ready for a bed and my own bathroom. A tour company would give you other people to ride with and socialize in the evening. Either way, enjoy the ride and your retirement. Congratulations!

[tv_vt]

I biked "cross-country" with my then-wife in 1980. Left late May from San Francisco and decided to stop at our home in southern Indiana about 70 days later in early August 'cuz we didn't have enough money to get ourselves back from the East Coast if we got there.

We tent-camped, although the weather was so hot and dry that we slept on picnic tables in city parks many nights.

When we finished, it was very weird to be sleeping in a bed with four walls and a roof around us.

Everybody is different, and weather can really vary, but I really enjoyed living outside almost totally 24-7 that summer.

[bikingshearer]

I did a fully-loaded camping almost every night SF to DC tour in 1980. I was with a friend from Calif to Yellowstone, by myself the rest of the way. I planned the route. My stove gave out about half way across (put in the wrong fuel and ruined it), so I mostly ate cold stuff straight out of the can. This was a wonderful trip, and doing it the way I did let me spend time with people I would never have met any other way. I was 23 at the time, and I am not sure my now-56 year old body would react kindly to sleeping on only a ground pad.

I also have done a organized trip around Provence with Backroads. They cooked and cleaned up, we set up and tore down the tents. The food was extravagantly wonderful. But I felt like I was in an American bubble moving through France - tghere were very few encounters with the locals, and it was much more than any language barrier that caused it.

Both were great, and I often think of both of them very fondly.

One thing to keep in mind - On a trip as long as you are looking at, there will be some very tough days. Physically tough, yes, but especially mentally tough. There will be times when things are going badly when you will think that this was the stupidest idea ever. I know I had one day, where, after five days of headwinds, with it now raining and a truck passing me at 65 mph close enough that I could have elbowed it that I had the closest thing to a psychotic break I have ever experienced. t was a good thing that the nearest Greyhound station was up ahead instead of behind because for 15 minutes I was heading for the bus home. You will not have tat experience, but you will have one that saps your will. Can you fight or slog and zen your way through it? If so, self-touring is great. If not, go for the orgnaized tour.

[elcolombiano]

I did the Cycle America Seattle to Boston ride in 2003, after finishing a Peace Corps assignment in Senegal, West Africa. It was a wonderful way to rediscover America after being away for several years.

http://www.cycleamerica.com/cc-tour.htm

In fact, that's me in the yellow jersey in the picture for their New England leg:

http://www.cycleamerica.com/cc9-history.htm

Cycle America arranges breakfast & dinners, you find your own lunch. They truck the gear between overnight points, which are a mix of high schools, churches, campsites, or hotels. It's usually a school, and you can sleep in the gym if you like, thus avoiding the soggy camp gear thing. It's very nice not to have to schlep your gear on the bike.

We joked it was the vacation that became a job -- 2.5 months is a long time on the road, but a great adventure. Did a little racing while visiting my sister in PA when it was over, an excellent way to get into competitive shape.

Cycle America breaks the trip into 9 different week-long legs, with some folks coming in for a week or two, slowly lacing together an entire cross country trip over several years (if you can't take the time to do the whole thing at once).

There were about 50 core coast to coast folks who did the entire distance. We had an "EFI" club for "Every Fu..ing Mile" -- no SAG-ing.

This Sept did a 700 mi self supported ride from Washington D.C. to Pittsburgh and back along the C&O Canal Towpath and GAP (Great Ohio Passage). Excellent trip, with virtually no exposure to roads and cars.

Was my present to myself for completing an Air Force deployment in Kabul, Afghanistan. Weather was very good, except for one extremely wet cold front on the way to Pittsburgh. Picture is of me crossing the Eastern Continental Divide, bike is my trusty older Co-Motion Americano.

Like folks say, different types of touring have various pros & cons. Experience it all, give each type a try. It's like different bikes -- they're all fun! :-)

Thanks for sharing the picture and all the information. I will check out cycle america and compare with adventure cycling.

[elcolombiano]

Thanks every one for all the great posts with suggestions. I just want to try out something different. 3 months with an organized group is not going to kill me. I can do the trip by myself and stay in hotels but I imagine after a few weeks it will get a little lonely. Carrying all my gear on a bike and traveling alone is definitely something I do not want to do. If I could find a small group of people I could do the trip with I could save money over the organized tour but the logistics would be a lot of work. I like the idea of not carrying gear and having enough time to enjoy the campground or may be ride into a near by town to check it out if possible. Doing 60 miles or so per day is easy. Doing double that per day may get exhausting. With a group I will not be by myself all the time and can hopefully meet new people at the campgrounds. Hope the campgrounds are not just RV folks. I don't know what sleeping in tents on the ground for months is like but imagine you get used to it, unless it is constantly raining or to hot or cold.

[oliver1850]

I live just a few miles off the Northern Tier route, and have often met and talked with tourists on the road or at the local state park. While the guided group tour will get you across the country efficiently, you will miss a lot that might be interesting to you. There won't be time to detour to historic sites or other points of interest along the way. In my area, the mapped route is far from the best one possible between the Mississippi and Illinois river crossings, although those two points are well chosen. I don't know if there's any requirement that you have to camp with the group every night, other than the nights it's your turn to cook. Perhaps that would allow the occasional night in a motel if you need one. Adventure Cycling has some shorter tours that would let you experience the group tour experience before committing to the transcontinental trip.

Warmshowers is a good resource. Some hosts will be able to ride with you for a certain distance and will be able to give advice on what to see in their area. You can post for riding partners on the site, either in advance or while your trip is progressing. ACA has a similar resource.

There are advantages to both the structured group tour and one you organize yourself. For me it would come down to whether the goal is simply to cycle across the country, or visit specific points of interest while doing it.

[lukeheller]

Warmshowers is a good resource. Some hosts will be able to ride with you for a certain distance and will be able to give advice on what to see in their area.

+1 I seemed to find a warmshowers hst at least every 4-5 days riding 80-125m/day.

It's become a wide reaching network and the only less than ideal experience I had was being proselytized. Even then, they just wanted to save me ;)

[Germany_chris]

If the idea of camping doesn't appeal to you now it's not going to appeal to you when ou're hot/cold and tired. People who like to camp like to camp people who like to camp at the Marriott like that.

It never occur to me to sleep in hotels crossing the USA on a bike..

[dawgie]

Warmshowers sounds like a great idea -- if your spouse buys into it. My understanding is that to take advantage of the lodgings you have to make your own home available to visitors. My wife would never put up with that. Sweaty stranger calls or emails on short notice, needing a place to stay. Yeah, my wife would love that.

[dave thompson]

Warmshowers sounds like a great idea -- if your spouse buys into it. My understanding is that to take advantage of the lodgings you have to make your own home available to visitors. My wife would never put up with that. Sweaty stranger calls or emails on short notice, needing a place to stay. Yeah, my wife would love that.

Not necessarily. My wife and I belong to Warm Showers. We offer our yard for camping and shelter, not our house. We also offer our motorhome (parked in our yard) for sleeping, cooking and hot showers. Those who offer set the conditions of what they offer.

[oldpotatoe]

America by Bicycle (abbike.com). I did the Fast South ride several years ago.
Good experience, good people (no connection other than as a participant). Motels/hotels all the way. They supply breakfast & lunch, on your own for dinner. They have fast-paced rides and moderate-paced rides. PM if you want more info.
Ken

Do THIS type. Ride all day, even in good weather, and no shower or decent bed? No thanks.

[Wilkinson4]

Jealous! done two big ones, the longest being 47 days solo… Hotel stay every 3rd-4th day. Spent an extra day in a couple of towns just to relax. Check out Adventure Cycling and their maps for well established routes. They have a Norther Tier route as well. Most importantly, just enjoy your freedom. There is nothing like just hopping on your bike and riding to the next town.

mIKE

[pinkshogun]

Natchez Trace Parkway
Katy Trail

[Louis]

Katy Trail

All that climbing's a real killer, isn't it? ;)

[Louis]

I also have done a organized trip around Provence with Backroads. They cooked and cleaned up, we set up and tore down the tents. The food was extravagantly wonderful. But I felt like I was in an American bubble moving through France - tghere were very few encounters with the locals, and it was much more than any language barrier that caused it.

Interesting point that I hadn't thought of. One might only get the "sights and sounds" of being in a foreign country, but not the social interaction, which of course should be part of the experience (IMO).

[oliver1850]

Warmshowers sounds like a great idea -- if your spouse buys into it. My understanding is that to take advantage of the lodgings you have to make your own home available to visitors. My wife would never put up with that. Sweaty stranger calls or emails on short notice, needing a place to stay. Yeah, my wife would love that.

You can make yourself unavailable for hosting at any time. The usual reason given is "I'm on tour".