Cycling Around the World, Sadly had to return for major repairs

[John Peel]

I've never done any cycle touring longer than a week (though I've done it alone and with friends), which isn't really long enough to either get lonely or to crave solitude

I am aware of some couples that have broken up while on long term tours and I could imagine it too, but those same people may have split up anyway, who knows. The tour may have even kept them together longer. I couldn't imagine being with a romantic partner on something so raw as a cycle a tour, unless it was a credit card type of tour.

 

[hoopdriver]

Pedalling through the lonely wastes of the Pilbara in the height of summer would not be terribly conducive to romance...

 

[Alan O]

I am aware of some couples that have broken up while on long term tours and I could imagine it too, but those same people may have split up anyway, who knows. The tour may have even kept them together longer. I couldn't imagine being with a romantic partner on something so raw as a cycle a tour, unless it was a credit card type of tour.

Indeed. My wife has never had any interest in joining me on my travels, and I think we're very much the better for that.

 

[jags]

i can safely say my ould doll would stab me if she were to come touring with me.

 

[John Peel]

My wife won't even realise I'm gone until the grass is 2 feet high

 

[Bonefish Blues]

My wife won't even realise I'm gone until the grass is 2 feet high

Take care, when it gets to 6 feet it can be mistaken for Pampas Grass

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I am aware of some couples that have broken up while on long term tours and I could imagine it too, but those same people may have split up anyway, who knows. The tour may have even kept them together longer. I couldn't imagine being with a romantic partner on something so raw as a cycle a tour, unless it was a credit card type of tour.

All but one of my tours has been work my husband. I've toured solo just the once and he insisted on meeting me at the half way point to check I was ok. Both have their appeal, but I prefer touring with my husband even if stopping to take photos is harder with him around. Supermarkets or general shopping was easier to a point. I just got used to sitting on the ground next to our near to the bikes whilst he did the shopping. Our first tour I started to do the shopping but it only lasted 4 days. He moaned about the length of time I took. Exactly the same as him, I timed it, but to stop problems developing, I have him the shopping list and told him to get on with it!

As for leaving my kit and bike etc when touring alone, I just wheeled my bike into the shop and left it by the door having spoken with either the cashiers or a security guard first. I was never turned away and never had any issues. I have one meet a cyclist in a supermarket in the isles with their bike. If anyone complained, I would tactfully point out that my bike was no different to a wheelchair or pram or pushchair or for that matter a trolley!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

All but one of my tours has been work my husband. I've toured solo just the once and he insisted on meeting me at the half way point to check I was ok. Both have their appeal, but I prefer touring with my husband even if stopping to take photos is harder with him around. Supermarkets or general shopping was easier to a point. I just got used to sitting on the ground next to our near to the bikes whilst he did the shopping. Our first tour I started to do the shopping but it only lasted 4 days. He moaned about the length of time I took. Exactly the same as him, I timed it, but to stop problems developing, I have him the shopping list and told him to get on with it!

I'm not surprised if you shopped for 4 days...

 

[hoopdriver]

For shopping and other errands when travelling solo, especially in small towns, I have asked at fire stations and police stations if I could leave my bike and shop - there are always responsible people around, and security seemed pretty good! I have often been invited to have a shower as well.

 

[John Peel]

As for leaving my kit and bike etc when touring alone, I just wheeled my bike into the shop and left it by the door having spoken with either the cashiers or a security guard first.!

I too just go straight into supermarkets with my bike and leave it where everyone can see it. Has a rear wheel lock so someone would have to carry it to steal it. I can only just lift it myself and I’m very strong. If I couldn’t get it through the doors I would leave in front of the windows facing the checkouts, if I felt I was in a nice area, just taking my bar bag in with my valuables.

I haven’t cycled with anyone yet, other than half a day with 9 guys going in the same direction in France, and that was nice. Everyone keeping each other going at a pace. I only say a couple of other cycle tourists in the whole time I was in Spain, and they were passing the other way. In France there were hundreds, France seems an easy target for touring as there are cycle paths everywhere and public toilets, I didn’t see a single public toilet in Spain and very few cycle paths other than along a beach.

I will be catching up wth a guy in Greece probably who is cycling the world and we said we would meet up. A couple of friends in Thailand too and one named Leana who I hope to catch up with there who has cycled over 150k and 80 countries. Very impressive and in her early 60’s.

 

[John Peel]

For shopping and other errands when travelling solo, especially in small towns, I have asked at fire stations and police stations if I could leave my bike and shop - there are always responsible people around, and security seemed pretty good! I have often been invited to have a shower as well.

I found that really easy to do in France and the UK. People were really keen to help. In Spain it was very different, and maybe it was the route I took through the center. A completely different attitude I felt.

 

[MikeG]

The centre of Spain is an odd place. Empty, dull, and rather a backwater. I suggest sticking to the outside. On our drive from London to Cape Town a few years back we broke down in the middle of Spain. That was really bad planning, and entailed camping in an olive grove for 3 or 4 days. That drive also taught us valuable lessons which I think you are now learning: have simple robust and commonly available technology, because it is going to break at some stage. When it breaks, you want the locals to be able to repair or replace it. So, you drive a Land Rover or Toyota Landcruiser, not a Gladenwagen or a Unimog. With a bike, you have the same drive train as everyone else in the world.......

 

[Blue Hills]

. Has a rear wheel lock so someone would have to carry it to steal it.

Can I ask what the rear wheel lock is?
One of those "nurses lock" things?

 

[hoopdriver]

I found that really easy to do in France and the UK. People were really keen to help. In Spain it was very different, and maybe it was the route I took through the center. A completely different attitude I felt.

It does vary country to country. For example I found the Germans to be lovely and the Austrians to be cold and aloof - the exact opposite of their TV-and-Sound-of-Music stereotypes. Cycling through Greece and Turkey was a delight - everyone was so friendly and generous and outgoing. The hilarious thing about cycling through those two countries though was that when I was in Greece, heading for Turkey, the Greeks were full of dire warnings that in Turkey I would be robbed and get my throat slit for sure; and when i got to Turkey everyone was saying 'Thank God you made it through Greece! You're so lucky you didn't get your throat slit!" It was all I could to keep a straight face.

 

[Alan O]

Cycling through Greece and Turkey was a delight - everyone was so friendly and generous and outgoing. The hilarious thing about cycling through those two countries though was that when I was in Greece, heading for Turkey, the Greeks were full of dire warnings that in Turkey I would be robbed and get my throat slit for sure; and when i got to Turkey everyone was saying 'Thank God you made it through Greece! You're so lucky you didn't get your throat slit!" It was all I could to keep a straight face.

I've had a similar experience regarding Thailand and Cambodia (backpacking, not cycling). The first time I headed across the border into Cambodia, my Thai family and friends were genuinely concerned for my safety. But it was a dream. Thai people are justifiably renowned for their hospitality and friendliness - and Cambodians are exactly the same. I thought it strange that I could easily bridge the divide and see both peoples for what they are, but that they themselves felt an enmity for which I can see no current justification. I've been back to Cambodia a number times since, so maybe I'm helping a bit in my way.

On a similar occasion, I finished a business trip in Singapore once with some time off, and I headed across the causeway into Malaysia for a couple of weeks. My Singapore colleagues were horrified, warning me with tales of the robberies and murders that allegedly went on across the border - but Malaysia is one of the easiest-going countries for travelers in SE Asia.

People are just people.