Solo touring - safe for a woman?

[lulubel]

My circumstances are going to change, probably in the next couple of years. (Circumstances at the moment mean I can't just clear off on the bike, even for just a couple of days.) I've always wanted to travel, and since I'm into cycling, the obvious thing seems to be touring, staying at campsites, and generally seeing some of the world - or at least Europe to start with.

But how safe is it for a woman travelling around on her own by bike?

I know there are always dangers in life, and you can't wrap yourself up in cotton wool, and I wouldn't want to, but I was wondering if a small, slight woman, who is obviously travelling on her own would present a target for some kinds of people.

I did go to the Middle East some years ago by myself, but I had every detail of the trip planned meticulously in advance - what I was going to do, where I was going to go/stay, how I was going to get there, etc. It was a fantastic trip, but it did feel a bit like an organised tour in some ways. My idea for a cycle tour would be to take each day as it comes, not really planning where I was going to stop until I got there (or at least close), which could potentially mean some wild camping if I couldn't find a camp site, and I wonder if that would make me vulnerable.

I'm not really sure where I'm going with the post. I just wondered what other people thought.

 

[Falwheeler]

Have a look at some of Josie Dew's books http://www.josiedew.com/my-books and Anne Mustoe http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bike-Ride-miles-around-world/dp/0863696503. Begin small with short tours near home and see how you feel

 

[vernon]

I came across solo women cycle tourers fairly frequently on the Eurovelo Six route which is well provided for in terms of camp sites and towns at frequent intervals.

There are plenty of opportunities to wild camp on the EV6 route - I took some of them.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Lulubel, for various reasons I often travel myself. I don't think if you are small or big makes a difference, in some places the fact that you are a woman, and a foreign one at that, makes a difference not so much in your safety, but in your comfort.
Getting pestered left, right and centre while you are trying to enjoy the scenery is not my idea of fun.
Obviously, one does not venture in a red light district seeking adventures, but sometimes, being a stranger, you end up in places where you rather not be.
I would go for it, if you enjoy the outdoor life style, but I would plan it all first. Probably my age, 30 years ago I got up and went without a second thought

 

[Baggy]

My friend kitzy managed a solo tour through quite a lot of Europe when she was in her late teens - she's dinky-wee. The main problem she seemed to have was having to turn down people's hospitality. There are brief write ups of her trips here and here.

 

[Soltydog]

A few years ago I was just leaving work in Hull & a young lady on a bike stopped & asked for directions to the TPT to Hornsea, which was my planned route home. I ended up riding most of the way back with her, but she had cycled the TPT from Southport alone. Some nights she stopped at Truck stops & slept in her Bivvy in the parks, which I thought was quite ballsy for a young lady, but she had no problems.
I guess with good forward planning of routes & areas to avoid & areas safe to stay you should be fine.
Good luck if you do decide to do it & hope you enjoy it

 

[Ian H]

Look up Dervla Murphy, wiki. Really good travel writing, wonderful person.

"In 1963, Murphy set off on her first long-distance bicycle tour - a self-supported trip from Ireland to India. Taking a pistol along with other equipment aboard Roz, her Armstrong Cadet bicycle..."

 

[slowmotion]

I think that a lot depends on age, looks and location. Sorry, that's not very PC, but it's possibly true. I spent a few months on a solo overland trip from the UK to Nepal, and back. I was eighteen and got a lot of hassles along the way. Being pretty and male didn't help in some countries.

Edit: It wasn't by bike. It was a very, very, long time ago. No vestiges of beauty remain....

 

[Brains]

I think that a lot depends on age, looks and location. Sorry, that's not very PC, but it's possibly true. I spent a few months on a solo overland trip from the UK to Nepal, and back. I was eighteen and got a lot of hassles along the way. Being pretty and male didn't help in some countries.

Edit: It wasn't by bike.

I did the similar thing, overland New York to San Francisco, down to Ecuador and then Chile via Peru and Bolivia
Male, Not pretty, not 18, got very streetwise, very little hassle (still got my watch stolen in Lima though)

I also did London to Marrakesh and back overland aged 19 - other than a major rail crash, a military coup and an invasion the trip was almost trouble free except maximum extreme hassle going through Tangier

 

[slowmotion]

Kenneth Williams?

 

[growingvegetables]

Mixed up post.

If you were my daughter, I'd be worried sick, and I'd be using every argument in the book to persuade you not to do it.
















BUT - I'd be proud as **** that you went ahead and ignored my geriatric male witterings! Truth be told, if you listened to me, you wouldn't take a taxi into Leeds city centre!

 

[lordloveaduck]

http://thatemilychappell.com/

She's been doing it, why not you.

 

[Ian Cooper]

After travelling by bike throughout Europe nearly 30 years ago, I wouldn't be worried about my daughter travelling alone in Europe when she's grown up. While there's always an element of risk, the threat level is low and the experience is definitely well worth the tiny risk. To be frank, I think the risk of being attacked is probably a lot lower than the risk of having a road accident - and that risk itself is very low.

Having said that, I was myself assaulted twice in Europe while on my big cycling tour. But one of the people was just after money (he stole from me, I confronted him, he pulled a knife), while the other was just a nutcase with whom I foolishly engaged in conversation (he grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go - he was just being an peanut). If you just rely on your instincts about people, you should avoid every serious problem.

 

[slowmotion]

If you just rely on your instincts about people, you should avoid every serious problem.

That depends on having had the age and wisdom to develop those instincts. At age eighteen, when a 20 stone Pakistani minibus driver lunges at you "Just one kiss.....no hanky-panky", I felt a bit awkward . I'm sure it was character building but only a bit of very minor violence on my part concluded the episode in safety.

 

[suffolkcindy]

Cycle touring really reflects your attitude to life so if you need company to go out in the uk you probably wont feel safe on the road alone but if like me you are comfortable in your own company then soli touring as a woman is fine. Attitude is all. Solo wild camping not so safe for male or female because you are far more vulnerable.
Normal common sense applies.
I rode with a young girl from japan who had been on the road alone for three years 17-20. She had developed a strong protective strategy for blanking young men but claimed no hassles. I have even been looked after by drunken cambodian men in the muddle of the night miles from anywhere.
I would encourage you to be brave. The world is not as dangerous as media implies