I bid the gang farewell at breakfast this morning with very mixed feelings. Part of me wanted to continue but I knew in my gut that heading home was the best decision for me. One of my objectives in setting out on this little adventure was to learn about long distance bicycle touring – and that I have! It is something I have wanted to do my whole life and now I have finally done it – and, I hope to do it again, but incorporating all of the many “lessons learned” on this trip. I am writing this all down primarily for myself so I don’t forget over time. Some of those lessons:
1) Individual trip versus an organized group trip? I think if I were to do this again, I would seriously consider just riding by myself or perhaps with one other person. There is a certain level of security in traveling with a group, but – and this is a big ‘but’ – you lose a lot of flexibility on many different levels. First of all, you are on the company’s/ group’s schedule. If the itinerary says you need to ride from Point A to Point B and that distance is 65 miles and the wind is howling – you ride. There were many days that some of us wished we had had more time to look at museums, other sights or just spend more time in quaint little cafes, but we had to be to camp between 4 and 5 so we could have dinner at 6 ( although it didn’t always work that way). As an individual you have a lot more freedom with the schedule.
2). Group gear versus your gear. I was very worried about packing too much stuff but in the end I think I packed just about right. However, what I didn’t factor in was carrying my share of the group gear or carrying extra water/ Gatorade when there are limited services between camping sites. We started out as a group of 16 riders. So, in order to feed all of those people, the group needs to carry the necessary equipment – pots, pans, stoves, utensils, etc. At the start we all divided things up and added that to our individual loads. And then on top of that you add food. In an ideal situation, there would be a grocery store right across the street from the camp site so you would get to camp, unload, walk across the street and bring the groceries back! The reality is that rarely happened and many times we would all meet at a grocery store anywhere from 3 to 20 miles away from the camp site, divide up groceries for 16 people for dinner and the next day’s breakfast and lunch and add that to our respective loads! Needless to say sometimes our bikes got very heavy! Once again, as an individual, you’d have a lot more flexibility as to how you wanted to handle meals.
3) Selection of camp sites/ motels. Because we were a fairly large group, and because we were on a budget, we often ended up in campgrounds outside of cities – sometimes in fairly isolated areas. After riding 50 or 60 miles, most of us didn’t relish the thought of jumping on our bikes and riding 3 to 5 miles into the city so we usually just hung out at camp. Some of them had nice facilities and some of them were more “rustic”! As an individual it would have been much easier to stay closer to towns or even in towns using Apps like Warm Showers ( kind of like Air BnB for bicycle tourists). With a large group that is just not feasible.
4). My limits. I have learned that I think about 50 miles a day is a reasonable thing for me to do. Even with weather and climbing – 50 miles for me is doable. Day after day of 60 to 70 mile days, particularly if it is really windy, is just more than my 65 year old body can take anymore. I hung with my riding buddies the whole way, Cathy, Kiwi John and Krista all in their mid fifties and Kate who is 37. But, the fact is, they are still going and I am not!
The other limit is length of the trip. If I were ever to do another group trip like this, it would be no more than 30 days long. For me, that’s a kind of doable length. Longer than that, it really begins to become a grind. One of our riders, “Sir John” (British) has done several of these types of trips and I was talking to him last night and he said that after the last long bike-camping trip he took, he swore he would never do another trip over thirty days. And then he decided to do this trip and he said he wished he would have listened to his own advice. He has thought about pulling the plug as well as he is suffering a bit now as well.
5) Camping versus motels. I adapted to camping better than I thought I would. That said, many of us discussed how in an ideal world you would stay in a hotel every two or three days minimum. It’s much more restful and, although more expensive, definitely the preferred option – particularly at this point in my life!
So, would I do this again – possibly, but under a new set of ground rules. I have no regrets about undertaking this adventure, nor do I have any regrets about stopping now. I have learned a lot. I have seen a lot of neat things. I have seen parts of the country I have never seen before. And I have met some great people.
As I look back, I enjoyed the ride through Illinois and, in spite of my apprehension, I really enjoyed the ride through Missouri, even with all of the hills, heat and humidity, and being chased by many dogs. Even the rides through Kansas and Eastern Oklahoma were fun. For my money, it was just a tremendous waste of energy riding through the mind-numbing, windy, plains of Western Oklahoma and Northern Texas. New Mexico has been interesting and, in fact, I think one of the best days of riding of the whole trip was the day we did the long climb from Santa Fe to Cedar Crest.
So, tomorrow morning, with no regrets, I will hit the road on Highway 40 and Zippy, my bike, my gear and I will be back home in two or three days. It’s been a good trip but it’s time to go home!