Solo travel and safety?

[DeniseGoldberg]

It's still amazing to me that people often think that solo bicycle touring isn't safe (or a good idea). I started in the wonderful world of touring by taking supported tours, but back in 1998 I realized that the supported tours were no longer what I wanted - I wanted to go to different places and to experience different things that solo travel provided. I had been taking vacations alone for years, but for some reason striking out on my own on my bicycle just seemed to freak people out, both family and friends.

Anyway, in 1998 I really wanted to ride across the USA, but I couldn't get enough time off of work. Instead, I took a month-long tour, riding across the panhandle of Idaho, turning north through Montana heading for Glacier National Park, then following the spine of the Rockies through Alberta and British Columbia - getting as far north as Jasper. The first 3 weeks were solo, and as a safety net (that it turned out I didn't need), I booked a week-long trip with Backroads in the Canadian Rockies as the last week of my trip. I figured that if it turned out that I didn't like solo touring that I would have something to look forward to. As it turns out, I could have done the whole trip solo and been very happy. You can find my journal about that trip here. I haven't looked back, but continued to go forward with solo touring, including a 50th birthday celebration (taking advantage of getting laid off from my job) of touring across the United States.

OK, so how did I convince people that everything would be OK? My mom was excited about my trips, but my dad & brother and sister weren't very happy. My boss at the time - who is also a friend - threatened to take the month off too and drive a support vehicle for me. That would have helped his worry, but it would not have made me happy! Somehow I managed to get people to understand that riding across the country isn't a whole lot different from doing a long ride near home. It's just as possible to need help from a crash (or other situation) from riding at home as it is when you're traveling long distances! I wish I could give you a hint about what to say, but I don't think I came up with anything brilliant!

On my cross-country trip I did take a cell phone with me, which made some people more comfortable. I didn't have a cell phone back in 1998, and the area I was traveling through didn't have good cell coverage, so that was a trip where I figured I'd have to rely on strangers if I needed help. Nothing happened, and I'd do another trip without a cell phone with no hesitation.

I am relatively careful about where I ride, and if I wind up in an area that makes me nervous (and that doesn't happen very often) then I get out of that area as fast as I can. I tour with an open mind and with the idea that I want to meet people who live in the areas I am wandering through. A loaded bicycle - whether loaded with panniers or a trailer - is a conversation starter. I can't tell you how many wonderful conversations I had with strangers. In fact, a man named Chuck absolutely made my day in Yellowstone National Park when he walked up to me and asked "Are you Denise?"! He had been following along in my journal which I had been faithfully updating from the road! Other people offered me places to stay (a camping spot in their yard), offered me rides when I was unhappily changing a flat on the side of the road at the end of a long day, or just handed me a cold drink on a very hot day.

Jobob is right - there are many other women out there touring on their own, and you will find many journals on crazyguyonabike.com that might give you some more information about how other women have done this. And I have more journals out there too - at denisegoldberg.crazyguyonabike.com.

If you have other specific questions, please post them - I'll try to answer them (if I can)!

Happy trip planning!
--- Denise