Overnight bike touring

[shootingstar]

I have a good long time friend who is an experienced cyclist for fitness and touring. She's been a cyclist for the last 25 years. She is also career-wise a transportation policy analyst. Has handled cycling and transit matters.

So someone who is very aware of her own personal experiences as well as some broader trends in active transportation, etc.

She's been on 6 different group cycling tours -ranging from 1 to 2 wks. long per trip --in Quebec, U.S. and Europe. She has always found the co-ed cycling group tours very rarely attract single women. She herself is single..etc. She has not yet gone on RAGBRAI, RVSP, etc. type of rides. She's done some day long massive group rides in Ontario..and doesn't find it entirely her taste.

She has done 2 solo bike rides on her..each over 1-2 wks. long.

She also believes women who solo tour by bike with their gear on multiple day trips with overnights camping or hotel, are still rare. She has done 2 group tours with an all-women's bike touring company and is not surprised the U.S. market, can only support this niche type of bike touring.

I'm probably a great example of being risk adverse ...I have not yet done 1 solo overnight bike trip yet. Even though I've cycle-toured with my partner on a wide range of bike trips on our own for the past 2 decades. Could I do one? Yes, for several nights, not camping, but hotel or b 'n b. But it would have to be a route where I felt comfortable dealing with road traffic between towns/cities. I also need to know the route well and not complicated by highway interchanges that I didn't know in advance. I have cycled solo for 100 km. in 1 day several times in the cities where I've lived and enjoyed the challenge.