Thanks longnblonde

I think the attitude in North America is very similar to the attitude in England. When I lived in London and rode my bike, people thought that I couldn't afford a car, therefore I must be a second class citizen.

In Belgium and France, pretty much everyone respects the bike and is curious about where you're going, where you've been. We're also using a BoB at the moment as we're doing a lot of camping and people are really intrigued by that. We were at a train station the other day and an official came out and was asking all sorts of questions about it and how it was attached to the bike and what our route was and will be. He then went back inside and started talking to his colleagues and pointing back out to us.

I'd really recommend France to anyone who wanted to cycle tour. Lots of secondary roads with very few cars and really friendly people and very yummy food.

Have people and their attitude in North America changed since the price of oil started heading skywards??

Vic