friends of bill w.
 

i was wondering about touring in recovery. how do you find meetings? what has been your experience on tours ? i am particularly interested in hearing from anyone who is or has done any long tours. thanx

You might need to elaborate a bit more on what you actually mean. Recovery? Meetings? Experience on tours? ill w? I must have missed something. Maybe you can provide us with a bit of background about yourself to put it all in context.

Rowan, his post title is the clue. Friends of Bill W. is another name for members of Alcoholics Anonymous.

I'm not an AA member, but a family member is, so I can offer some suggestions. I think that touring in recovery may be very hard. In AA folks often talk about HALT triggers and you'll experience all of them on a tour, often several at a time (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired).

If you're someone who can deal with solitude and loneliness, you might give it a try. When you find yourself needing a meeting find a local phonebook--you can look up AA and meetings are usually listed. Barring that, try for a local church in the evening and you might find a meeting. You could also call a church during business hours to inquire--they'll know where the meetings are even if they don't host one. Make sure you have your sponsor's phone number handy too. Lots of miles in the middle of nowhere with easy access to convenience stores and liquor stores and no accountability around will definitely be tricky. I'd think long and hard about touring in recovery. It all depends on where you're at. If you're 2 months sober I'd say don't do it. If you're starting to count time sober in years and have good habits and a good support structure you could consider it. Remeber, there's plenty of time to tour. Make an honest assessment of where you're at and if you need to focus on staying sober right now and set a goal of going on a tour in a couple of years if you're not ready right away.

BTW, Congratulations on your sobriety!

Nope.

No harder than anything else.

I'll second (third?) jamawani and mycoatl.

It's no different from any other vacation; just look for a meeting when you feel the need, and phone people (a cell phone is wonderfully useful). Call central services and get the local intergroup, and you'll be all set (you sure as heck won't be the only person who gets to the meeting on a bicycle :)). Actually, the answering service can probably hook you up with a ride.

I agree with GeorgeBaby. Finding a meeting is not a big deal. Central Office for sure they have a list of meetings all over the world. You can also check in the telephone book under Alcoholics Anonymous. Touring is just like the program ODAT

im in the airforce and i travel alot, when you are touring sometimes you might ride into a town unexpected and need a meeting, obviously if its a big town/city there will be something in the phonebook but what has ALWAYS worked for me is either the local hospital or police station. lol funny but it works that kinda reminds me.....jails....institutions....or death

Generally you can check the phone book, or simply contact any church or religious institution, the pastor can give you that info too.

Steve Wagner