TallTourist

I haven't done crazy amounts of long tours, just this Latin American one I'm on now and the France/UK/USA one from 2009. One of the biggest takeaways from the 2009 tour was that you can't paint all people with the same brush. I think I might have been more inclined to buy into statements such as "the French are arseholes" before that trip but as I rode around those beautiful countries, of course, I met all kinds of people and most were good. It's not really a profound realisation but it was significant for me because I was REALLY ignorant back then.

This tour I'm not really learning a whole lot, no profound epiphanies this time around. I kind of feel like I'm missing the point but it just seems like all day I'm mostly concerned with dodging broken glass and bovine shyte and not getting my left arm taken off by buses and not really contemplating much.

I'm just curious to know what you all have taken away from your tours, your life-changing realizations.

debade

What a great question. I've found that people are very friendly, helpful and curious in all of our travels. We have experienced people willing to try to overcome language barriers with no gain for themselves. It has been amazing how people go out of their way to help out. Lots of stories we could tell about people helping out or just wanting to visit. The bicycle is definitely a door opener. Without it, I am confident that the reception would not be the same. But, your question was about touring.

One fun observation. Nothing scientific about it. We host and stay at Warm Showers. The vast majority of WS hosts (95%+), lean liberal in their views. I did not expect that would be the case as I do believe conservatives and liberals are both generous and giving (religious institutions, charities, etc) . But, I guess 'left leaning' people are more trusting or perhaps willing to share their personal space.

manapua_man

I have learned that milk is almost always a bad choice, and that I should use the bathroom whenever I have the chance.

axolotl

Obtaining detailed paper maps and knowing how to read them in order to plan and to choose optimal routes for minimal traffic, pretty scenery, and sites to see, is the single most important detail for an enjoyable tour.

Putting in the effort to learn foreign languages pays off handsomely. And don't be afraid to make mistakes in a foreign language.

Doing research about the countries and regions you'll be touring in (including climate data), is time well-spent.

Some of the most delicious food in many countries, is street food (and I have never gotten sick from street food).

5kdad

Right-wing, conservative Warm Showers host here. I'm not sure I'd classify "left leaning" people as "more trusting or perhaps willing to share their personal space". Generally speaking, I find the majority of cyclists being more liberal. I think it might be a case of conservatives just not aware of the cycling community and organizations like Warm Showers. Many Warm Showers hosts are cyclists themselves. I read about a lot of churches along the Adventure Cycling routes, who welcome cyclists to stay overnight in their churches.

stardognine

And always carry your own TP, just in case. 😊🙄

Papa Tom

I have not toured the world; only my home state and the two states next to me. I wish I could put into words what I have "learned," but that's not something that can be easily described. You've got me thinking, though...

mev

A few things I've learned:

- At times it is surprising how much changes at country borders, e.g. Thailand/Cambodia, Sudan/Ethiopia, Bolivia/Argentina...
- Many more arid places have thorns. Thorns and inflatable air mattresses don't mix.
- A smile and attempt at local language can take you far as can pantomime. A lot of communication is context-dependent, e.g. "I'd like to buy four of those", but others are much more difficult, e.g. "Can I have what the three gentlemen had for lunch (at dinner time when the gentlemen are no longer there)". Learning more language helps.
- SIM cards are often inexpensive in developing countries and infrastructure surprisingly good.

In some more detail on my longest trips I've sometimes written "reflections" blog posts summarizing my overall experience/learnings:
- Across the Americas (2016): https://www.scc2ush.com/2017/12/23/scc-ush-reflections-trip/
- Across Africa (2013): https://www.bike2013.com/2013/05/14/cape-town-rest-days-a-few-notestips-reflecting-on-the-trip/
- Across Russia (2007): https://www.bikerussia.com/2007/09/22/владивосток-epilogue-to-the-trip/
- Cycling China (2007): https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1mr&page_id=66576&v=6e
- Around Australia (2001): https://www.mvermeulen.com/oneyear/Journal/december11.htm#December20

fietsbob

I should have studied the history of places in advance of going there..

debade

We have been helped by church folks a couple of times. But even if you are correct that most cyclists are liberal leaning, I find that interesting. It would not have been something that I would have predicted.

jamawani 

The little things count most.
Cool, fresh water from a Mennonite farmer.
Village cheese in the Massif Central.
Sharing the Alaska Marine Highway cruise with an Israeli couple.

spinnaker

I have had the pleasure of staying with warmshowers and couch surfing hosts in Italy and Switzerland (and a number of hosts inside the US . One thing that I learned is that people from other countries are pretty much like a lot of the good people I know right in in the USA. They just speak a different language.

People in Italy do seem to be exceptionally helpful. They won't just tell you how to get somewhere, most times they will lead you. I remember one chilly and rainy evening trying to find the hostel in Verbania. We were hungry, chilled, tired and wet. Not a good combo. We waved a passing car down and those angels led us to the nice warm hostel.

52telecaster

i have not toured the world but i have found most folks quite accomidating and very interested in me and my bike when i am touring. i have had a church pastor allow me, an athiest, to set up camp behind his church and offer the church basement and restroom for my convenience. i have also been treated horribly by a couple of random pickup truck drivers. my main experience is that the vast majority of folks are very nice to you while you're touring and a few are hoping they can do what you're doing someday.

my biggest takeaway is that people are generally generous.

TallTourist

Very interesting, did that church camping experience come with any proselytizing? I just met a French tourist here who recommended I ask at churches if I need a place to stay but I'm reluctant due to the proselytizing that seems to come with acts of kindness (In my experience). I'm an atheist too which is apparently an open season sign for some hehe. Maybe I should just tell people I'm Jewish.

What's the story with the pickup truck drivers if you don't mind sharing?

TallTourist

Well now I'm definitely going to have to go through Italy Stelvio pass and the like were already calling me

TallTourist

Excellent tagline you have there, I might have to borrow your good idea

TallTourist

Agreed, I'm very much looking forward to China for this reason. Probably going to come back to Canada looking like a beast from all the meat I'm going to eat

52telecaster

no proselytizing at all but it wasnt a fundamentalist type of church. also i didnt mention i was an athiest and i left them $5 and signed in the guest register. the pickup truck incidents; in one case a guy was screaming at me and my gf for being in his way when he wanted to pass. there was nowhere for us to go so we just kept riding along. in another case a guy coal rolled me and then went around the block and repeated the process. other than that almost everyone has either been wonderful or at least non threatening. actually the same day i was coal rolled a guy in a tow truck pulled alongside to ask if i needed a ride. it was raining pretty hard and i refused but thanked him big time. some folks are jerks but most are really nice.

martianone

What have I learned from touring..........
How little I really know about much of anything !

TallTourist

Nice! Genuine good deeds by the church then

What's coal rolling? Lol Haven't heard that before.

debade

This got me thinking. We (wife) documented most of these in our blog. This is off the top of my head:

- A couple pulled over to help us when we were stuck on the side of the road (happen to be a freeway). While they had no tools, they provided chocolate bars. Coincidentally, it was my wife's birthday.
- On another tour, we got into a conversation with a person at the next table. When he learned where we were headed, he insisted (demanded) that he take us past the location where a touring cyclist was hit by a car and killed. He loaded our bikes into his pick-up and he took us several miles down the road. A motivating factor for his insistence is that he had lunch with the cyclist the day he was killed.
- We had a nice conversation with a man at a convenience store during a rest stop. Shortly after leaving the store, a car pulls a bit in front of us and the same man gets out of the car. He really wanted us to enjoy our tour. He insisted we take $20 to make our tour better
- In a couple of incidences during storms: 1) the employees at a convenience store set up a floor heater in the back and let us dry out. 2) Drivers pulled off the road and asked us if we wanted to load our bikes on the back of the pick-up to get out of a terrible storm.
- On at least two occasions, strangers were so impressed with our tour, they bought us lunch.
- When my wife had an accident, a ton of amazing stuff happen. A stranger took her to the hospital because the ambulance took a long time. During the same incident, a group of recreation cyclists watched all our stuff and made sure it found its way to the local police station. Then our WS hosts picked us up (about 45 minutes one way by car from their house to the hospital) and allowed us to stay for one additional recovery day)
- On several occasions, bike shops went out of their way to get us on the road. Typically moving us first in the repair line.
- I bent a rim in a sewer grate. Some local guys volunteered to help by beating it with a rubber mallet but it did not work. We were sitting on a town bench trying to figure out our next steps. We knew the bike shop was about 25 miles behind us. At about that time, a couple walked by and asked if we were OK. We told them the story and the man said, I am really tired of shopping. Would you like a ride back to the bike store? I called the bike store and he said it would take a while but he would try to help. At that point, I thought I would get to the bike store and hitch back to the town. But, the bike store found a suitable wheel. My ride waited and we were back on our way.

This was a great walk down memory lane. And, there is still more but a good time to stop.

52telecaster

coal rolling is when a diesel pickup truck by means that i dont understand makes a huge cloud of soot, preferably engulfing the cyclist. i dont know how they do it but this driver thought he was really funny when he did it to me.

John N

I have found that in my worldwide travels (~45 countries) that people are generally nice, curious about others, and basically just want to live life in peace. Vast majority just want to raise their family/live in health and safety and without fear, earn a living, have peace, enjoy life with their neighbors/fellow citizens, and not be hassled by their governments. To me, it is the government leaders and/or policies that GENERALLY (not always) cause the international problems, not groups of people or individuals (except government leaders).

I have also found that almost universally, people think their regional/border neighbors are worse than they are, i.e. be wary of the New Yorkers (if from the plains) or the Southerners if from anywhere else. Guatemalans say to be cautious of the Mexicans (and vice versus), etc. I don't think I have ever found a particular region to live up to its bad reputation, except may Pedro San Sula, Honduras (even the locals said it was pretty bad) a few years ago.

debade

Absolutely. And to add, no matter where we have rode in N. America, the local cyclists believe they live on the most dangerous streets for cyclists.

jefnvk

Everywhere I go, someone is interested in what the goofy bearded guy on a packed bike is doing. Heck, even on the couple shakedown runs around home I've taken, someone usually wants to stop and chat.

It confirms what I've learned in all my travels: normal folks are normal folks, just like you.