Questions for everyone
06-14-19, 12:07 PM
#1
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Questions for everyone
Hi guys, I want to say thank you for your feed back about touring with my dog. I made the decision that I'm not going to take him. Other questions came up as I was talking to my wife more about this trip of ours, and I also did some research and I just want to ask: How safe is couch surfing and warm showers Apps? For the ladies: How do you deal with your periods on a long tour? and any other tips for my wife? Also our is going from Pittsburgh PA to Portland OR and all of the way to San Diego CA (on the Pacific Coast Highway) from April to the end of June, so we have 3 months to do our trip. Is there any places or things to see that you guys recommend? Thanks you!!!
06-14-19, 04:05 PM
#2
Every day a winding road
Good decision on the dog.
Unless you are going to use some form of vehicle travel, I think Pittsburgh to San Diego in 3 months is stretching it for a newbie. I highly suggest you do a few short tours locally to get your feet wet. And nothing wrong with taking the train or bus to make up time or bypass the boring parts of the country,
Warmshowers us reasonably safe. Of course your mileage nay vary. One issue with warmshowers is there is no real vetting. People can leave comments but people rarely leave negative comments.
Couchsurfing on the other had can have someone from the organization certify hosts. Again not fool proof but better than warmshowers in that regard. But I am not a fan of couchsurfing in the US. Most hosts are almost overly social. It is almost like a cult. Hard to explain just say it can be a bit bizarre.
Periods? Searious? Does your wife know you are asking that question for her?
Unless you are going to use some form of vehicle travel, I think Pittsburgh to San Diego in 3 months is stretching it for a newbie. I highly suggest you do a few short tours locally to get your feet wet. And nothing wrong with taking the train or bus to make up time or bypass the boring parts of the country,
Warmshowers us reasonably safe. Of course your mileage nay vary. One issue with warmshowers is there is no real vetting. People can leave comments but people rarely leave negative comments.
Couchsurfing on the other had can have someone from the organization certify hosts. Again not fool proof but better than warmshowers in that regard. But I am not a fan of couchsurfing in the US. Most hosts are almost overly social. It is almost like a cult. Hard to explain just say it can be a bit bizarre.
Periods? Searious? Does your wife know you are asking that question for her?
06-14-19, 08:07 PM
#3
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Or if she can take BCPs she could talk to her Dr about taking them right through the 3 months so she doesn't get a period.
And I echo the comments above ... go on short tours first. Pack up and go on a weekend tour in a couple weeks. Go on a week-long tour next month. Cycle lots in general.
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06-15-19, 08:17 AM
#4
Bike touring webrarian
I use warmshowers extensively when I tour and would recommend them wholeheartedly. I used to use couchsurfing but no longer bother.
Warmshowers consists of experienced bike tourists or people interested in doing so. The hosts I've had are always aware of my needs as a touring bicyclist, supportive, and kind people. There aren't all that many warmshowers host in the world and you may find it hard to locate one near where you want to stop. Also, I tour solo so have no experience finding hosts as a couple.
Couchsurfing used to be a good resource for finding hosts. It has a large number of members and some useful ways to search their database. But, couchsurfing doesn't cull their members in any way and most of their listings are out of date. The site tries to remedy this by sorting the results with the most "useful" first, but this doesn't really help much.
In the past, couchsurfing had a map you could bring up that showed where potential hosts were. Now, the search is, at its narrowest, within 5kms of a named city. What does it mean to be 5kms from a big city, say Rome or Los Angeles? On my last trip (just completed), I had one couchsurf lined up with someone who was 70 and responsive. I was looking forward to meeting him but he had to cancel at the last minute.
When I tour, I always check warmshowers first. If nothing is available, I look for a hotel. If the hotels are too expensive, I might check couchsurfing but lately, I haven't found the time I spent looking at the site to be useful. The response percentage at couchsurfing is far lower than warmshowers, in my experience.
Some basic information: I don't carry camping gear which would expand the places I could sleep (backyards, floors). I have enough money to rent a hotel whenever I want.
Since I don't camp, I need to find a place to sleep each night. As a result, I do extensive planning for my trips, including where I can stop each night and find a bed. I add in extra, unplanned, days for problems that arise during the ride. I look for places to visit, interesting places to rest and things to do on a rest day (one day in 5 for me), and I check for warmshowers hosting locations and route myself there if the hosts are available. I prefer this level of planning and feel it greatly enhances my touring experience.
Warmshowers consists of experienced bike tourists or people interested in doing so. The hosts I've had are always aware of my needs as a touring bicyclist, supportive, and kind people. There aren't all that many warmshowers host in the world and you may find it hard to locate one near where you want to stop. Also, I tour solo so have no experience finding hosts as a couple.
Couchsurfing used to be a good resource for finding hosts. It has a large number of members and some useful ways to search their database. But, couchsurfing doesn't cull their members in any way and most of their listings are out of date. The site tries to remedy this by sorting the results with the most "useful" first, but this doesn't really help much.
In the past, couchsurfing had a map you could bring up that showed where potential hosts were. Now, the search is, at its narrowest, within 5kms of a named city. What does it mean to be 5kms from a big city, say Rome or Los Angeles? On my last trip (just completed), I had one couchsurf lined up with someone who was 70 and responsive. I was looking forward to meeting him but he had to cancel at the last minute.
When I tour, I always check warmshowers first. If nothing is available, I look for a hotel. If the hotels are too expensive, I might check couchsurfing but lately, I haven't found the time I spent looking at the site to be useful. The response percentage at couchsurfing is far lower than warmshowers, in my experience.
Some basic information: I don't carry camping gear which would expand the places I could sleep (backyards, floors). I have enough money to rent a hotel whenever I want.
Since I don't camp, I need to find a place to sleep each night. As a result, I do extensive planning for my trips, including where I can stop each night and find a bed. I add in extra, unplanned, days for problems that arise during the ride. I look for places to visit, interesting places to rest and things to do on a rest day (one day in 5 for me), and I check for warmshowers hosting locations and route myself there if the hosts are available. I prefer this level of planning and feel it greatly enhances my touring experience.
