Originally Posted by
willibrord
As the world becomes more dangerous and chaotic it is wise to rethink touring plans. The English speaking countries are generally safe, as are Scandinavia and Northern Europe. The rest of the planet is less safe but it varies.
Even in the good old USA , there are bad places. Avoid the border regions and the inner cities.
In some places touring cyclist are seen as an easy mark, and they travel on predetermined routes, it is pretty easy to set up an ambush. Maybe take the bus on those places.
I know I'm feeding the thread starter troll (who I suspect is a sockpuppet), but you've painted the world with an extremely wide brush. Have you ever toured in any countries other than "English speaking" and "Northern Europe"? I've toured in quite a few developing countries, and the few problems I've had were mainly in western Europe. One of the places where I felt the absolute safest was Chile. I do quite a bit of research before I choose a destination, as well as for selecting my routes. When I toured in Sri Lanka, the civil war was still going on there. But guide books, websites, ex-pats on the ground, and recent tourists all said that they felt quite safe and that fighting was restricted to two small portions of the country which were easily avoided. I never felt the slightest bit of danger or even discomfort while I was there. Some of the roads weren't in great condition (but others were fine), however it was one of my favorite destinations.
Originally Posted by
willibrord
I think it was in Columbia , there was a thread last year about a number of touring cyclists being waylaid along a particular stretch of road, It was known to the long distance cycling community and discussed on various forums. I suspect there are other such places.
There was a thread started by the heroin-obsessed guy with a link for a map of Latin America marked at places where there had been incidents reported by cyclists. There appeared to be a hotspot along the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia. (Please note that it's spelled
Colombia, not
Columbia. Unfortunately this seems to be a common error.) I've been to Colombia and I hope to return. There are some parts of that beautiful country which I would avoid, but large portions which I'm eager to visit, both on and off my bike.
I don't know why this cycling forum attracts so many folks who seem to be irrationally afraid of so much of the world. Other cycling forums than I know have a much higher percentage of more adventurous folks. Sure, there are plenty of places where I wouldn't venture to at this time (e.g. Syria, Yemen, Venezuela). But there is so much of the world which is wonderful to see and experience, and I feel lucky that I've been able to see some of those places.