Originally Posted by
Lanesplitter
Maybe a semi-supported tour would work. Somebody could do their own road trip by vehicle to stay within range of whoever's touring.
That's what I'm doing, even in Canada, just for ease of planning this year. In three weeks we are driving to the Rockies for a SUP/cycling road trip. They will drop me so I can cycle a route near Banff while they visit family and then we plan to paddle a bunch of mountain lakes camping along the way.
I also rescheduled my planned vacation in November to Utah for September so I can cycle a rail trail route in BC if needed.
Tourings not impossible. It's probably just a more sound plan to avoid regions where the pandemic is surging and choose activities that don't involve a lot of social interaction.
* when I say "you" I am only speaking in a general sense.
The main problem I see with a cross country tour is that it is logistically problematic with ever changing access/quarantine rules and how to create a feasible bailout plan should one become affected by the virus. While the risk of serious complications is low for many, older tourers may be more susceptible and you really can't isolate and quarantine for two weeks in a tent. That means you are imposing yourself on which ever community you wind up in that may or may not have the means for treatment or... somehow ask a loved one to drive across country to pick up an infected person and transport them back across into uninfected regions. What do you do while you wait for them, is it even legal to return home with a Covid positive case?
In some ways we all assume some unknown risk of an illness on tour so the threshold isn't no risk - but when you look at the maps of outbreak spread across the US currently, potentially catching Covid is a known, anticipated risk that would accompany a traditional cross country trip. In the same way that a flat tire is an anticipated risk, on a bicycle forum one would expect that members might object should someone suggest heading out without a patch kit of pump with the notion that "it won't happen to me". One thing we would say is that the rider is expecting everyone else to save the day should they get a flat. In this case, the "kit" is the plan to cope with a case of Covid on the road that doesn't only involve believing it won't happen or that others will cope with it when it does.