DropBarFan

Foreign water & food supplies may have more bacteria load but sometimes one can adjust fairly quickly w/o major GI upset esp if one's system is cleaner to start with.

axolotl

Seriously? You avoid touring in the vast majority of the world because of contaminated water at one place in Brazil? Do you avoid touring in the USA because of water contamination in West Virginia?

How Industrial Chemical Regulation Failed West Virginia : NPR

It looks like Canada is a no-go zone, too.

Thousands of Canadians affected by undrinkable water: report - National | Globalnews.ca

alan s 

And this. https://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/11...ww.google.com/

alan s 

Interesting article. Where is the world's most polluted city? | Cities | The Guardian

Losligato

Interesting. I find it easier to tour in some (but not all) developing countries than in some developed countries. There are situations where infrastructure - the things we use to gauge 'development' - becomes a pain in the ass for cyclists. Most of Southeast Asia is a breeze whereas Florida can be a cluster----.

Then again, I'm naturally frugal so expensive places are harder for me for that reason as well.

Squeezebox

So filter your water.

bikebark

I originally started by touring developed countries, but as I got more comfortable touring I have been touring developing countries more including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Mexico, and Morocco. I like developing countries to experience different cultures and have different types of adventures. These countries all have good infrastructure and were easy to tour in. These countries have good roads. Few people in developing countries have private automobiles so traffic is generally light except for a few busier highways. There are many local people riding bicycles are small motorcycles so motor vehicles are used to low speed two-wheeled vehicles. People were very friendly in these countries. Costs are generally low in developing countries. I generally stay in hotels in developing countries and camp in developed countries since hotels usually cost about the same or less than campgrounds in developed countries and there are fewer campgrounds in most developing countries.

Food has never been difficult to find and is generally very good. I have never gotten sick although my wife got sick in Thailand from eating something at a roadside stand that, in hind sight, we probably should never had eaten at due and had to spend a night in a hospital. The hospital was just another interesting experience, and we were back on the road two days later. Other than that one situation we have never had a problem eating street food. We have never had a problem finding bottle water to drink. In Morocco the tap water was drinkable in most towns. .

Language has never been a problem. It is amazing how many people know around the world know some English. I have also found that you can get generally get food and lodging by gesturing. I have carried phrasebooks or downloaded language pack to Google Translate on my phone, but I have rarely used them.

Most of the developing world is very safe, safer than the United States. There are many developing countries that we will avoid due to safety concerns, but many cyclists safely tour countries that I would have concerns touring. The developing countries that we have toured have been very easy to tour in, and we have always meet other touring cyclists when traveling in these countries. We will continue to expand our horizons and tour more developing countries.

axolotl

Your point is excellent, and I'm surprised that the low cost of travel in developing countries hasn't enticed more folks on this forum to venture out and try a destination other than "the usual suspects". Of all of the countries I've toured in, Thailand provided the best value for money. It is amazingly inexpensive for good quality food and lodging.

alan s 

You can't really call it water. It's sewage. No thanks.

fietsbob

Drink beer, the brewing process made it more potable than the water in the middle ages ..

DropBarFan

I'd like to tour in Mexico, it has amazing scenery & great food--airfare & logistics not a big obstacle but I'd worry about crime. Americans' perceptions undoubtedly are exaggerated by one-sided media coverage but a solo bike tourist would really be visible to the few hard-core thugs.

So what is the ratio of explorers who just use bikes as a means vs bikers who tour to have an interesting place to ride? I would think most are the latter who aren't averse to developing countries but might usually prefer a more predictable experience. I just always liked to ride & figured that touring was something to do after getting too old to race.

axolotl

Much of Mexico is as safe as most places are for cycling. There are huge security differences from state to state in Mexico. I've toured there a few times, and traveled quite a bit elsewhere in Mexico by bus. The Yucatan felt like one of the safest places I've ever biked. I once toured in Michoacan & Jalisco, but since then, big problems with cartels have developed in Michoacan, so I can no longer recommend it. I haven't toured in Baja, but it has a great reputation among cyclists. My biggest problem with cycling in Mexico is the relatively limited road network. The roads themselves are generally in decent condition, however. As far as petty crime is concerned, I have found that to be a much bigger problem in Europe than anywhere I've biked, including Mexico. Having said that, there is at least one country that I would not tour in at present because of crime directed toward tourists, and that is Peru. I have read too many first-hand accounts of cyclists touring in various regions of Peru being robbed in recent years. I'd like to visit the country, though.

There have been a bunch of threads here about touring in Mexico. Each time someone posts a query, there's a predictable mix of responses from people who have never been there and assume that the entire country is one huge hellhole, as well as responses from people like me who have actually toured there and enjoyed it a lot.

imi

Hah! I can see that, 5 litres/day of Singha beer! What could possibly go wrong!

DropBarFan

Interesting, thanks. Only crime I've seen in Mexico was on the Mexico City subway where a friend got pickpocketed. I'm sure it's like anywhere--avoid bad areas, tour in a group etc. Amsterdam is bike world capital but bike theft AFAIK much worse than many "developing" countries. New York City & Toronto also notorious for bike theft.

Many Mexican roads are pretty good--reasonably wide so hopefully highway truck traffic isn't too bothersome. Mexico City itself has an astounding system of wide boulevards etc that would seem to be good for biking. Actually it's a bit ironic that cycling (as transport) is not that popular in Mexico. Car is the desired transport for nearly everybody that can afford it & the rest commute by bus or whatnot.

djb

I would love to bike in South America, its a dream trip for me, but its not easy juggling family and work schedules, not to mention not wanting to do it on my own, and that can be a tricky issue as well, finding a touring partner that you are compatible with in most of the various aspects.

I've had the privilege of living and travelling in a few places in Latin America, so can get by reasonably well in Spanish, so this is a big plus because I'm comfortable on my own interacting with people there, but I would want to share the experience, and that is where it is tricky.