Brian25

I don't see me going to bars. Barflies aren't really a type that I would enjoy being social with. (I generally avoid drinkers and smokers). I guess that makes me sound prejudiced against motor bikers. Cafes and coffee shops sound good, though.

Leebo

At camp grounds I am always looking for a chair, picnic tables benches are not that good after a full day in the saddle. I walk to the next site with 2 beers.....

Tourist in MSN

Look at the bright side, when you camped at cemeteries, you did not have much social contact.

My last tour was a bit over five weeks. About a week of that was spent at three different hostels. And the other four weeks were staying at commercial or govt run campgrounds. Some of those campgrounds were full of RVs but I was the only tenter, thus I was somewhat isolated. But some of those campgrounds with several other tenters, I had several conversations with several other campers. Also had conversations with some of the RV campers too, but that was less frequent.

stardognine

Ha, that's actually very true. 😁 Some folks enjoy giving, and some enjoy taking. 😉 I was raised to be (or at least try to be) self-sufficient, so accepting help is hard, even if I really do need it. 🤔 Sometimes, I wish I were a bit more like that panhandler, but it just doesn't fit me.

Stadjer

If you are focussed you probably look focussed and people don't want to get in the way of the important stuff you appearently have to do. So you've got to show you're open to other people too, through your body language and facial expression, when you walk leisurely and look around it's much more inviting to say something to you than if you're heading and looking straight for your goal. You can choose what you communicate with your body language and expression, but it's got to match your attitude to some degree. You can't be fully focussed and open to distraction at the same time.

indyfabz

When I rode across the country with a small group of people we crossed the North Cascades Highway in the rain and snow on the 6th day of the trip. We had the next day off and every one was so tired that we went out for pizza instead of cooking dinner. A woman in the group noted that it was the first time in six days that we had chairs with backs. They cannot be overrated.

stardognine

I once saw an old bike, where the owner attached an old camping chair with a back, as his saddle. But I doubt if he put many miles on it, it was his beer bike. 😁

BobG

Heh! Look how comfortable Susan and I are on our Therma-rest'r chairs! Look how squirmy the rest of the group is! They weigh almost nothing and roll right up with your sleeping pad already on board. A great item to bring to encourage social interaction!


TransAm '99 ^

bikenh

Have something about your bicycle setup that is rather unusual, not seen all the time, like using kitty liter buckets instead of panniers. I have people all the time stop and comment about using the kitty liter buckets and we manage to get talking as a result.

indyfabz

That was before you joined us. Before I saw the caption I thought that might be me on the right.

BobG

Yep, that was my E>W TransAm taken at Rough River Dam SP KY. Recognize yourself in this one? ...


Northern Tier '99 ^

BobG

Brian- (to return to your OP!) As you can see from the above photos the ACA led trips can be very social. That said, the groups have gotten a bit older since 1999 and now seem to be mostly men (I'm sure there are exceptions}. My last TransAm tour was in 2009. That group was all 40-70+ men except for one young 20 something couple. They stayed with us until Yellowstone then left to continue on their own.

You never know the make up of the group until you sign up, receive a trip roster and start emailing one another. One now 80+ year old man from the 2009 group still emails me 10 years later. Another man in the group stopped speaking to me half way through the trip!

Here's the "official" photo of our '99 group. 6 women, 7 men, ages 18-75. We got along like a big happy family complete with the kids, parents and grandparents and all completed the trip. I rode with indyfabz' Northern Tier group only on their final two weeks so didn't get to know them as well.


photo by Greg Siple

stardognine

Some nice tan line flashing there, lol. 😁😉

indyfabz

Where was that taken? Seattle? It had to be before Lauren dropped out in Iowa and Katy dropped out in Indiana.

BobG

Yes, it says "Seattle- May 27 '99" on the back along with "Thomas A S Duff" on a return address sticker. Stu is in the photo but must have been his camera. We should post it over on the Foo forum as a "Guess which one is indyfabz?" contest thread!

indyfabz

Stu, who did not live all that far from me, lived into his 90s. 91, IIRC. Reading his obituary, I either had forgotten or never knew that he was in the R.C.A.F. and spent two years in a Nazi P.O.W. camp.

countalmaviva 

What Stadjer says!

I seem to have missed a great conversation, but I won't let that stop me from posting....

As I reflect on the stories I tell about my tours, they are mostly involving the people I encountered. As folks seem to be saying in this thread, you meet all kinds of folks. On my coast-to-coast ride, I found an abandoned kitten on the highway. I took it to the next town and found it a home, meeting a cashier at the pharmacy (powdered goat's milk to feed him), the snooty receptionist at town hall (didn't like me dripping rainwater on the carpet), and, finally, Wanda, a cook at the Lollipop Diner, who took him in. Stayed in touch over the next year regarding "Lucky," who was alive and well...

My tours tend to be a mixture of socializing and solitude. I find the one helps me appreciate the other. Whenever I feel anxiety about meeting a new person, I try to remember that they likely feel the same way, and that a smile does 90% of the work.

Check out the book When Strangers Meet, if you'd like some inspiration.

nun

If you use Warmshowers or hostels you are almost forced to be "social". I also find that the same goes for when you use campsites
as it's easy to strike up conversations with the folks next door and share a beer or some food. Also if you tour on a popular route
there will be lots of fellow tourers to talk to and ride with on sections. I found riding the NT to be very social as I did sections with
a couple of other cyclists and stayed with Warmshowers hosts quite often.

Cougrrcj

My proposed 'tour' following the perimeter of Ohio (1038 miles according to my proposed route on Google Maps) has towns every 30-40 miles where I plan to stay for the night. Not going far every day, but there's bound to be local history that I plan to look into at every town along the way. Especially along the old 'trade routes' of the Ohio River and Lake Erie shoreline. Ride for a few hours in the morning, then spend the afternoon hours learning about the town, why it is where it is, its history, etc. I'm sure that my 'research' will include talking to locals, checking out the local historical society, museums, etc. As such, I'm fairly sure to get info on where to stay for the night. Mine is not so much a bike tour, but a 'local flavor' tour that I happen to take by bicycle.

indyfabz

Yeah. In 2014 I was on a portion of ACA's Trans Am route in MT again. In Jackson I camped with close to a dozen other cyclists. This June I passed along some info to two guys I ran into in Rexford, MT, on the Northern Tier. Also met numerous others in places like the Bike Camp in Twin Bridges, MT, on the Trans Am. Way back in 2000 I rode off and for a week with a tandem couple I met on the Trans Am in WY. We finally parted ways in Fairplay, CO.

Papa Tom

Two things I do not believe have been mentioned here are age and gender, I think there is a certain level of hesitation both genders have when they see a man hanging out alone anywhere. For some, this is creepy; for others, there is often, at least, some level of suspicion. And when that man is beyond his youth, even by a few years, he may as well be invisible.

I recently started a thread on the Fifty-Plus group about how people ignore me now when I pull into a town on my bike. In my thirties, other cyclists wanted to hear about my ride and young women wanted to talk to me - about anything - in restaurants. At 57, people seem to want to keep their distance, as if I pose some kind of threat.

To the OP: We know your gender, but I am curious toknow your age.

Brian25

You may be onto something as to your comment about age because I am 58.

Papa Tom

Yes, now that I am older and wiser than I could ever have imagined, most strangers find me completely irrelevant, before they even talk to me.

Cougrrcj

On my '79 'tour'. I was 21, riding my '75 Fuji, and only carrying two changes of clothes. No tent. sleeping bag, or food. Nothing else, really. OK, my instant oatmeal for breakfast (eaten dry, and washed down with water) and maybe an apple from the day before. I was never too far away from a produce farm, small-town diner or restaurant, so no other food or cooking gear needed for lunch or dinner. I found most people were fascinated that I was riding a bicycle, solo, and that I was averaging around 100 miles/day. In reality, it wasn't that tough in that it was barely six hours of riding each day out of almost fourteen hours of daylight at my latitude, so I had LOTs of time for resting, eating or socializing. I never once felt unsafe or threatened. No one seem afraid of me either.

andrewclaus

Funny, I don't get that, nor have I ever heard of it among my 60-something peers. I thought the opposite, that my gray hair and beard (neatly trimmed) make me look less threatening and more approachable. And my obvious age gives me an excuse to be on long rides. When I was taking off complete seasons in my thirties and forties, I got some semi-suspicious "Well, what do you do for work?" questions. "Are you some sort of bum?" It was hard to explain the lifestyle, and impossible for most to understand. Now I can just say I'm retired and that's easier.

Of course there's less sexual attraction to younger people! That's part of getting older. I suppose that bothered me a bit in my 50s. Now I'm over it.