There are many many questions people ask a (solo) traveler on a bike but a few of them tend to repeat over and over, no matter to which country I went.
Number #1. Are you by yourself?
This was certainly the first question people asked when they saw me. Further into the conversations I would find different meanings to this question. Some people believe it’s scary to be alone, less fun. For others it’s not practical and tiring.
For me, however, it’s a completely irrelevant question. I enjoy being alone as much as having a good company and both have their own special place and purpose.
In bicycle touring routine being by yourself makes things easier and more productive in many cases, gives a lot of time to recharge and reflect, and makes you more focused and independent.
Number #2. Aren’t you afraid?
This was most likely in direct correlation with the question number #1. Alone? woman? on a bike? – you must be scared.
If before my trip it was a largely abstract question to which I would just reply “not really”, later I became curious to what people actually meant. Did they think about the roads, animals, weather, sickness, accidents?
Of course, everyone had their own fears but it was very interesting to learn that humans are most often scared of the other humans. More to experiment than to amuse myself, I would instantly ask if I should be afraid of them now. This only created a lot of laughter and disagreement with such thoughts.
But why do we think that everyone is bad except from us? Why can’t we start from the opposite angle and work it out step by step? I think most of the cyclists or adventurers in general start their social interaction with the positive assumption and this largely pays off.
Let’s think about it in a very simple way. If someone is 50% bad and 50% good, coming with a smile will trigger the ‘good half’ while coming with the thought that ‘you are a bad person’ will bring out the worse part. What goes around comes around.
Read more on the real fears of bike touring here.
Number #3. Aren’t you tired?
Sometimes, but mostly not. How come?
People unfamiliar with cycle touring often think that it’s an exhausting all-day endeavor and that cyclists torture themselves climbing up and down in rough weather conditions.
It can certainly happen so but generally the aim of bike touring is to enjoy your time. You can cycle 20km or 120km, you can cycle every day or rest for a week in a beautiful spot, you can go non-stop for 3 hours or make 30 breaks in an hour. The key is the freedom to decide and have no pressure to reach somewhere at a particular time.
Naturally there were times when I was dead tired at the end of the day but a healthy dinner and a good night’s sleep would make me refreshed and recharged in the morning.
If it’s not fun, get off and have a rest. Usually, a 5 minutes break would make me energized again.