The A-Z of an American Bike Tour
I started putting this together on the road in the States and have just completed it. It's just a collection of some of my observations from the road, some not mentioned in the Travelogue.
It's not intended to be gospel, and yes, I'm fully aware that I only biked in a tiny percentage of the country
Apologies to any of my American readers who may not like some of my observations. One of the most charming places I've ever visited on a bike is Vienna, yet I recall reading a journal on CGOAB of a guy who HATED the place! We're all different, but hopefully can disagree without falling out.
I'd recommend a bike tour in the US once you've considered two conditions; Safety (traffic & dogs) and expense (it is not cheap).
I'd certainly not recommend it to an inexperienced cyclist and driver. (The ACA specifically say on their maps that driving experience is essential and I agree if only to understand what a car driver sees).
Of course, local knowledge can mitigate my argument - so get an American friend!
One of my favourite photos, taken in South Carolina
A is for alcohol.
I've never quite understood the American attitude to alcohol. It's weirdly puritanical, messed up and impacts on cycling in the following ways:
Drunk driving is a part of life in many places. I well remember the time (in Ireland) when a drink driver could boast about his exploits and brag about avoiding checkpoints. America seems to be stuck in that stage.
Broken glass: Former beer & whiskey bottles are waiting to get you!
Litter: Cans, boxes and these new alu bottles are found everywhere polluting an otherwise beautiful place.
With the honourable exception of Tennessee the State Parks banned alcohol. Sometimes there is very little better than a cold beer at the end of a long day, or a bottle of vino tinto on a lazy day.
B is for "be safe". I have found it very strange and not a little disturbing that nearly everyone I have encountered has said this to me, normally accompanied by a depiction of U.S. drivers as lethal morons. "Have a great trip", would be expected but the final words are always an indication of impending doom.
C is for Check ins
I think I can safely say that US campgrounds are the most complicated to check in that I have ever experienced. The information required (name, address, telephone) are complicated for the foreigner because often our details won't "fit" the computer system and we have no official ID with an address. It can be a laborious process.
On top of that, when available, there is often a choice to be made as to which particular site. That's kind of difficult without looking at a map. No more than twice was I told I could choose one when I got there (but I'd have to return, several kms) to tell them which one - even if I was the only tent camper!) Certainly the State Parks were the most bureaucratic, followed by the KOA chain. The independents tended to be more casual.
Even when the campground allowed for a late check in the process was laborious and not helped by a lack of pens or pencils on at least one occasion. To put it simply, reservations are the way to go. To do it properly, you'd need to set up accounts with each State (for their parks), the Federal system, the Army Corps of Engineers before you arrived, then hope your internet connection existed when you wanted to make your reservation. For someone used to rolling up to campsites and doing things on the fly it was a bit of an adjustment. Having said all that, some of the campgrounds were simply fantastic!
D is for Distracted Drivers - they are everywhere. It seems like everyone is on their phone, not talking but browsing. Sometimes, pulled in at the side of the road I can see this in action. Even in urban areas the phone use is scary. It's not so much the talking on the phone that is the issue (most cars are automatic and can be driven one handed), it's the browsing that is really scary. Watching people pull away at junctions while looking at their phone rather than what's around them is astounding. The most flummoxing experience I had was in a Lyft (cab) in Austin. The driver was telling me how crazy I was to cycle in America while holding his phone & trying to navigate by it. I know Americans aren't famed for their grasp of irony, but I thought this was a bit extreme!
E is for Eejits!
Treat every single person on the road as one is generally good advice. Doubly so in America!!
F is for flags. They sure love their flags in these parts! Sometimes, on the edge of town where the car dealers live it's like a contest to see who's got the biggest flag.
Houses too, are regularly flying the Stars and Stripes. My understanding is that these often are a sign of support for the service men and women. Sometimes one flag just isn't enough. One house I cycled past had so many flags I lost count at 14.
Of course, there's also the Confederate flag flying, but not in significant quantities. In fact they are so rarely flown that I couldn't help but think that a statement was being made when they were flown. One house in North Carolina was covered in Confederate flags that I was pretty sure was a statement. I wanted to take a photo, but there were also signs advocating the Second Amendment as well as numerous No Trespassing signs so I didn't feel particularly comfortable.
These types of roads thrilled me!
G is for Gravel. There's two contexts to this. The first is the gravel that accumulates on the side of the road and at intersections. For a cyclist it can be quite tricky, if not downright dangerous. Junctions, slip roads, laybys all require serious attention.
The second is the use of gravel as a pitch for tents. I really dislike it. It gets everywhere, where the tent poles are joined together, onto the fly itself as well as the inner. It is a very fine gravel so isn't particularly uncomfortable to lie on, but I can't see it doing very much for the longevity of tents.
I understand that it is useful for drainage, is cleaner than just earth, but I really miss my grass pitches!
H can only be for HellHounds!
I've never come across anything like it! The most memorable accounts are covered in the travelogue so I won't rehash that here. For anyone considering doing similar to my route be prepared for dogs. It is that simple. What amazed me most was how it had such a negative effect on me. I believe it was the accumulation of anxiety that pushed me past the point of tolerance. Thankfully, a break in Nashville allowed the anxiety to drop off.
I is for Immense. That's the one word that keeps coming to mind as I wander through this land. There is a scale here that is simply not matched by anything I've seen in Europe.
It might be the size of the drinks in fast food places or convenience stores, it might be the size of the typical "family car" or pick up (the top of the bonnet is in line with my shoulders!), It might be the sound made by that same pickup (louder than an 18 wheel truck). It could be the RV that passes you on the road, towing a full sized SUV behind it. The RV is already bigger than the bus that brought my rugby team to matches and when stopped, panels will open out to make it even wider! It could be the size of a forest (just take out a map and look at the size of some of these places!). One hungry day it was a roadside sign advertising a restaurant in "Only 16 miles"!
All that is before I mention the roads! My first encounter with long, very long, straight roads occurred in North Carolina and flummoxed me - I just wasn't expecting them there. However, I came to really enjoy them, especially when the roads were quiet. Such a different riding experience really emphasised to me that I was in a totally different place. I have many, many photos of these roads stretching away in front of me that I know will thrill me and excite me when I'm far too old to consider riding them.
J is for Junk.
It might be a stereotype of white trash of old cars rusting beside a trailer, but there sure are a lot of old cars rusting around people's homes. One had a full grown tree that had wandered through the engine bay. Sometimes it's one or two, but other times it can be up to twenty. It seems land plots are quite large and some people have a fair swing at filling their property.
In true Texas style, one house had the remains of two small planes sitting outside! Everything is bigger in Texas!
K is for The King. I really enjoyed my visit to Elvis' home in Tupelo. I'd highly recommend it as a simple, dignified tribute.
L is for Litter that is, unfortunately, everywhere. It's not unusual to see the contents of a room or even a small house dumped beside the road. The amount of empty beer bottles and cans alongside the roads is not just ugly but very disturbing. One day in South Carolina on quiet roads I passed a blue Bud Light bottle approximately every 2 km. It's easy to believe that someone was chugging bottle after bottle and discarding them along the road. One of the scenes that struck me most was back in the Alligator River National Park; A beautiful two lane road, woods on one side, swamp on the other, hardly any traffic yet someone had dropped a fast food drink container on the road. Fines for littering vary from $2000 to $3000 depending on the state, but they don't seem to have any effect.
M is for Mirror. Quite simply, I'd advise anyone considering cycling in this part of the world to use a mirror.
N is for navigation and I have found cycle.travel to be a fantastic route planner, even over here, in the States.
Of course, my preferred route may not be yours, but for touring it is excellent at picking out the quieter options. I remember especially, arriving into Nashville and trying to make my way North. Komoot wanted me dead! Cycle.travel saved my ass that day!
Some things to be aware of though;
I was directed through "gated" communities. When a gate was closed I had to figure out my own way around it. This is an issue with the underlying map info, not a cycle.travel issue.
Locating an actual address can be difficult. It's good at finding the road, not so good sometimes at finding a number on that road. A road in the U.S. can be miles and miles long. So navigation to a number is important as opposed to just a road.
In towns and cities it will default to taking you around the edges or bypassing altogether. This can mean perhaps a tour of the poorer parts of town or missing chances to resupply.
It also has a tendency to route off main roads, even for a short distance. When that means crossing two or four lanes of traffic to cycle a secondary road for 2km before rejoining the main road (and crossing those lanes again) it may be better to ignore the option.
Here in the U.S. I came across several bike trails, mixed use paths that were time limited - for example can be used only in daylight. Cycle.travel (nor any other service) will not tell you that.
Unfortunately, its campground search function doesn't work usefully in the U.S. A very handy tool in Europe, though.
As with any route planner use your common sense!
Harvesting cotton was a big thrill!
O: Original thought:
Cycling in the U.S. is the first time I've had a serious debate with myself over the supremacy of cycling alone or as part of a duo (or more) due to safety concerns.
I was mightily relieved many times that I was solo.
For example, two (or more) cycling close together (even in single file) could be a big issue on busy roads. I'd hate to be the second cyclist and witness some of the close passes happening to my forward partner. Similarly, I'd feel compelled to constantly check on my partner in the rear on some of those roads. Not a nice feeling.
With dogs, the first cyclist just wakes the mutts up so they are ready for number two!
Imagine cycling with your husband, wife, son or daughter and seeing some idiot deliberately make a close pass at them. Or imagine pulling into a store to wait for your riding buddy who gets delayed for some harmless reason. It would be very easy to imagine the worst.
There are pros and cons of going solo or not, but my time in the U.S. is the first time that safety was a consideration.
P is for Porches. It might be a stereotype but people really do sit on their porches in rocking chairs and watch the world go by. That was obvious from day one in Virginia. As I got closer to Nashville there were less people, but then again it was cold, mind you, there were lots of rocking chairs on lots of porches, or in some cases, swings. I have to say I was charmed by the sight.
The other use of a porch is for storage; Many porches are full of what seems to be junk. I've no idea how some people even get in their front door there is so much stuff stored on the porch!
Q is for sQuirrels! They are everywhere! Within ten minutes of rolling out of the port in Norfolk, squirrels have been an almost constant companion on this trip. They seem to thrive in suburbia where houses are built on big plots of land and trees are everywhere and they run riot in the wilder areas.
They are quite used to humans and display a reasonable cautiousness, but they can be great fun to observe. Many's the time I've stopped just to watch them chasing each other. Their climbing and leaping skills are really extraordinary.
They like to investigate around my tent at night (at least I hope it's squirrels!) and can make a surprising amount of noise when running through the fallen leaves on the ground.
So far, they haven't bothered me - I have heard of them ripping tents and bags to get to food.
R is for Roadkill - it is everywhere! I haven't commented in the actual blog posts but I am genuinely surprised at the volume and range. I've seen everything from snakes (young and old), raccoons, armadillos, squirrels and many, many deer as well as an alligator. The deer in particular are surprising, left to decompose on the side of the road. On bridges, especially in North Carolina there were many birds. I'm guessing they were hit by trucks after getting buffeted by strong crosswinds.
From Louisiana onwards the smell became an issue - I'm thinking something to do with humidity? Sometimes the smell of death was so strong, so dense and so heavy it was like I could taste it on my tongue.
S is for Shoulders. From my very limited exposure to American roads I have learned that shoulders are a vital factor in being able to relax and enjoy a ride. A busy road without a shoulder is not pleasant. However, the presence of a shoulder is not everything. The width is important, the presence of a rumble strip can seriously reduce the width or a drop on the outside can be hairy. Then, of course, there's the crap in the shoulder; I've seen everything from clothing, including one brand new runner, various nuts, bolts and pieces of engines to tyres, mudguards, mudflaps, buckles and straps for tying down loads. Not to mention all the blown out tyres and all the tiny, puncture making wires contained in them. It does make me wonder just where all this stuff is coming from and just how safe are some of the big loads whizzing past me.
I came across the largest pair of men's boxers that I've ever seen beside the tiniest thong I would have thought possible. Disturbing thoughts had for a while after that!
T is for Texas!
I had a T for Trump section written, but feck it, Texas was wonderful! I've wanted to go for so long, have read about it, listened to the music - and it did not disappoint! In fact, it was far superior to my expectations in one significant aspect - the riding was great. Yes, the speed limits are crazy fast but I rarely recall having a bad day with the exception of the late, wet run into New Braunfels.
To see some of my musical heroes was just fantastic! If I lived there I'd be going to gigs all the time!
There is huge satisfaction to be had by finally riding to and through a place you've always wanted to go!
U is for Underclass
There's an underclass in America, clear as day, in every town I visited. In the bigger cities there's no shortage of homeless.
It's evident in the poor houses and the trailer parks. There'd be times I'd be cycling past what appeared to be a ruin only to see laundry hanging out the back or someone moving around inside. Texas, perhaps, was an exception as it seemed wealthier, although Austin & San Antonio had lots of rough sleepers. The rural parts of the Carolinas, Louisiana and Mississippi were probably the most extreme examples.
Vigilance
I'd recommend a high degree of vigilance before and during a tour of the U.S.
Beforehand, a good researching of routes and accommodation options can help unless you're capable & comfortable with adjusting things on the fly. For example, I bought the ACA maps but did no further research on them. Hitting Highway 17 was a shock to the system!
On the trip itself, vigilance is required on the road at (almost) all times. There's not only traffic, but road surfaces, debris, suddenly disappearing shoulders, critters and the weather! I had no reason to fear for my safety from a criminal element (with the possible exception of the gun toting racist in Mississippi) although the thought was never far from my mind. It's amazing how, if you keep your eyes open, you'll nearly always pick up a positive sign from someone just as your fears are starting to overwhelm.
W is for weather.
In this part of the world weather can kill. It's as simple as that. There's such an immensity to the landscape that weather can be just as immense. Depending on where you are you may be hours riding from civilisation.
Since I've left America, Nashville has been hit by tornadoes, lightning & storms have killed people in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Not meaning to frighten anyone, but there are risks from weather, especially those who may be camping off the grid. Couple that with a lack of internet connectivity and we need to have our wits about us!
X is for X choice. It really is phenomenal just how many choices there are here, especially when it comes to food! On asking for (what I thought was) a simple breakfast sandwich I had fourTEEN choices of bread/toast/bagels/biscuits with which to make the sandwich. Stumped and unable to make a choice I asked for whatever was best or the server's favourite. More confusion!
The outskirts of towns are filled with multiple fast food outlets - McDonalds, KFC, Arby's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Domino's. Just hop in a car and make your choice.
Y: Yanks! What else could it be?
Is it fair to generalise a whole nation? Probably not. Especially not in the case of the U.S. Texas is different to South Carolina. Even Charleston is different to the rural parts of South Carolina.
I will make some general observations, though. Americans are very polite in the main. Regular people referred to me as "Sir". It can be quite ostentatious in the South, perhaps less sincere in the North. (Yes, I know I wasn't really North!)
They are also genuinely friendly, once the ice has been broken. Breaking the ice can be difficult for a reason that I picked up on fairly early and was present during my whole trip - There is a strong sense of fear in the US at the moment. Fear of change and anything different. Fear of the future. More than once I was asked about the "Muslim" problem in Europe. What they had heard did not match the reality as I know it.
Rereading that paragraph, I'm being a tad unfair. Texas was more relaxed in this regard.
Being Irish was a tremendous advantage.
There's also a shock at my apparent lack of fear (I do get scared!). Perhaps traffic, perhaps all the "bad people" out there, definitely Mexico & places south. That fear was palpable.
The number of times I was asked if I was armed was staggering. Some police officers I chatted to were stunned by the idea that regular Guards (Police) in Ireland were unarmed. They could not see the value in what I think is called "Policing by consent". I'm reminded of the elderly couple I saw pulled over by the Police in Texas. She crying, he sitting helpless in a wheelchair and the contents of their SUV being searched in a seemingly aggressive way.
I'm also reminded of my encounter with the ranger in the State Park in Texas and the aggressive way he approached me. It required effort to stay calm. No doubt fear played a part in the method he chose to deal with the situation. I've had encounters with Police in most countries and even when I've done something wrong (nothing criminal, just silly!) the approach is totally different. (I've managed to fall off my bike, drunk as a lord, in front of Police cars in at least two countries! The issue was to get me home safe - I don't think that would be the case in the U.S. - I wasn't willing to try!)
For all the hospitality and friendliness there were enough incidents of outright hostility to this guy on a bike to make me concerned. I am not used to witnessing such hostility and I found it surprising and disturbing, yet almost accepted by most people I mentioned it to.
For all the bravado associated with Americans about America I was left with the idea that there's a huge amount of insecurity about America, in America, that there's a fear that it is under some kind of attack.
I'm not surprised there's an obesity crisis in the States. In smaller places it's an hour's drive (or more) to buy fresh food. I found fresh food to be expensive. When there are cheap (and admittedly tasty) fast food options in the local petrol station it's an easy choice to make.
My night at the church in Texas was wonderful, but sobering. The constant efforts of all the churches to feed people in a wealthy state in a wealthy country left a deep impression on me.
Zzzzzzzzzz…...bored?
Hop on your bike! Go for an adventure! And America is full of adventure!!
I loved my trip through "my" piece of America. I said it before that I was really glad I wasn't just riding from A to B. Having places I really wanted to visit was a big positive when faced with busy roads and aggressive dogs.
By the way, there won't be one of these on Mexico. Mexico has bewildered, bemused and charmed me in ways unimaginable a few months ago and in such a manner that mere words could never do it justice. I loved America, but it seems like Mexico has swallowed me up in a warm hug. It would be inappropriate to write about such an intimate relationship😊
Love it!
