Best touring companies

[nun]

Does anyone have any experience or opinions of the various companies that organize tours across the USA. There seems to be a choice of completely camping (Cycle America) or staying in hotels each night (Bike Across America). What's the best?

 

[geoffs]

Does anyone have any experience or opinions of the various companies that organize tours across the USA. There seems to be a choice of completely camping (Cycle America) or staying in hotels each night (Bike Across America). What's the best?

I have toured through England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, New Zealand, Canada (BC - Alberta), Australia.
Some countries I've camped in, others I've stayed in Backbackers, B&B's and Hotels.
I have never paid a touring company to organise a trip. Its so easy these days to do some research on the WWW.

Do what we do and spend the money you save on important things like food and wine.

Cheers

Geoff

 

[nun]

I have toured through England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, New Zealand, Canada (BC - Alberta), Australia.
Some countries I've camped in, others I've stayed in Backbackers, B&B's and Hotels.
I have never paid a touring company to organise a trip. Its so easy these days to do some research on the WWW.

Do what we do and spend the money you save on important things like food and wine.

Cheers

Geoff

I take your point. I did a lot of backpacking in the UK and the US about 20 years ago. However, with a trip as challenging as across the US I'm considering doing it on an organized tour so that I have people to ride with and support along the way. The idea of climbing the Cascades and rockies on my own is a bit intimidating and to have organized stops with food and drink along the stretches of road without services makes me feel a little less worried.

 

[philso]

nun, i'd have to second geoff's opinion although i think this is mainly a personality call. i tend to be a bit of a loner on long distance trips because i like the freedom to suddenly change plans. the people i meet along the way and travel together for a day or 2 or 3 is company enough. another thing is that the times when it would be so nice to have a van come along and bale you out are the times that build your self-confidence because you get yourself out. not to mention making the best stories. come to thiink about it, it's all the screwed up situations i've gotten myself into over the years that i actually remember, not the beautiful lakes or pleasant conversations. you sound like you've got plenty of experience. worst case scenario is that you'd have to sit around for a few hours thumbing a ride. my experience is that people don't see bicycle tourers as potentially homicidal drifters and are very helpful. on roads with any traffic, i don't think i've ever waited more than an hour or two for someone with a van or pick-up to give me a lift to the next town. and in 30+ years i can count the times i've needed to do that on the fingers of one hand.
save the money for better use. take a day off and go for a balloon ride in kansas. spend the night at a posh hotel in chicago and take in some live blues. take another trip.

 

[Nick H.]

I spent last summer on a solo tour of the west coast and met scores of cyclists on organised tours. Most of them had to get up at 6.30 or 7.00 am every day just to put their suitcases into the support truck. They would set off later on after a group breakfast and a briefing. At mid-morning, lunchtime and mid-afternoon they would stop for drinks and snacks where another support truck would be waiting for them. Finally they arrived at about 5 pm having taken all day to cycle about 65 miles. I would lie around in bed until 10.30 and start cycling at 11.30 or 12. And then I would overtake them all even though I was carrying my own bags, planning my route and doing my own repairs. So you can guess which method I thought was the best. I wouldn't have swapped places with them for $1000 a day. But they probably felt the same way about me! Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. But surely, if you're adult enough to go out and mix it with the traffic on a bicycle, you can cope with all the things that life throws at you when you're touring on your own. And the funny thing is that, as philso says, all the memories you carry around with you for years afterwards are based on the episodes where something goes wrong or wierd stuff happens! Wierd stuff doesn't really happen when someone else is in charge of all the arrangements.

I used to do all my touring by motorcycle. I once read that if you ever get bored as a motorcycle tourist you should try running out of petrol. I did it many times - and it works!