I have not toured in the Southeast, a good deal because of the stories I've heard regarding the intolerance of a large enough number of vehicle drivers toward cyclists.
When I lived in South Carolina, if I was riding in the country and stopped by the side of the road to shed a jacket, get a drink, or I recall once stopping for the few seconds it took to realign the computer sensor on my fork, almost invariably if someone passed by they would stop and ask if I was alright. This has been a rare occurrence for me elsewhere.
Southern hospitality on the Appalachian Trail is well known. The number of times I have arrived at a road crossing intending to hitch into town for resupply only to have someone pull over before I even got my thumb out are way too many to count. I've known people who have had rancher point a gun at them on the CDT in Montana, and I had that happen to me on the CDT in central CO. A few years ago I was passing thru Grand Junction, CO and stopped at a LBS for brake pads. I had several people hanging out their windows yelling at me or even throwing garbage at me on the way and told the owner. The owner told me that CO had just passed the 3-foot law, and a couple weeks earlier during a large (charity?) event, a number of people had situated their vehicles to block the route at several locations in protest.
A woman I met on the AT had traveled all over the world and much of the US, and even been in the Peace Corp, but never to the South until she and her mother drove down from her home in CT to get to the AT. She was surprised that when driving down a country road other drivers would wave. She was also surprised at how many old people she saw, commenting that up north when people got old they were often just "shipped away".
Yes there are intolerant people in the South just like everywhere else. And I have heard horror stories about Florida myself, yet I don't know how common these are. I haven’t had people try to run me off the road, or point a gun at me in the South. So don't let your prejudices stop you from touring the South. From my extensive travels in the US, I must say there are few things as pretty as springtime in the southeast or autumn in upper-New England (I’d move to central Maine if it wasn’t for the cold winters and springtime bug bloom).
Southern hospitality on the Appalachian trail is well known. The number of times I have gotten to a road crossing intending to hitch into town for resupply only to have someone pull over before I even got my thumb out is way to many to count. I've known people who have had rancher point a gun at them on the CDT in Montana, and I had that happen on the CDT in central CO. A few years ago I was passing thru Grand Junction, CO and stopped at a LBS for brake pads. I had several people hanging out the window yelling at me or even throwing things at me on the way and told the owner. The owner told me that CO had just passed the 3-foot law, and a couple weeks earlier during a large (charity?) event, a number of people had situated their vehicles to block the route in protest.
A girl I met on the AT had traveled all over the world and much of the US, been in the Peace Corp, but never to the South until she and her mother drove down from her home in CT. She was suprised that when driving down a country road other drivers would wave. She was also suprised at how many old people she saw, commenting that up north when people got old they were often just "shipped away"
I'm sure there are intolerant people in the South just like everywhere else. And I have heard horror stories about Florida myself, yet I don't know how common these are. But don't let your predjuces stop you from touring the South. From my extensive travels in the US, I must say there are few things prettier than springtime in the southeast or autumn in upper-New England.
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(we do this usually because we want a break from trail food). Often someone will offer you some food. I knew one girl who would just walk up to picnickers and ask if she could buy a hamburger off them – almost invariably they would just give her one.
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Still what a pleasure it is to fall asleep in your tent at night with so few possessions and know that is all it takes to be truly happy.
