Are you postponing a tour to 2021?

[SwampYankee]

Hello everyone,

I am wondering if I am the only one who's looking at 2021 to cross the US? How many of you have postponed your cross country or TA tour to 2021? I am thinking it will be a good year to meet others, assuming we are done with this pandemic by then!!

Thoughts?

[hikerjer]

Unfortunately, I find myself in the same situation.  I had planned on leaving Portland,Or for Savannah in July but it doesn't look like that's going to happen especially in light of the recent Covid spikes  Guess it' be 2021 but I'm not getting any younger and that sort of concerns me.  I can't keep saying"next year".

[SwampYankee]

I hear you! I'll be 64 next year, and want to do this NOW!, so, 2021 it is assuming virus is slain and the world still stands.

Others?

[big blue cat]

I am not going cross country but I am going on an 8 day tour in Aug. from Jackson, Wy. to
Billings, Mt. I may have to do more dispersed camping than I like. Some of
the campgrounds in the towns I am going through aren't taking tents because
of the bathroom situation.   Those of you still planning on going on some sort of
tour, you might call ahead.

[SwampYankee]

That is a great point. I have been looking at either the Erie canal trail, Buffalo to Albany, or, the coast of Maine. Haven’t thought about the need to check ahead on tent camping.

[Ty0604]

I was originally going to ride from Nashville to New Orleans in April on the Natchez Trace Parkway and Great Rivers South routes. I postponed that until the spring 2021.

What I am doing this fall though is New Orleans to Charleston (9/7 to 10/5) on the Southern Tier and Atlantic Coast routes.

No issues booking tent sites. Staying at a lot of state parks and KOAs but even privately owned campgrounds were open to tents. A few were only open to cyclist using tents and not car campers.

Only place I was turned away from was Dauphin Island Campground in Alabama.

State Parks and KOAs were a little more expensive but not terrible.

[hikerjer]

 8 day tour in Aug. from Jackson, Wy. to
Billings, Mt.

I did that tour in reverse a couple of years ago. Great ride. Are you planning on riding the Beartooth Highway?  Bit of a challenge but well worth it.

[big blue cat]

I did that ride about 25 yrs. ago, and you're right it was a tuff climb.  This time
we don't have the time so from Cody to Bridger to Billings.

[EmilyG]

We were doing a 30-day grand round-about through Oregon/Washington in July, but postponed to next year.   Back in May, we had to make the decision so my partner could get his shifts back at work.  When we postponed, OR/WA were doing a great job of tamping down the virus, but it's now surging again. So we made the right decision.  Not sure if 2021 will be a go, we just know so little about this novel virus.   My partner is an RN at an emergency room, so he has a front-line view of the pandemic...

[aggie]

I was going to start a trip on July 28 and I was traveling by Amtrak.  However Amtrak has reduced staffing and some locations that used to offer baggage service (check the bike in the baggage car) no longer offer the service.  Since I couldn't take my bike there is no need to travel.  If you are going to travel by Amtrak make sure you are able to take your bike to your destination.  Amtrak has not updated their stations info to indicate they are no longer manned and offer baggage service.  I only found out by checking my reservation online.  Amtrak didn't bother to let me know even though my reservation included a spot (paid for) for my bike.

[LouMelini]

For Big blue cat: I arrived home yesterday from a West Yellowstone to Salt Lake City tour. Fortunately there are hiker/biker sites in the national parks. Obtaining a campground site on a weekend, and perhaps on a weekday is difficult if not impossible. I hitched a ride to save 2 days in order to arrive home on a Thursday vs. this weekend. Campgrounds are full with reservations and first come/first serve fill up early. I was turned away twice, which is double the number of times I've been turned away in 23,000 miles of touring. I was prepared to stealth camp, but I prefer the relative luxury of campgrounds.

[SwampYankee]

Are you seeing lots of RVs out there?

[Ty0604]

I heard RV rental is at an all time high right now.

[staehpj1]

I put off my plans for this year and am not optimistic about 2021.

I don't plan to fly again until there is a vaccine and I am skeptical about all the happy talk of a quick roll out of one. Buses and trains aren't necessarily better so  I figure that I am likely to wind driving to whatever trips I do when I get back to that.  My preference in touring tends to be point to point stuff rather than loop trips so that becomes even tougher without using public transit.

I am thinking that I just might be more likely to go backpacking or canoe camping rather than bike touring when I do venture out again.

It sucks to be grounded for the pandemic at age 69 when I am already thinking about how few years I may have to do some types of trips and activities.  On the other hand I have already done my main bucket list bike tour stuff.  Truth be told the main bucket list one was the Trans America and that was my first tour so the rest were really gravy.

I have already given up on some of the most aggressive non bike touring bucket list stuff.  A lot of peaks I once wanted to bag are beyond any hope now.  A lot of rivers I wanted to run are out of the question since I can't/won't even run a lot of ones I used to routinely do.  I think about motorcycle racing again, but am kidding myself. Sailing around the world isn't even a dream any more.  Getting old sucks, but at least I have a lot of memories of having done a lot of cool stuff and hopefully have time to do quite a few more even if they will be more limited than what I did in the past.

[LouMelini]

Are you seeing lots of RVs out there?

RV's are out there, but basic tent sites are being filled up quickly by folks with large Coleman tents. One KOA manager said tent sites was the largest increase in his business.