The Long Distance Bicycle Tourist a High-Profile Traveler.

[Westinghouse]

There were some people on some internet forum discussing an aspect of bicycle touring. They all agreed that long-distance bicycle touring is a low profile manner of traveling. I must disagree. In a car you are a nameless faceless blank in a motorized cocoon. People notice the cyclist. In a car you move with traffic. Only those around you even know you exist. By the end of a day, thousands of drivers will have seen the man on the loaded bicycle, and he will spark their imagination. In a car you pull into a gas station / convenience store, you pay, pump and go. Your presence causes no curiosity to anyone. Come pedaling in with a fully-loaded touring bicycle people may react. They ask questions. Where did you start? Where is your destination? How long did it take you to get here? How many miles do you ride in a day? When did you start your trip? You have a long road ahead of you. I have thought about bicycling across the USA since I was a teenager etc.

The long-distance, fully-loaded, bicycle tourist is a high profile traveler because he is seen by many thousands of others on a transcontinental ride, and he, to some degree or another, makes an impression and stimulates curiosity.

[ray b]

Right.
Not a good mode of travel if you are out to avoid people.
One can (and I do) limit the interaction by packing food and hitting the backroads, but on re-emerging, the interest and interaction of shopkeepers often seems amplified by the dust and grime.

[davidbonn]

That all kind of depends.  If you are on a pretty popular route the curiosity factor that normies have rapidly goes to zero.  You're just another bike tourist retarding traffic and they've probably seen a dozen or more just like you that morning.

Along the Pacific Coast bike route there seem to be lots of bike tourists most of the year so your presence isn't that remarkable.  To a lesser extent people are used to seeing cyclists along the Northern Tier.

And places where bicycle travel is popular (US San Juan Islands and Canadian Gulf Islands) you are pretty invisible.

I'd guess you stop being very interesting as soon as cyclist-friendly businesses become a notable factor in the local economy.

[jamawani]

The ole laminated reply card.

1. I started in Astoria, Oregon
2. I'm riding to Yorktown, Virginia.
3. It will take about 3 months.
4. I was able to get the time off from work.
5. My partner wasn't exactly thrilled.
6. I'm not a millionaire, I saved up.
7. No, my butt does not hurt.
8. Yes, there are times I get tired.
9. No, I am not crazy.
10. Yes, it is worth it.