How many people ride the Northern Tier each year?

[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.

[BikeFreak]

My observation is that in a lot of the Untied States if you are camping many folks assume you are a homeless vagrant and possibly a mentally ill criminal.  Doesn't really matter how often you shave.

On a few occasions, when I went into a gas station to buy some food/drink and consume it in front of the gas station I was kicked out by the owner for "loitering". I had to leave the premises.

[davidbonn]

...
On a few occasions, when I went into a gas station to buy some food/drink and consume it in front of the gas station I was kicked out by the owner for "loitering". I had to leave the premises.

In recent years I have sometimes gotten a lot of static from private campgrounds when I show up with my fairly motley camping setup.  Only if you are in the know can you really tell the difference between some fancy ultralight camping kit and stuff basically put together from scrap behind a hardware store.  And most RV park owners aren't in the know unless they are close to some long-distance hiking trail or major cycle route.

[BikeliciousBabe]

I avoid the issue altogether, by not looking like a homeless or poor person.  I usually shave daily and wear clothing that looks like athletic wear.  This way people don’t hassle me, or worse yet, try to give me money - I have heard of this happening.

Maybe it's just you and me, but I rarely get the "He's homeless." attitude.  When people see me in my cycling-specific gear and with my loaded bike, I think they understand what is going on, even when I am riding in "Pennsyltucky". In fact,m I am more likely to get questions about that my trip than scorn.

But about being offered stuff...One day I was sitting in a park in my city eating lunch and doing the NYT crossword puzzle after shopping for dinner groceries on my custom Bike Friday.  I was dressed in "street clothes".  A guy from a charitable organization approached me and asked me if I would like a sandwich.  I politely told him I was fine.  He said "Are you sure?  There's no shame."  I pulled my wallet out of pocket and showed him my credit cards. 

[BikeFreak]

I avoid the issue altogether, by not looking like a homeless or poor person.  I usually shave daily and wear clothing that looks like athletic wear.  This way people don’t hassle me, or worse yet, try to give me money - I have heard of this happening.

This happened to me in Adelanto, CA. An Asian woman wanted to give me money at a gas station. I had just finished the Mojave desert, it had been something like 115 degrees and I had completed something like 120 mi that day. I probably looked like a homeless :-)

[BikeliciousBabe]

This happened to me in Adelanto, CA. An Asian woman wanted to give me money at a gas station. I had just finished the Mojave desert, it had been something like 115 degrees and I had completed something like 120 mi that day. I probably looked like a homeless :-)

Heh.  Nearly 25 years ago I did startle a motel clerk in Missoula a little.  I hand't showered or shaved in 5 days, and the last two of those days were pretty warm and humid.  Walked in and rang the bell at the desk.  Woman came out from the back and was visibly startled by my appearance.  After I showered and shaved, I left my room to walk around town.  The young woman who was tidying up the parking area said "You look like and entirely different person."   

[MrBent]

This is a marvelous thread.  As a veteran of the road, I can say for myself that the allure of paved bike touring--in the West, where I live--has narrowed down to about zero.  The increase in traffic and distracted drivers have led to a steady, dangerous decline in the experience.  I loved my seasons on the road and stayed with the Canaligators on my coast-to-coast in 2007 (Thanks, guys!  That meant A LOT.), but I can't see myself ever doing something similar again.  In the Midwest/East there are so many road options, out here?  Almost none--UNLESS, you go off piste, which is what I have done.  It's all about fat nobby tires and remote routes, some long, many shorter, gravel, sand, 4x4, single-track.  Once you get into this kind of riding, it's really hard to go back.  Traffic suxs, straight up, and out in the middle of Utah on a crusty 4x4 road, you might get one slow-moving rig all day--or none.  I can't say about numbers, but the "bikepacking" dirt is growing.  It's definitely a more demanding discipline, but we love it.

[Westinghouse]

I cannot remember a time when I thought at all about how people seemed to perceive me has anything other than what I was. I was a man on a bicycle, getting a lot of exercise, roughing it, paying my way, out for an epic adventure. Studying social psychology brings this topic into focus. It is about how people perceive others and how they behave in various different ways towards those others according to their perceptions. Students from universities conducted studies and research in social experiments around the country. I conducted one of those experiments myself. When compared with all metrics from all others around the country they found the same results. I suppose you could distinguish yourself from the others by the status of the equipment you are using. $2,000 for a surly Long haul trucker bicycle, and $500 for ortlieb panniers, $400 for a dyneema tent, $250 for a down sleeping bag, $195 for an inflatable mattress, that would set you apart from the rest. I never really gave it any thought. I just wanted to go out there and have a good time and see the world. That was my motivation for doing that.

[BikeliciousBabe]

Kind of hard to not think about how others see you when someone walks up to you and offers you a sandwich because they think you are homeless.  That happened to me in my home city while I was sitting in a park next to my custom Bike Friday NWT doing the NYT crossword puzzle.  When he insisted that there was nothing wrong with accepting help I showed him the credit cards in my wallet so I could get back to my puzzle.

[Westinghouse]

Kind of hard to not think about how others see you when someone walks up to you and offers you a sandwich because they think you are homeless.  That happened to me in my home city while I was sitting in a park next to my custom Bike Friday NWT doing the NYT crossword puzzle.  When he insisted that there was nothing wrong with accepting help I showed him the credit cards in my wallet so I could get back to my puzzle.

There was an interesting chapter in social psychology. It is about the ways people interact in society according to perceived socio-economic status. Automobiles were used in experiments around the country. I did the experiment myself. The conclusion is you get treated better and people are less likely to mess with you, if you have an expensive vehicle than if you drive a beat-up old rust bucket.

[John Nelson]

On my tour this summer, a guy in Fort Thompson, SD, handed me four one-dollar bills. I tried to tell him that I didn't need it, but he said that it would be his honor to give it to me. I accepted the bills so as not to insult him, even though I knew that he needed the money more than I did. Later in the tour, I found somebody else to give the money to.

[BikeliciousBabe]

On my tour this summer, a guy in Fort Thompson, SD, handed me four one-dollar bills. I tried to tell him that I didn't need it, but he said that it would be his honor to give it to me. I accepted the bills so as not to insult him, even though I knew that he needed the money more than I did. Later in the tour, I found somebody else to give the money to.

Sometimes accepting is the best thing to do.  I volunteer for an organization delivering meals to ill clients.  During one run just before Christmas, a really nice, elderly couple insisted that I accept a $5 tip.  They said it was because of the holidays.  I eventually to took it so as not seem ungrateful or insulting, not ever before thinking about the organization's policy on tips.  After that experience, I asked the organization about the policy and was told we're not supposed to accept tips, but the volunteer organizer understood why I did in that instance.  I used the monety to but more cat food for the stash I carry in my car to feed homeless cats in the some of the areas where I deliver.  Some areas have a lot of them.

[John Nelson]

I agree. Accepting and paying it forward seems to be the right thing to do. It makes people feel good to know that they helped someone.

[Westinghouse]

It was during a 2600 mile bicycling tour through the northern tier of states, west to east. I stopped and went into, I do not remember exactly what this place was, a place where I could eat, most likely a restaurant or cafe. A conversation began with a man who saw me pedaling into the parking lot on a fully-loaded touring bicycle. He handed me a twenty-dollar bill. I took it. Someone I used to know told me this. "If anybody offers to give you money, take it." For some unknown reason, I remembered that. I also remember the $20.00. Did I need the money? Not exactly. There was no possibility of having insufficient funds for the bicycling trip. And what is $20.00 nowadays. In 1950s south Florida that was one-third of one month of rent for a two bedroom house. Now it buys two or three cups of coffee at Starbucks, or a small bag of groceries, or two cheap meals in a restaurant, or one day's expenses on the road on a frugal economy.

[BikeliciousBabe]

Speaking of kind acts, my frequent riding partner during my NT trip and I were in a diner in Poe, IN.  We ended up talking to the Mayor, who was also a farmer and involved with the local fire department.  He left to start work.  When we went to pay for our meals, the waitress told us that the man had already paid for us.

Earlier in the trip we got invited to spend a very hot day and the community center in Oxford Jct., IA.  Locals had transformed the former school gym solely through donated materials and labor.  We offered that day's camping budget, but they would not accept it.  We ended up leaving the money anyway.  We also donated to the local museum in town after a local opened it up for us.  We donated money to it, too.  That night we dined at Shackey's.  Just looked at Google Maps.  Both the Community Center and Shackey's are still there.  The town bar is, however, our of business.