“Touring”, Ink, Encaustic, on Sumi Paper, by Sheary Clough Suiter
I've been bike touring for over ten years now. Bike touring options are varied, from self contained in which one carries everything….clothes, food and water, tent, sleeping bag, tools and repair kits....to supported, in which one carries basically nothing but oneself on the bike and someone else drives all your stuff from point to point. My touring has mostly been the former and on every trip I experience a “strong woman” ego rush that feeds feelings of joyful independence.
Beyond that aspect, the primary joy of moving oneself from point to point by pedal power is that you see things, and things see you. I love how cows in the pasture will stop eating and look up directly at the cyclist, watching intently until they've passed. Humans will often do the same, and if you're stopped, and if they've stopped and are outside of their cars, they want to engage, and that's one of the ultimate joys of bicycle travel, the people you meet along the way. But that's another story, a book possibly.
There are two main places to bike tour: along smaller back-roads or along off-road trails designed for walkers and cyclists. Just as with trying to find a campsite without a prior reservation in a National Park these days, the noticeable increase in population, thus the increase in numbers of cars on the road in just the last ten years, has made back-road travel less safe. And just as with driving anywhere, road rage is a real thing and so I just feel less and less safe even on highways with wide shoulders. Once, in Texas, a driver actually purposefully swerved into the shoulder area, over the rumble strips, to, I don't know, scare me, intimidate me, prove his idiocy? The noise of his wheels on the rumble strip itself was such a shock, I could have crashed just from that. The moments after when I realized it was an intentional act of aggression with his ¾ ton pick up truck against my defenselessness saw me shaking all right!
But even an asshole like that didn't kill the joy of that experience of traveling from Austin, TX to St Augustine, FL all via the power of my own short legs. And definitely the good people along the way far outweighed the bad. Travel angels who went far out of their way to help us with a breakdown that couldn't be repaired with a travel kit. Another time, a man protectively tailed us with his big pick up truck, at our pace, across a busy two lane bridge that had no shoulders, but plenty of semi's.
Even dedicated and protected bike lanes can be crowded these days. Montreal at rush hour was a big surprise as cyclists zoomed past Nard and me as we came into town, toodling along with our fully loaded tour bikes. Here in Springs when there is street construction, the road crews put up cones and a sign that reads “Bike Lane Closed, Merge With Traffic.” I always wonder when I read that sign, do the cars driving in what they have always known to be THEIR car lane, notice the sign? Sure they see the cones and all, but hey, they're trying to get to work, school, late for an appointment. It's not unreasonable to say that most motorists consider bikes on the road a nuisance and most maybe think they shouldn't have the rights they really do. It is a way of thinking that our car culture has created. Whereas, when we encountered Montreal street construction that closed the dedicated bike lane route, the city had already placed cones to create a new bike lane, with detour signage, retaining a protected bike lane. Same amount of cones, way different approach to problem solving.
Of course, most of my time on a bicycle is spent riding locally….errands around the Springs, rides just for the fun and daily exercise. Most of the time I wear clothing that I reserve just for bike riding: a pair of cargo shorts to easily carry a wallet, keys, and phone, and a bright UPF 50+ long sleeved t shirt that is protective, but cool in our hot Colorado sun.
“Dressed For the Destination”, Ink, Encaustic, on Sumi Paper, by Sheary Clough Suiter
Recently however, Nard and I attended a Porch Party at the Trails and Open Spaces Coalition, about 6 miles from our home. It was a push pull as to whether we would drive our car or ride our bikes to the 4p event. There were on and off rains passing through this September afternoon and so the inclination was to drive. But we said, heck, let's just pretend we're in Anacortes, WA and go for it (a quaint town where we spent last March and rode in the rain regularly with no problem because in the Pacific Northwest, it's a matter of ride in the rain or don't ride at all).
And because it was an “event” I decided at the last minute to dress for the destination rather than for a bike ride. I wore a cute top, a skort, and my new bright yellow rain boots. As we cruised down Midland Trail with a tail wind that made it feel as if we had e-bikes, Nard looked over and said, “You look so European!” I smiled back at him and called out, “And I like it!”
Deja Vu of a trip some years ago when we had the privilege of bike touring in the Netherlands. What a revelation regarding how bicycles can supersede motor cars. The order of priority for the right away is flipped. It goes: bicycles, pedestrians, then cars. Anytime we happened to be off of the dedicated bike lanes, which were plentiful, if we came to an intersection, all cars immediately stopped to let us cross first. It was uncanny.
Netherlands is easy pedaling along a lot of flatness. The biggest “hills” were the highway overpasses. As Nard and I were pedaling up one of those, another cyclist who looked to be in her 90's buzzed past us. As we turned to look at her she grinned widely and shouted out gleefully, “Electric!”
On the pathways here in Springs, we are seeing a huge increase in e-bike cyclists. Partly a result of the pandemic creating a need in people to find ways to get outdoors, for a while you couldn't even find a bike to buy the demand was so high. Now we are seeing e-bike rentals and retail sales all over town. The difficulty for us “old timers” is that there is little to no process such as motor vehicle licensing that provides education to new riders regarding the courtesies of riding on a shared off-road path. It is a danger to all parties if a rider passes without calling out or ringing the bike bell to let the slower one know to be sure to stay to one side of the lane, or to warn a pedestrian with a dog (leashed or unleashed, despite laws that say they are to be leashed) who is prone to wander back and forth across the path. And the homemade bikes on the paths are also increasing. There are no regulations on these gas-motor-powered speedsters with their noise, noxious fumes which are not only an annoyance but a danger. So, although I champion the concept of an uptick in bicycle ridership, I admit to a mildly derisive inner dialogue that labels e bike riders as not “real” bike riders.
However, as I enter my 70's I now face the question of how to reconcile that judgmental response with the reality of seeing more and more of my cycling friends show up at rides with electric assist bicycles. At last, curiosity got the best of me and I gave one a test ride at REI the other day. And I'm not (very) embarrassed to admit that I really liked the automatic oomph the bike provided when I pedaled up a hill. I liked it a lot. And I missed it a lot all the way home where I must climb the hill above Old Colorado City each time I return home.
Hmmmmmm. I see visions of a future in which an e-assist facilitates more frequent “dressing for the destination” without concern that I'll arrive all sweaty from tackling those uphill climbs!
I’d love to receive comments about your e bike experiences or feelings on the subject.