WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING A TOURING COMPANY

The first thing you’ll probably want to consider is, “what company rides where I want, has the accommodations that I like, and charges what I can afford?” Are you a camper or do you want to spend your evenings in a bed and in a motel room? Do you want to go on a “high end tour” that caters to your every need (that costs!) or one that simply provides support but allows you to be flexible in what you do besides riding? Are you someone who needs a lot of TLC or can you basically take care of yourself? All these questions apply when trying to “fulfill” your dream of riding across the country on a bicycle.

Do you want to camp or stay in a motel?

Probably the most obvious difference between rides is the camping vs motel option. There are several companies that offer these options and there are advantages to either option. I’ve done both. My first trip was a camping trip. Since that ride, I’ve exclusively ridden with a company that uses motels. I will give you my view on the advantages and disadvantages of each. First, I’ll cover camping.

Camping

There are several positives about a camping trip. Camping allows a company to take a less beaten path (remember, I’ll be covering the points from the company perspective not self supported). This is desirable to many since campers can generally ride a more rural route since they can pitch their tent almost anywhere there is a park, schoolyard, or grassy area.

Some camping trips are slightly cheaper…but not much. For what you get for your money, most motel options that aren’t “high end” are competitive with camping options.

No room mates. If you are in a tent, you can go off and set up your tent in an isolated area if you don't like being around others.

Group dynamics seems to be a bit tighter on a camping trip. Braving the elements together seems to make the group a close family but these same elements bring up the other side of the coin. Now there’s nothing better than to be in a tent on a clear, cool night up north; however, when the summer thunderstorms set in with lightning, you might feel much better with a roof over your head.

I’ve still got blood splotches on my tent from all the mosquitoes I rolled up in 1996. You'll find lots of those hungry critters almost anywhere you pitch your tent.

Creature comforts are rough in many areas. While standardization in motels is fairly wide, camping is even more. Shower and bathroom facilities are sometimes suspect.

The ride I took in 1996 was in the north country. In 12 weeks I never once put up a dry tent. Every morning we departed before the sun could dry the tent so every afternoon when I got in I had to first dry out my tent...mildew was a problem.

Campgrounds were usually well beyond walking distance to any activities. You could ride your bike to town, but that meant staying in wet bike shorts longer than you needed to.

Motels

The motel option is similar in many ways, but it has its differences beyond the most obvious. Of course you will have a roof over your head every night and you can enjoy most of the creature comforts your have grown accustomed to like TV, swimming pools, internet hookups, a warm shower, air conditioning, and a bed to curl up in every night when you are worn out after a hard day.

On the other hand, you’ll probably ride a little busier route. This will be most noticeable early in the day and late in the day as you leave the motel in the morning and arrive in the afternoon. Motels aren't usually built out in the boonies, they build them in the sprawl where the traffic is. Remember, I said these rides would expand your comfort zone. I would suggest you get out and ride in traffic whether you choose either option because you can’t avoid traffic on a cross country ride...slightly more so on a motel option. If all you have done is ride on bike paths, you’re in for some excitement.

Most motels are closer to town activity. Usually you can walk to places to eat, movies, museums, bike shops, etc. While many motels are out in the concrete sprawl, you'll sometimes be right in the middle of activity especially if you like Wal Mart!

I’ve done both…camped and used motels. I like the great outdoors or I wouldn’t be doing this sort of thing, but after the third week of taking down and putting up a wet tent, I was about ready for comfort afforded by a motel…namely a hot shower every night and a nice bed to curl up in (especially in bad weather). Plus, I haven’t been bitten by 1 mosquito on the times I crossed using a motel (except for the time I tried to pee in the weeds in Colorado…that was a bad idea and another story).

What part of the country do you want to see?

There are lots of different touring companies out there and, for the sake of argument here, most of them offer quality customer service or they wouldn’t stay in business very long. But different companies offer different parts of the country. Some ride across the northern states…been there, done that, loved it…some ride across the heartland…been there, done that several times, loved it…while some ride across the southern states…haven’t done that yet but I just finished laying out a new southern route and I can't wait to ride it!

Each ride will be so diverse as you cross this vast country that you’ll find something enchanting on any ride that you do. If you’ve never been up north then you may want to pick a northern route. But be prepared. The people up there talk funny (remember I’m from Alabama) and are so friendly it may shock someone from the big city. There’s something about riding on a road that you can see for over 20 miles ahead and someone stopping to just share a freshly made apple pie while telling you all about their grandchildren. You never know, you may be the only living sole they’ve seen in a week. Great folks in the north country…just down home friendly. But I’ve been impressed with the friendliness of people just about every place I’ve ridden. Probably because they feel sorry for us since they think we are a little daft for doing such a thing as ride across the country.

How much does it cost?

No ride across country is going to be cheap, but consider what the cost of the ride covers. You can do some comparative shopping, but consider what you get for the price. You may be someone who doesn’t consider cost as a problem and are willing to pay to be “wined and dined” but most people who come on these rides are looking for a bargain and just want good support and good food. Some companies offer a charity option that requires you to raise funds for a charity of your choice to offset your cost. If you raise enough funds you can offset your entire fee for the ride. Check with your company to see if they have such an option. If they do, they should have information on how to secure sponsors and raise funds.

Usually the cost will include lodging, most meals, luggage transport, on road support, and route preparation. Some companies offer basic maintenance but some charge for the service. Either way, you should know the basic skills needed to change a tire and to adjust a derailleur or brake cable since the mechanic can’t be with you all the time. From my experience, if you can find a company that offers the above support and charges around a $100-200 a day you’ve got a great deal. You couldn’t have your spouse follow you with sag support and ride by yourself for that price. Plus, you’ll have to figure out where you are going to ride and you'll have no one to help you if you have a problem (no offense to your spouse). There’re a lot of areas out there that have never heard of a bike shop let alone a derailleur; therefore, you should definitely consider your mechanical skills before trying a ride like this on your own.

How far do they ride each day?

Don't pick a ride just because it "fits your schedule." For instance, don't pick a ride that is 30 days vs 45 days just because you don't want to be gone for 45 days. A 30 day ride will probably average over 100 miles a day. Can you ride back to back to back centuries? And walk the next day? Pick a ride that has daily distances that you can handle.

On the other hand don't shy away from a ride just because you have never ridden that aggressively before. You won't be alone since few people have. If you can ride within 65% to 70% of the required distances for several days and not stop functioning as a human, you'll probably have no trouble with the ride. Keep in mind that you will get stronger as the ride goes on and that you only have 1 objective for each day…get to the next destination (meal). It’s not like riding at home when you have to squeeze in a ride between mowing the yard and taking the kids to the soccer game. You can take all day to cover 70 miles. Most cross country rides have daily averages anywhere from 75-140 miles a day. Pick a ride that will challenge you but one that won’t put you in the hospital. A ride that averages about 80 miles a day is about standard for most people. If you are a hammer, you may want to consider a more challenging ride of 100+ miles a day that will focus more on riding than seeing the sights.

Now that you’ve considered all these areas and decided that you really do want to do this silly thing, now what else do you need to consider?

Get information about companies you are interested in.

First, call the company and find out what they offer and how they do business. You'll probably find that most are similar in the way they do business. After you’ve gotten their inputs, then talk to riders that have ridden with the company. Usually the company will give you some names of people who have ridden with them in the past that you can contact. When you contact those people have them give you some names of people they know who have ridden with the company. Most of your questions probably can be answered by reading their brochures but you need to know stuff like:

What's their cancellation policy?
Do they provide shuttle service to/from the airport?
How does your bike get there?
What are the sleeping arrangements (i.e. how many to a room)?
How are the bikes secured (do you need to bring a lock or can you keep bikes in the rooms)?
How much luggage can you bring?
What's the daily mileages?
Do they accommodate vegetarians?
What do they provide on the road (food, medical, mechanical, sag opportunity)?
What kind of motels/campgrounds do they stay at?
What's a daily schedule like?
What's the average age of the group?
How many people will be on the ride?
Do they have fund raising opportunities to defray costs?
How many meals are included in the cost of the trip?
Are there any hidden costs on the rides (tolls, meals, rooms, repairs, bike assembly/disassembly)?
Is the ride set up to allow people to only ride a portion instead of the whole thing?
Are days off covered in the cost? The list can go on, and on, and on.

After talking to all these people you should have a good mix of opinions of the company and should have a good idea of what to expect after evaluation of all their inputs. Don’t take one person’s opinion and hold it as the “standard” for that company. Take all opinions with a grain of salt because two people can ride the same ride, know the same people, eat the same food, etc. and one will hate everything about the ride and the other will think it is the best thing they’ve ever encountered. It really depends on their perspective, attitude, fitness level, and what they expected when they showed up. No company will do anything to spoil your trip but you have to be responsible for your own good time. We’ll get more into that later in another section.

Continue by clicking on What to bring. :-)