Touring - worst fear?

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
psmiffy
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by psmiffy »

mercalia wrote:
You cant leave it like that? whats wrong with Lourdes?


1) I cycled into Lourdes from the west - the breeze was from the east - I could smell Lourdes 10km away - what seemed to be 90% of the Travellers in southern europe were camped immediately to the west of Lourdes by the river - the sewage system didnt seem to be able to cope - I cannot think of Lourdes without remembering the smell

2) And probably the main reason - I dont tend to avoid the commercial hot spots - I like to see the good, the bad and the ugly of a country - but I dont think I have ever been quite so appalled by the crass commercialisation of a town
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by Vorpal »

I'm surprised no one has said being hit by a car, especially in a foreign country with a medical system that isn't a good as ours.

My biggest fear is one of my kids being hit by a car. It's probably lower likelihood than most other things that could go wrong, but I think that most other things I can cope with. It doesnæt keep me from cycling with them. We are planning a tour in a couple of weeks. But I still fear it.
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beardy
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by beardy »

I'm surprised no one has said being hit by a car,


My assumption is that the chance of getting hit by a car goes down when you are touring abroad!
irc
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by irc »

beardy wrote:
I'm surprised no one has said being hit by a car,


My assumption is that the chance of getting hit by a car goes down when you are touring abroad!


Depends where? Some riders say New Zealand is worse. The USA is the only place I've had to actually ride off the road to avoid being hit. This on a straight road with miles of good visibility. Also the only place where I've had a driver sitting on the horn because he had to brake to allow oncoming traffic to pass before overtaking. THat said in general I'd say the USA is no worse than the UK. Both those incidents were on one day in Nevada.
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by Vorpal »

beardy wrote:
I'm surprised no one has said being hit by a car,


My assumption is that the chance of getting hit by a car goes down when you are touring abroad!


I think it depends on where you are touring. I think most countries have much higher cyclist crash rates than the UK, despite the hostile road environment. The exceptions are some continental European countries: The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, France. This list is not comprehensive. I haven't gone to look at the statistics for every country.
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robing
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by robing »

Being somewhere remote and hot, misjudging a route and running out of water.
robing
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by robing »

Technology / smartphone failure. Having just completed a tour of Spain, it made me realise how reliant I was on my smartphone. Navigation, booking accommodation, transferring money, blog, emails, Facebook, camera, podcasts ...
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mjr
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by mjr »

Vorpal wrote: I think most countries have much higher cyclist crash rates than the UK, despite the hostile road environment.

Rates per what? And weighted for severity or not?
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Vorpal
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by Vorpal »

The best statistics available are for fatalities and serious injuries. If you find data comparisons between countries, they are usually fatalities or KSI per kilometer travelled. Sometimes, they also include fatalities or KSI per 100 000 population. There are also data available for other types of crash (minor injury, single vehicle, etc.), along with estimated under reporting rates, but these data are less reliable. IRTAD collects and analyses data for OECD countries and issues an annual report.
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axel_knutt
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by axel_knutt »

In my case it was the fear of biting off more than I could chew, because of the probability of it happening rather than the seriousness of the consequences.
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psmiffy
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by psmiffy »

I dont think that I fear anything - Ive always toured within my comfort zone - each tour I have done added to my confidence in dealing with - hills, mechanicals, lack of campsites, occasional illness et.al. - as a touring cyclist you have to be fatalistic about the things that are most serious - being knocked off - mugged without being blase about it
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by eileithyia »

psmiffy wrote:
tommaso wrote:
So next travel to Lourdes?


Don't - I think one of my greatest fears is I might consider going back to Lourdes



Oh yes i had forgotten that one!!!!!!

As said the awful rampant commercialism of the cheap tat on sale, for a religion that is supposedly built on poverty, humility and giving away possessions..... it is probably worth a visit once to see the awfulness of it....
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Gearoidmuar
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by Gearoidmuar »

I fear terrible heat, terrible cold, terrible rain, terrible diarrhoea and terrible malfunctions!
In Bavaria in June about 20 years ago we got 4 days of snow. Not fun, but I had winter gear (I'm prudent). Friends didn't. On another occasion cycled the Col de Galibier with 6ft of snow at sides of the roads. Terribly cold.
In Spain once I got industrial strength diarrhoea. It took 12 anti-diarrhoea tablets to stop it (Imodium). 2 usually work. My friends thought it was hilarious and what's funny about it is that we all drank the same water and ate the same stuff.
I've been in terrible heat a few times. Corsica once where it maxed at 37C every day and on the Camino de Santiago where it was similar many days.
On one tour of Scotland and another in France/Spain we had torrential rain most of the time. Awful.
As for mechanicals, I've had broken spokes, chains etc., but for sheer coincidence I've had a broken rim twice (spoke pulling through and rim wear causing a split). Both of these happened on the Isle of Skye and I bought the replacement rims in the same shop in Portree. How's that for a coincidence.
Finally, having toured multiple times in about 5 years without a puncture, my wife and I had a burst tyre and four punctures (including the burst one) in about half an hour in Scotland, on three different wheels. I went paranoid looking for more spares and located some. Didn't get another puncture for about 3 years touring after that.
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horizon
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by horizon »

Richard Fairhurst wrote:A serious mechanical in the middle of nowhere.


I thought that was the attraction .... :wink:
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
geocycle
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Re: Touring - worst fear?

Post by geocycle »

Worst fears: (i) Melons. I had a bad dose of the squits in Turkey and the only food to hand for three days was local yoghurt and melons (never been able to look at one again) (ii) Melons, yes again. I was following a truck overladen with watermelon up a very steep hill. Every time the truck hit a bump a barrage of the damn things headed my way!
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