The Solo Shift: Conquering Fears & Finding Freedom

Calliope Georgousi [00:40:29]:
Yeah. And if you don't know much about it, go to a bike fitter. It's worth the money.

Jerry Kopack [00:40:33]:
I tell you that much. Did you have any issues where you got out there and it was uncomfortable? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Liz, what's something a beginner should avoid?

Eliza Sampey [00:40:47]:
Honestly, I think the mindset of feeling like you have to have it all together before you get out there.

Jerry Kopack [00:40:51]:
Like, just throw some stuff in a bag and like ride a few miles and camp. Okay, uh, one last question here. One thing that you wish you knew before you started, Helen?

Helen Dainty [00:41:05]:
I wish I knew now how capable I would turn out to be and how much I would absolutely I adore bike touring.

Calliope Georgousi [00:41:17]:
Calliope? How kind the world is, really. The openness and the kindness of the world. They open the doors for you, they give you food for free, at least here in Europe as much as I've traveled. You girls can tell me if that was the case for you as well.

Eliza Sampey [00:41:39]:
It's amazing. Liz? I wish that I knew how much I could just learn on YouTube about bike mechanics, because that's what I did.

Jerry Kopack [00:41:45]:
I didn't know much when I started either, and you can learn anything on YouTube. I love that. Great tips. All right, ladies. So I want to end this with a little inspiration and some lasting tips. So Helen, we'll, we'll just keep the process going with you and we'll go around. What would you say to a woman listening now who is curious about a solo trip but maybe is nervous, hesitant, or, or even a little scared?

Helen Dainty [00:42:16]:
Yeah, I mean, it is, it is scary, and in many ways, you know, it does continue to be, uh, challenging at times, but it's absolutely worth overcoming that first barrier. I think once we, we can make our— once we can do our first day or two on our own, once we can do our first wild camp our own, once we can fix our first puncture by the side of the road on our own, every single thing after that becomes easier. But it's the, the firsts will always feel really, really intense and difficult, but like anything, it just gets easier with practice. The, the important thing is, is being brave enough to take the first step.

Calliope Georgousi [00:42:56]:
Hmm, Kayope? I think if I could put it like, yeah, definitely the one thing that I would like to know is technical gearing. Technical, knowing how to ride the bike, technical descents in, in, in a sense, um, so that I can be more comfortable. That's one thing I'm going towards, bike fitting, ergonomics. That's important that you don't have to have an expensive bike, but you do need to have a comfortable bike, whatever it is. Um, that's the one thing. Also, in terms of organization, like knowing how to read a map knowing how to do a ride, do your GPS, then you can take it one step at a time, as Ellen said. Just one day after another, after another. You just set one day, okay, today I want to reach here.

Calliope Georgousi [00:43:44]:
You reach here, you wake up in the morning, you say, where do I want to go next? And this is how you go one step at a time.

Jerry Kopack [00:43:52]:
This is one way to start. Interesting, yeah, I love that. And Liz, what would you say to someone who's listening who's maybe nervous or hesitant about starting their first bike tour?

Eliza Sampey [00:44:03]:
Yeah, I would just say, you know, in addition to everything else that all of us have already said, is just make it as easy as possible. Like, there are so many websites now available that have established routes on them that are well known for cycle touring. Uh, you know, if you're more singletrack-minded, bikepacking.com is a great one. Bikepacking Routes, R-O-O-T-S, is a great one. The Adventure Cycling Association, you know, there's all of these Established routes where you don't have to think about how to plan a route. You know, that intimidates a lot of people, but those routes are planned for you and there's a lot of information about them. And, you know, start there. Or ask somebody you know who has done bike touring and say like, what's a good beginner route that I could try? This is where I live.

Eliza Sampey [00:44:44]:
You know, reach out to probably any one of us on social media, right? Like, this is where I live. What's a good beginner route I could try? Just make it really easy and do something that's already known. Don't feel like you have to be really creative or adventurous.

Jerry Kopack [00:44:56]:
Just make it easy. I love these tips, ladies. Thank you so much. So as we wrap up today, the first of two episodes celebrating International Women's Month, I just want to say how incredibly grateful I am for these women for sharing their honesty and the courage. So hopefully today's conversation helped you feel a little bit more confident about taking that first step. In part two, we'll go deeper into how solo travel changes you, how community shapes the experience, and what you discover about yourself after miles and miles on the road. You're not going to want to miss this episode. So until then, keep dreaming, keep planning, and keep riding.

Jerry Kopack [00:45:36]:
Thanks for joining us on Bike Life. I'm Jerry Copac, and I hope you enjoyed today's episode as much as we enjoyed sharing it with you. Please leave us a rating and review, or just tell your friends. This helps us reach more cyclists and hosts around the world. To learn more or become part this amazing community, visit us at warmshowers.org or follow us on Instagram at warmshowers_org. If you'd like to be a guest on the show or have a question you'd like us to explore, email us at podcast@warmshowers.org.