Bicycle Touring: Not as Dangerous as You Think

What these concerns come down to is the fear of the unknown. As one friend put it, there is something intimidating about facing the boogieman, and if you don't even know who the boogieman is or where he hides, he's even more scary. I feel fortunate that we've learned the boogieman isn't out to get us regardless of which country we happen to be in. That frees us up to travel the world without fear. In fact, we've found people throughout the world to be kind, generous, giving people who will go out of their way to help us out. Why should we fear them?

That being said, we take a lot of precautions to help ensure that nothing bad happens. We can't, by any means, totally prevent bad things from happening to us, but we can minimize the chances. Follow these tips for defensive riding.

Safe, Defensive Riding Techniques

  • Wear helmets and have mirrors on your bikes so you know what's coming from behind.
  • Be highly visible--we have brightly colored bags on our bikes and wear bright shirts.
  • Ride with traffic, never against it.
  • Ride in the road, not on sidewalks--they have too many obstacles for safe biking.
  • Slow down at all intersections and be prepared to stop. Be sure you make eye contact with drivers.
  • Never ride at night unless you have plenty of lights. We carry blinkies for those rare times when we need to ride in the dark.
  • Choose roads with minimal traffic. This is not always possible, but we try to choose back roads when we have the choice.
  • Avoid areas known for guerilla activity or other security risks. So far, this has never happened, but if there was an area known for kidnapping we would avoid it.
  • Seek out a police escort when passing through areas known for robbery.
  • Be aware of changing conditions and be ready to respond. An example of that is Colombia--it's now very safe to travel in, but people still have the idea that it's dangerous. The reverse could also be true if there is a sudden government change or some other event occurs.
  • Eat healthy food and maintain sanitary conditions. It can be hard to be clean in remote areas, but we do our best to keep hands and food clean. 
  • Drink bottled water or otherwise make sure water is safe to drink.
  • Watch the bikes at all times and choose camping spots carefully. Never leave the bikes unattended unless they are safely locked up in a hotel.
  • Look for camping spots where you have permission from the landowner, or pull off the road to a hidden spot where nobody can see you.
  • When passing through cities known for theft, use extra straps on your gear to make it harder to get off the bikes.
  • When passing through dicey areas, stay in a tight pack and pass through quickly without stopping.

Will these precautions preclude something happening? Absolutely not. But we feel the risks we face while on the road are similar to what we would deal with if we lived at home in Boise, Idaho. And out here, we having a lot more fun!


World Bike Touring Examiner Nancy Sathre-Vogel is an experienced long distance cyclist currently on the Pan-American Highway.

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