Solo cycling: tips for where to stay + staying safe

Why did you decide to go on a solo cycling tour?

I decided to embark on a cycle tour as I had tried out a few shorter tours around Albania, the Alps, Spain, France and Slovenia, and wanted to try something more… well… epic!

I also worked in cycling policy, and realised I needed to know more about what I was writing and talking about professionally. We talk a lot about ‘inclusive’ cycling, without really knowing what that looks like in different cultural and geographical contexts; a cycle tour has been a fantastic way to see the role cycling serves in different communities.

Cycle touring offers the ability to see all the things you don’t get to see when travelling by car; the backroads, the coastal views, the mountain passes – all of which contemporary highways bypass. You are (without sounding corny), at one with the environment. If it’s wet, you get wet, if it’s sunny, you’re sweating, when it’s windy, you are physically battered by the gusts. Cycle touring is an all encompassing experience.

In addition, the people you meet are absolutely amazing. When travelling solo, you meet incredible people from places and backgrounds you would never have otherwise come across.

What is your experience of solo cycle touring?

I am midway through a solo cycle ride, pedalling from Turkey to England, then crossing Canada. For the last six months, I have been cycling my bicycle up impressive mountains, along stunning coastlines, through historic villages and along jaw-dropping valleys. In fact, I write this huddled in my down jacket on Canada’s Icefields Parkway, with snow falling outside and elk jumping through the pine trees.

While traversing these awe-inspiring landscapes is an incredible experience, it is the people I have stayed with along the way who have left the biggest impression.

Unlike many embarking on a major cycling trip, I have chosen to go it alone.

Along the way I have relied on the kindness of many individuals who hosted me in spare rooms, on couches or allowed me to pitch my tent in their garden. I am just one of many who travel like this, and, as I discovered, across the globe there is an entire network of generous and open individuals who welcome total strangers into their homes, sharing shelter, food and wonderful conversation.

How do you find accommodation on a solo cycle touring trip?

There are now several established websites and platforms that exist to help cycle tourers (and other explorers) find cheap or free accommodation. The most well-known and widely used sites are typically Couchsurfing and Warmshowers.

For those unfamiliar with these sites, the basic premise is a “host” can list their home as a potential place for travellers to stay. “Guests” (or surfers as Couchsurfing terms them) are then able to request to stay.

Couchsurfing is available for anyone to use. Warmshowers is only used by those travelling by bicycle and now has over 185,000 users worldwide.

How do these platforms work in practice?

The core tenet here is that there is no payment between host and guest.

You pay a small subscription fee to the platform to find a suitable host for your trip. At the point of contact, the hospitality provided is free. The system relies on the hospitality and generosity of hosts across the globe.

Hosts open their homes, flats, and gardens, to offer total strangers somewhere to sleep, bathe and even eat.

During my solo cycling ride around Turkey and back to England (as well as on previous cycling trips) I have used these sites and have received unparalleled kindness from those I have stayed with.

Why are these platforms so popular for solo cycling touring?

Hosts provide essential shelter, but they also offer invaluable support and camaraderie for cyclists.

Evenings on a solo cycle ride can be particularly lonely, especially after a full day cycling alone. You are often craving a chat with like-minded and friendly people.

An evening of interesting discussion about steep mountain climbs, the best swimming spots and how to ward off street dogs, can fast become the highlight of the day.

Each host is completely different, one night you may stay with a family in suburbia, the next a farmhouse, a student’s studio flat, a yurt in somebody’s garden; I have even stayed in a van with one host!

How do you approach using these platforms?

“Why did you choose to contact us? There are many Warmshowers hosts in Izmir,” asked the couple I was staying with for the night on my tour of Turkey.

I thought for a second, but I knew my response immediately.

“You looked like the safest people,” I replied.

There is always some concern about trying to find a safe place to stay through these applications, especially cycling alone as a female.

Ask many women if they would utilise such platforms when travelling alone, and the answer would probably be a firm, “No”.

I am a self-confessed proud feminist. I am guilty of dismissing concerns from others about my personal safety while touring alone so I almost feel ashamed to own up to my anxieties around finding accommodation.

When sifting through possible hosts on apps like Warmshowers, I have a methodical process for reaching out to people to request accommodation. Ideally, I find a female host. If this is not available, men with families, and after exhausting all other possibilities, I will, somewhat reluctantly, contact single male hosts. (More tips below.)

Why? The simple answer is fear.

Why do you think solo female cycling safety is a concern?

From a young age, girls are taught to be wary of – even fear – strangers, particularly men.

These are not irrational responses to travelling; as women, we have learned (often the hard way).

For example, British Transport Police’s figures suggest over one-third of women have experienced sexual harassment while using transport.

Thus, using these accommodation applications which require one to place complete trust in a total stranger feels like a contradiction of everything women learn while growing up.

For cycling this is particularly true: as the cycling community is still overwhelmingly male, these platforms are largely populated by single older men. Therefore the likelihood of finding oneself alone with an unknown male is quite high.

Is it possible to be safe cycling alone and enjoy yourself?

The truth is solo bike touring often demands a less rigid approach to personal safety.

Interacting with locals is important

Making the most of a trip means interacting with new people and forging fresh friendships; cycling is just as much about the individuals met along the way as the landscapes you pass through.

When I reflect on my various tours, they are punctuated by the people who opened their homes to me and the incredible conversations and experiences we shared.

Most hosts are friendly, interesting and warm-hearted individuals, who simply want to support fellow cyclists and travellers. Many have toured the world on their bikes in their youth and are now settled down with a stable income. They seek to repay the kindness they once received to the next generation of tourers.

When staying with hosts through platforms like Warmshowers, I have been to concerts in Spain, taught at a Turkish school when staying with a teacher, and even invited to a wedding in Italy! Often, these friendships continue long after the tour is over. I still regularly correspond with many of those who I have stayed with.

Staying alert

However, I by no means approach the process of finding accommodation without care and consideration. At the back of my mind all the time is, ‘Is this host safe?’ and ‘What precautions can I take if I feel threatened?’.

When I began touring I would (and perhaps still do) nervously look around for signs of vaguely predatory behaviour when arriving in a host’s home.

Have you had any negative experiences whilst solo female bicycle touring?

Accommodation

My fear has been prompted by several unsettling interactions that I have had with male hosts. These were situations where I was forced to fend off their advances. It is a scary experience. You are alone in their house and grateful for their hospitality. The last thing you want to do after an entire day riding is to leave and to go through the agony of locating somewhere else to stay, or pitch your tent.

I recall one particularly painful situation where my host repeatedly offered to massage my legs. He insisted it would be beneficial for my muscles after my long ride, then requested to sleep with me.

My initial reaction was to attempt to leave, but we were in the middle of the Tuscan hills. It was pitch dark and the rain poured down outside, where would I go? I felt paralysed.

It is therefore worth checking out a bit more about an individual before you request to stay with them.

Police

In many of the countries I have cycled through, officers have pulled me over for an unexplained reason, and refused to allow me to continue.

Each time, this was scary, as they are often armed, and, as many women know all too well, law enforcement does not have a fantastic reputation in regards to women’s safety and security.

On several of these occasions, I simply had to start pedalling again, which I am aware is risky, but I saw no other way forward. Here, I would note that being white and British means I am in fact in an incredibly privileged position to even be able to contemplate responding to law enforcement in this way.

Social media

The only other area where I’ve encountered negativity is online: I receive some unpleasant messages on social media (sometimes from people I have met on the journey and some who have just come across my profile). I have had to block many people. Again, I do not know if men get the same treatment; it would be interesting to hear from any who have.

But…

Yet despite these negative experiences, I would not want to put anyone off solo cycling touring. It’s an amazing, rich, rewarding experience and I highlight these issues to make people aware and open the conversation up about these points, not to dissuade or discourage.

Do you have any tips for other solo cyclists to help them stay safe?

Check the reviews

The reviews are a great place to start. On both CouchSurfing and Warmshowers they enable hosts and guests to provide public feedback. These reviews provide a good insight into which hosts you are more likely to be able to trust, and alternatively which ones you may want to avoid.

My best piece of advice to any solo woman cyclist is that you should pay additional attention to the reviews written by other female guests that have stayed there. Don’t just read the male reviews. I have found the differences to be enlightening.

Think about the hosts too

It is also worth taking a moment to flip this on its head and think about the hosts themselves. In particular, female hosts accepting male guests. This requires accepting someone you have never met before into your home. A huge amount of trust is granted and in return they hope their generosity will be respected.

Every time I stay with somebody I ask about their negative experiences, and while most will report overwhelmingly positive experiences, some share shocking stories of vandalism and theft.

Gendered cultural norms and expectations in many geographical regions mean hosting guests as a woman risks social stigma too. One female host told me that her reluctance to host men was driven more by the uncertainty of how her neighbours would respond than fear for her own physical safety.

Avoid cycling after dark

The other precaution I take is not cycling after dark (as and where possible). It is sometimes almost impossible to be visible to drivers while cycling on larger highways in the dark, and after several near misses when cycling in the dark, I do my best to avoid it.

Pull over

I have also had, on several occasions, cars drive behind me very slowly for several miles, with no apparent reason. This is incredibly unnerving when cycling solo, so I usually stop and pull over, ideally somewhere with other people around. I wait for them to pass and continue a few minutes later. Whether these drivers mean any harm or not, at least it abates the feeling of danger. I would be interested to know if this is something male cyclists also experience.

How do you think solo female cycling safety could be improved?

Platform improvements

Over the last several years, platforms like Warmshowers have improved their ability to safeguard the security of their users; I’ve noticed that the feedback mechanisms and the ability to report unfriendly or dangerous users has been significantly reinforced.

However, in my opinion, there is still more that could be done to improve women’s safety needs. I think steps such as making feedback mandatory, establishing connections with women’s charities and law enforcement, as well as developing hotlines for emergency support would improve everyone’s experience on these platforms.

As more and more women take to touring (a phenomenon to be celebrated!), redoubling efforts to forefront safety and security will be ever more critical.

Other innovations

Developers do not need to reinvent the wheel here, and there are many innovative mechanisms being trialled across the globe which offer guidance and inspiration.

Applications like Bsafe and MySafetyPin have shown the effectiveness of simple reporting and alert systems for women’s safety, and how geolocation and data can aid this cheaply and easily.

As individuals, and organisations, together we can make cycle touring safer, more accessible and more enjoyable for all!

 

A huge thanks to Isobel for sharing her cycling tips for other solo female cyclists. We hope this has helped you to gain more confidence cycling solo and provided some useful pointers to help you stay safe, no matter what level of cyclist you are.

For more inspiration, take a look at this article ‘How to plan a bike tour on a budget’.

Still not sure about taking on a solo female bicycle touring trip? If the social aspect of group cycling appeals more to you and the support of expert cycle trip leaders, take a look at our article on women’s only bike tours.