As I prepare for my upcoming trip at the end of March, I am often struck by how different cycle touring is today from when I went on my trip in 1990. Life has drastically changed in that period. The cycle touring the world is no different with the introduction of the internet, changes in bike specifications, improvements in cycling infrastructure, and a whole lot more.
1. technology vs the lack thereof
In 1990 the internet was at best, a hard-to-explain concept; the cell phone industry was on the brink of a revolution, and the first GPS navigation device was being introduced for cars.
On our 1990 trip, we did not have a laptop, a cell phone, or a Garmin GPS device. I will take all of those on this upcoming trip. It can be argued that it is totally out of convenience (or laziness perhaps?) rather than necessity.
…we relied on Let’s Go Europe, the bible for all backpackers and budget travelers…
Instead of Booking.com and Google, we relied on Let’s Go Europe, the bible for all backpackers and budget travelers back in the day. It guided us to the must-sees and budget lodging and restaurants. Since that book was the monster size, we ripped out the chapters we needed and then left them behind for someone else to use when we were done with them.
Instead of a cell phone to connect with family and friends at home, we relied on American Express offices scattered across our route to pick up our mail and make phone calls home, if needed.
Instead of carrying traveler’s checks (which no longer exist) and exchanging them at the American Express offices (with a heavy conversion rate), I can now rely on my ATM card to get cash at any bank on almost any corner.
Instead of GPS to guide us on our daily rides, we relied on paper maps. We had a map for each country we crossed. While I still love sitting down with a big paper map, they are bulky, (and expensive!) A computer or phone screen certainly does not have the same allure as a paper map, they are quite convenient.
2. 1990 Cannondale ST400 vs 2020 Trek 520
…she will not turn any heads, Italian or otherwise, on this trip.
I won’t bore you with all of the specifications of my Cannondale vs my Trek. In a nutshell, my lovely Cannondale was a 6-speed bike with cantilever brakes. It was five pounds lighter than my steel frame Trek due to its aluminum frame. Because of the aluminum framing, the top and bottom bars on the Cannondale were noticeably oversized. If we spent any amount of time in an Italian village , the old men would soon gather around to argue amongst themselves the merits of these odd American bikes. I could have funded my entire trip if charged a dollar to every Italian man who wanted to pick up my bike to see how light it was.
My Trek, Bella the Beast, by contrast is a 9 speed steel bike with mechanical disc brakes. While I think she is equally beautiful, I am quite confident she will not turn any heads, Italian or otherwise, on this trip. What I am hoping she will do, is get me up those hills with a lot more ease and down them with a lot more stability.
3. Fashion
Thank god fashion has changed. No more Bell styrofoam helmets with the lycra covering or neon green Bolle sunglasses. I also won’t be wearing $5 cotton tee shirts from Old Navy. While there were women-specific cycling shorts, they were far from comfortable. The thought then was to make the padding as thick as possible so you felt like you were wearing a diaper.
Now you find me in loose cycling shorts with light weight 100% wool tee shirts and a helmet that still makes me look like a bug, but a hard shell replaces the lycra cover. My sunglasses, my daughter would argue, still make me look like a throwback from the 1990’s, but at least they are not neon green. The best part is that there are now loads of choices for women cyclists to choose from and we can dress for both comfort and style.
4. popularity
I’m excited to try my old skills in this brave new world.
In 1990, we saw very few cycle tourists. The most cyclists we saw were in France, Spain, and Portugal. There were so few of us, that by the time we reached Portugal, backpackers we ran into at the hostels commented how they had heard about us thru the hostel ‘grapevine.’
Nowadays, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of cyclists selling their belongings and touring the world for a year or more. There are even more cyclists taking a week or month to hit the many trails and bike-specific routes throughout Europe that were nonexistent thirty years ago, many of them solo women like myself.
In many ways, I feel like an old pro and in many ways I feel like a newbie. While the very act of cycling has not changed, spinning the wheels in a forward motion, there are so many things that have changed. I am excited to try my old skills in this new brave world.