It's Not Normal

 One family member commented on our cycle touring exploits by exclaiming (in a nice way) "it's not normal!". Strictly speaking, this is true. Not many people would want to commit to this type of holiday. Some of our friends who read the blog are very active cyclists and cycle tourers themselves. But others see it as a strange, somewhat "exotic" adventure.

With so many hours watching the road go by there is ample time to consider, why do this? A few reasons...

Physically we don't feel broken down, in fact, most of my aches and pains that I experience at home disappear under vigorous physical strain. Aside from some butt ache on the saddle sometimes, it generally feels great. There is also the "puzzle": navigation, food, lodging, communications have to be solved every day, in an efficient way, through the language barrier and the local culture. That is a fun challenge that we work on together. Sometimes the last minute room you booked is not so great, other times it wows you.

One writer said "cycle touring activates the hunter gatherer part of your brain". That rang true for me. The mystery of not knowing what is around the corner (literally) can make finding small pleasures very sweet.
Some people think it sounds dangerous to be out there alone in strange countries. All through Serbia and Hungary we never felt threatened by anything, not people or cars or...whatever. We are mostly on dedicated bike paths, so it's safer than riding the streets at home. As for the war in Ukraine it is 1500 kilometers and a couple of countries away.
No question though, this is"type 2" fun. "type 1" fun is enjoyable, but sometimes fleeting i.e. lying on the beach. Type 2 fun is satisfying but sometimes feels so good when you stop. I have a friend who flew to Coronado in San Diego where he paid good money to have ex US Navy Seals put a group of die-hards through a reasonable facsimile of three days of "hell week"Seal training. Now THAT'S not normal.