Reflections post Europe tour

Dear friends and family,

It has been over a month since I left Albania and returned to the US.

This is my reflection on this last bicycle tour of southern Europe.

I had a great trip, both the first part with Liz and the latter part alone. 

The highlights of any bicycle touring for me is the people that I meet in the different countries for me to learn from and to share things about my country and my life. This trip was certainly no exception, as I spent time with people from Albania, Russia, Montenegro, France, Italy, Finland and more, but a real mix of countries and cultures. When traveling by bicycle there is not the separation from the people by a metal car around you, but an openness of exposure to the world and the people in it. 

I’ve always (since first trip across the US) thought that there was magic in bicycle touring and since I expect it, I get it. The magic was in meeting the people, finding out about their lives and their country and being open to different opinions about how life works or can work in different cultural and political areas. 

Now that I am back in America (yes, I know the US is technically only one country out of many in America, north and south) some of the first questions I get are about which country I liked best and even more so these days, which country I would move to permanently. 

The friendliest country was Albania. From the border crossing on, these people were the ones who approached me to talk. Other countries had very friendly people, but mostly after I would approach them, then they might respond friendly, but not as open. This allowed for more interaction, even though the language difficulty was more. Most younger (under age 30) people spoke some English, and a few older people involved in tourism, but mostly the older ones not so much. So, I got to be expert in mime. My last day in Tirana, the capital, I tried to book a taxi for three AM the next day with a taxi driver who spoke NO English. You can imagine the miming that I undertook to get that point across. No, it didn’t seem to work, so I emailed the company and they picked me up at my apartment right on time and I did make it to the airport on time. 

Would I stay there? I got involved in the expat community of Americans who were either looking to buy apartments there, had already moved there, or were considering it. The reasons were many, but price and safety and friendliness of locals were large reasons. I wrote of prices in an earlier post.

For an older person, the healthcare is an issue, as it seems to be okay in the capital, but kind of sketchy in most of the other cities, even the medium sized ones. 

As a US citizen, you automatically get a one year tourist stay, so plenty of time to test it out. I sure was comfortable living large on very little dollars, making friends and exploring the mountains and the seashore. If I didn’t have the boat in Alaska I would still be there. 

For me, I don’t at all like excess heat and they have this in summer in abundance, so a year round stay there wouldn’t work. However, if you buy an apartment there, you could rent it out on a daily basis to tourists in the summer peak season for maximum profit and then stay there yourself in the lower rental months and probably do pretty well. It is something to consider.

When getting older making sure of decent health care and at a decent price with a relatively safe country all at prices that are lower than the US make France my choice for a permanent stay if moving outside the US.  Foreign relations have changed significantly since I visited and now it could all be different, but when i was there I found that I could get a retirement visa to live there if I had passive income of about $18,000 per year (social security counts) and just go through the application process. Once visa’d you then join the medical system for about $200 per month all inclusive. 

France does offer a lot: “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, for starters, but also a lot better quality of food (European standards of freedom from additives and gmo issues) as well as it is France for heaven’s sake, in the food department. I like the mountains and the seashore for exploring and have spent a lot of time in the French Alps and would like to explore the northwest portion of the country around Brittany for a better climate for a tropical weather hater. All that variety can be enjoyed in this one country. The cost of lodging, food and medical all are appealing compared to the US. I was only gone from the US for five months and either forgot or missed a significant inflation. Food in restaurants and in grocery stores, lodging and other living costs are really high here, and that was even before returning to Alaska. Really high!

Of all the six countries I visited this winter, I never felt really unsafe (even after I decided that my intruder just made a mistake). I was careful with securing my bike and I never once got drunk or stayed out late or wandered into sketchy parts of towns. I hate to say it, or maybe it was naivety, but I felt I was safer in Europe than in the US. I didn’t worry about a mass shooting when in a crowd. 

I think the happiness index that I mentioned in an earlier post has some credence. The people in Europe seemed happier: social safety net, trust in their government, good quality food, all seemed factors. I was there spending my dollars and they were there to take them, so this is a biased report. It is only what I observed through my own filters based on the people that I met. 

As I write this I sit on the boat in southeast Alaska, where i do love the weather in summer, the very wild country all around, and the tiny uncrowded towns, so I don’t plan on going anywhere else anytime soon for permanent residency. Having a boat that could sail anywhere in the world does allow for big daydreams though…

Charley and bike touring without camping:

There was no camping this trip as the hotels were all empty and cheap, the food in restaurants good and almost always available, and I could enjoy rest days in comfort to recoup from the riding. 

So, in countries where this is affordable I would tour like this again. Off season touring worked mostly great, there were only a few times that I struggled to find food or lodging. Made it part of the challenge. 

How did the old bod hold up?

Turns out that using this old bod hard helps it hold up. The harder I go, the better things work. I learn that if I ride slow enough to keep my heart rate low, that I recover fine, and if I push the heart to a sustained higher rate, that the recovery is very hard and long. Now, after my third long tour, I can enjoy a six hour ride in a day and know that I can sustain it and even enjoy it. Before these tours I could not imagine riding a loaded bike for six hours without practically dying. Now I can ride for four hours, see by my phone navigation that I might have a couple of hours to still ride and know that I will probably make it just fine. This is not said to brag but to show that my mind has changed in thinking what is possible without undue pain or stress. 

I do spend some time every day in core strength work, stretching, and breath work and meditation . I am sure all of this together helps the physical and the physical helps the mental. A lot of long distance cyclists that I talk to say the hardest is the psychological part including the dealing with the unknown, planning and being solo. 

One thing I have also noticed is that no matter how fit I might get in the course of a tour, it still takes effort to turn every crank of the pedals. No ride is without effort, so I have to prepare myself mentally for that.

Have these tours changed me, and how?

Maybe due to necessity or maybe because I want to learn about the people and countries, but I think I may have become an extrovert traveler instead of the introvert I always thought of myself as. I say hello to people in coffee shops when I hear English spoken, wander into open rooms to see what is going on and engage strangers every day. My excuse to myself is that I want material to write about in my blog posts. This evolved over the last three years of touring and I see the rewards now. Maybe I will keep that trait.

I have the Google translate app on my phone available to use, but I find that it is a lot more engaging to use a few words we know in common or mime to engage with people I meet. Yes, one time I used it I insulted the person who I asked to read the translation, since she could not read, but even without that risk I enjoy the challenge of not using it. (Oh, all right, I should have used it to book that taxi to the airport)

My most used trait is humor. I have this goal of trying to make even the toughest looking stranger laugh even when confronted. I understand that being so big and male makes this a lot safer, but it continues to be my personal challenge, to bring humor into the situation. I would gauge my effectiveness at about 92% this trip. 

What might be next, you might ask. 

Sailing southeast Alaska for this summer is the plan. Then?

Our political situation is rapidly evolving in a way that does not give me confidence in a foreign bicycle tour in the near future. I typically wind up the sailing season in Alaska around the end of August, so will do a wait and see about the next bike tour. There are lots of places to ride yet in the US. As the prices are so high here (hotels and restaurant food) compared to any place in Europe I would have to change my touring to camp along the way so that is something to consider in choosing a route. 

I wanted to give thanks to everyone of you who gave me feedback about the blog posts. I write them to inspire you to “go for it” in your own passion, to entertain you, and maybe even to share what I learn about the people and the countries I visit. And probably because I love to write and I found people willing to read it.🙂

Sending love,

CharleY