Traveling by Bicycle on a Budget
What 'they' don't tell you in the guidebooks
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Bike Travel on a Budget
As I get older my priority for comfort changes, and I prefer to have more authentic adventures. Money is much less of an issue these days, not because I have a lot of it, I don’t, but because I have learned to live well within my means and simply. When I head out on my adventures, I want to do things which will cause me to get out of my comfort zone and have new experiences.
Traveling by bicycle on a tight budget can be very rewarding.
This is for those travelers who are on a tight budget. Everything here I have done myself. These are my experiences and opinions. I will reference airline and train travel but am not going to set up links. You can find these things on your own, being a self-reliant traveler is the first lesson.
I hope you enjoy this piece.
Food
I have a friend, Jason Moriarty, a photographer, who rode the Baja Divide, a consummate budget traveler and averaged $4 a day. When I did Highway 1 from LA down the length of Baja, I spent about $10 a day. Mexico is cheap.
Cheap food and lodging, especially if you camp out every night and cook your own food. Street vendors are a particular favorite, especially for tacos and tamales. And if you are so inclined, maybe do some fishing and foraging as well.
Budgeting in the US and Canada is a different story. To keep costs down I try to buy food at a grocery store versus a gas station convenience store, and I buy as much bulk as I can, it adds more weight, but the cost savings are worth it to me, and I do not ride a light set up anyhow, a Surly Long-Haul Trucker, so I do not care. I usually have two large panniers, and a dry bag on top of my rear rack. I prefer the old ways and can adapt as needed. My first trip on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route lasted 21 days, and I was on a budget of $14/day. I found on the GDMBR $14 a day worked well, but that meant no restaurants, no hotels, and few gas stations.
Budget Busking d. Busker: a person who entertains for donations
I kind of thought of myself as a Busker, one trick I learned over the years, that ‘they’ don’t tell you in the guidebooks, was to keep your helmet on anytime you go into a store, as invariably it is a conversation starter, and people want to hear about your adventure. Additionally, if you share with them you are on a tight budget that adds a flare to the story and many people will buy you a coffee, meal, or give you cash, and sometimes a place to stay as well. What I have found on all my tours is that most people are good and want to help a fellow human.
In 2022, when I rode my bike from Kansas City to Yorktown, VA, much of the route was via the Transamerica Trail. While going through the Ozarks I stopped in town at Eminence, MO for some groceries before finding a place to camp. I was standing in line to check out, and the man next to me started asking me about my ride as he saw my loaded bike by the front door. I gave him the full story and asked him if he knew of any place close that I could set up camp for the night. Sure enough, he invited me to dinner, and offered me one of his rental cabins for the night for free. This type of serendipity happens often to me.
Some other strategies I have are to ask at coffee shops, for day old baked goods, or expired food at grocery stores, and even at restaurants. Many of these places already donate to the needy, so they are happy to help out a weary bike traveler. There have been a few times where they gave so much and were so generous I asked if I could do a few hours of work for them in return, but usually they just want me to tell them stories from the road. I know other travelers who are quite adept at dumpster diving, but I have not tried that one yet.
Where to sleep on a budget?
I rode with a Chinese guy, Dong, for a few days in Baja. He had been traveling for years by bicycle. He told me he rode from New York City to LA and never once paid for a place to sleep, imagine that!
Warm Showers is a great resource to find a place for a night or two, it is an online hosting site for touring cyclists, but there are many places you will go that have no one to host you, or they are full up with other travelers or they are traveling. So, you may have to camp anyway. I have camped behind restaurants, baseball dugouts, churches, behind fire stations, city parks, beaches, sometimes legally and sometimes not. Homeless people do it all the time. I rarely will pay for a campground, I usually tell the campground host what I am doing, be completely open and honest, and in most cases, they will let you stay there for free or suggest a close place. I also will donate to the campground another time as well. But when on tour it is important to not spend money unnecessarily. And you have to remember you are on a budget.
Stealth camping (wild camping) is my favorite way to camp and should not be looked down upon. Basically, you just wait to dusk and find a place no one is around and set up camp and leave at first light. Easy peasy. Well, I have had the police show up, but just tell them that I am a traveler and that I will be gone in the morning and usually they will be ok with it. But sometimes you have to move on, I have many friends who were told they had to move on. I know how to hide well, I guess. By the way, it is the same for men and women. But one should always be aware of their situation, and if it does not feel right, better to move on.
The Chinese guy, Dong, I told you about, and I camped on a public beach in Loreto in Baja, and the police came by twice. We just told them the truth, we were traveling south, and needed a place to sleep for the night as we had no extra money for lodging. They wished us well.
Travel Costs
If you are not starting your trip from your front door, you may have to spend a considerable amount just to get to the start of your expedition. But let me say this, if you are on a true budget and money is tight, why not start it from your front door. Not having to spend money or time traveling to the start is incredibly freeing. I have done it all, from my front door, hitched a ride to the state I wanted to go, train, bus, planes, and even a boat (ferry). I actually like to travel all those ways and even on a trip I might use all of them on one expedition, but it can be expensive. Leaving from your front door is a great way to see the area you live on the intimate level of atop your bicycle and it by no means lessens the adventure.
Plane travel has gotten cheaper for cyclists, most will let you bring the bike-boxed and only charge you for the price of checking in a bag, usually $35.00. Some won’t charge whereas others charge $150 each way especially if you are traveling to another country. Go to the airlines website to see what they charge. I rarely pay the fees, because I ask if it can be waived as I am a budget traveler. Seriously, there is usually a way. But it is important to be very kind to the Airline representative and honest.
Train travel and I am just talking about the United States, is a great option and I have done it many times. Here are a few tips. I plan my trips, so I leave and arrive at stations where there are Amtrak Representatives, otherwise they want you to box your bike. But with that, I usually buy a ticket to a manned station, but if I want to get off at an unmanned station, I ask the Conductor, and usually they will accommodate, but you have to ask.
Conductors are God on a train, all powerful. And sometimes they act like GODS. Just be kind, tell the truth, and if you have the cash tip them when the deed is done. If they are non-helpful just go to the original destination. On commuter trains there is usually a place for bikes in the car you are seated, it is simple. But if you have to hand the bike to the conductor in the baggage car, make sure you get a receipt, and the bike is properly tagged. I did not do this one time and it took me 5 days to get my bike back.
Bus travel is interesting, I have only done it in Mexico. You don’t have to box the bike, but you have to help the driver make room in the luggage compartment. Usually there is a way. You just have to take charge and make it happen. I think in the US you will have to box the bike.
Ferries always walk the bike onboard super easy.
Sometimes I will start a trip hitchhiking people who I know are heading to a destination I am interested in going to. If they are open to a traveler, I offer half the gas, and lots of stories, occasionally I buy them a meal.
Front door travel is the easiest, in most cases. Using alternate travel to get out of a city might be a good option as well, like leaving by the front door, biking to the commuter train station and traveling just far enough to get you out of the city. By starting from your front door, your world becomes bigger, it is fun to see more of the area you live in while traveling by bicycle.
How much to budget
How much money for trip
minus
Travel Cost estimate
Food budget per day
Possible hotel/ hostel cost
Laundry (Important to stay clean)
Emergency or bike repair
Estimated time on road
Mindset.
Think of budget travel as an adventure. Have fun with it.
Going on an adventure by bicycle is so much fun. It is an uncommon way to travel, and how to enrich your life, and it is about enjoying your time.
“Your only real commodity (time)-and how we choose to use it.” Rolf Potts
Vagabonding- An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
My best advice?
Trust chance
Be kind and respectful to people and environment-no trace camping
Stay within your means-physical, mental and financial
Be open to new experiences
Have situational awareness
Ask for help anytime you need it, most people want to help a fellow human but will not until asked
Let your spirit grow
Stick to your budget, you will feel better when you get home
And it is ok to travel on a tight budget
Peace and love, Bill Poindexter
bpoindexter.substack.com
Bill Poindexter is an American Writer
This was so helpful! I’m getting ready to go on a bike tour on a budget and this was right on time. Thank you!