World bicycle travelers Pat and Cat Patterson (at left) are on the road again, but Robert Hollandsworth is having to abandon his bike tour in Texas.
Two years after they completed a four-year bicycle tour through 57 countries on 4 continents, the Pattersons are pedaling their loaded bicycles through foreign lands again — this time in Southeast Asia.
The Pattersons are proof that it's never too late to fulfill your dreams. They're both survivors of messy divorces who built a successful real estate business in southern California until they realized it was time to stop the rat race and see the world
Pat, who's pushing 70, and Cat, in her late 50s, explain their motivations at their website, Bicycling Boomers:
“There's a reoccuring urge to once again be a stranger in a strange land, to see, feel and experience the world and her people. For the tourist it's a destination, for the traveler is all about the journey. Pat says, 'You haven't experienced travel until you're in a place where everyone speaks a language you can't understand, and you're not paranoid that they're talking about you.' “
The couple left LAX for Taiwan on Feb. 9. After exploring that country, they'll bicycle the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, then the southern part of China to Hong Kong.
You can follow their progress at the journal on their website, Bicycling Boomers journal. Also, if you'd like to read about their previous world travels by bicycle, check out WorldRiders2.com.
Cycle for Life
I was just thinking about the Patterson's bicycle tour this morning when Robert Hollandsworth sent out an email to inform his followers that he was having to abandon his bicycle travels.
Hollandsworth launched his bicycle tour from Houston on New Year's Day. Although he had been preparing for his bicycle tour for a couple of years, he didn't have a lot of on-the-road experience.
Texas may be a southern state, but the winter weather there can be challenging for someone doing their first solo bicycle tour. Hollandsworth covered about 630 miles across the state to Alpine before mechanical and personal problems forced him off the road.
There's good advice for any up-and-coming long distance bicycle travelers in his email:
“My advice to anyone attempting such a trip is simply this… take a few weekend-ers first… 2-3 day treks across the hardest terrain, into the wind, stealth camping in the process, for it is only in those self-imposed challenges that you will truly prepare yourself for the harsh environment of self-contained cycle touring.”
I'm sure this isn't the end of Hollandsworth's bicycle travels and he'll be out there again. He writes about the wonderful people he met on the bike and the beauty of the countryside as seen from a bike saddle. Also, his story is being considered for a book, so stay tuned.
More about Robert's tour “Starting a new life by bicycle”.
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