The economics of being a bike dork.

I am not a rich girl. I never will be. If I did make large amounts of money I would probably drink way too much and cease to remain a part of the social community (just being honest, I like beer just as much as I like bicycles). You would find me belly-up in a vat of Ironrail IPA, mmmmm....

OK! So this trip is going to cost money. Granted, one of the beautiful things I have gathered while reading other bike touring blogs (you know, people who have already done it) is that you can make it as expensive or as cheap as you want to. It depends on a few factors...or really they all root back to one: how much shit do you want to carry?

Some people carry very little, stay in hotel rooms, eat at restaurants. They have an average daily budget of oh 200 bucks. No fun. The is actually more expensive than driving a car. Then there are those that camp. There are many ways of doing this also. You could camp in designated camp grounds, usually with a sliding scale fee of 12-40 bucks per night. You could camp in a designated wilderness area (which is free) however the likelihood of you being able to do this for your entire trip is slim. Then there is stealth camping, a free but seemingly dangerous method of getting some shut-eye before you hit the road again.

On the subject of stealth camping...I could do this, I think. It is free, however it is technically trespassing. I could picture myself being awakened by some farmer with a shotgun, somewhere out in Haywood county...hehe. Most people who do this and try to remain unnoticed usually arrive after dark, set up camp, sleep, get up before sunrise and then get going...doesn't seem like fun to me. I plan to stay in camp grounds (not more than 20 dollars per night) and wilderness areas along the route I am taking. Luckily the map that I have has the locations and contact info I need to make reservations (as it will be nearing Memorial day). I will also be doing a little couch surfing. Going on the expensive side, I plan to spend no more than 200 dollars on camping.

Next thing to consider is how I am going to eat. I obviously can't carry all the food I will need for my trip, and methods to cook it. I do plan to carry a small stove and a few pieces of cookware....really just to boil water for coffee. I will carry some freeze-dried meals and things to nibble on, but that is about it. The map that I have also directs me to grocery/supply stores (its like a big life-sized game of Oregon Trail!) Where I will pick up foodstuffs... SO, I am hope to spend no more than 150 dollars on food for the entire trip.

Then there are repairs, which I am hoping my bike will need few to none...I will have it professionally tuned-up before I go. I plan to replace the tires before I go. I will carry with me, and extra tube, tools, maybe an extra chain. So, I'm allotting about 100 dollars for repairs. I am not going very far, and I hope that properly preparing my bike before the trip will prevent me from having to have any repairs done at all. Again, this is a learning experience.

Lastly (so far), the cost for a ride home. I don't plan to ride my bike back to Asheville. I have to get back to work. And as far as I can tell, there isn't a bus station in Manteo. So, I am thinking about riding my bike back from Manteo to visit my dad in Rocky Mount (138 miles) for a little bit and then taking the greyhound back to Asheville. A 7 hour bus trip for 80 bucks. I will have to take my bike apart and box it up, put it in checked baggage for a fee of 10 bucks. So hopefully only 100 bucks to get home.

Again I am overestimating on all of these things. I read a blog from a woman who toured across America for 10 bucks/day. This is all a learning experience. I don't know what I am doing, and I really do learn best by making mistakes. However, if you have any advice, I'd love to hear it.