Basically, I’ve already made some short trips in bike and hiked long distances camping, but recently I’ve been planning a bikepacking trip across Bolivia and Peru all the way from the Brazilian border in the Pantanal region to Lima.
Even though I’m gonna do it anyway, my family is very concerned for my safety as I’m going alone and I wanted to give them some reassurance. What did you tell your family when you went for your first bike trip? Did they support it?
by Tasty_Throat2082
12 Comments
Man I really wish English had an easy distinction of two different types of “family” where one meant “my parents” and the other meant “my spouse and children”.
Anyway, I can’t do this because it is exceedingly impractical for my wife and children.
However, if I did not have a wife and children, and I wanted to do this, I would just go do it regardless of what my parents thought about it.
Something like a Garmin InReach could help relieve some of the their anxieties. I think it’s also fair for them to be a little anxious. Maybe you should talk to them about it
Go with a firefighter/paramedic.
[ Removed by Reddit ]
With a tranquilizer dart.
I’m calling the police
I had this issue with camping in general from my parents; and later my SO had this issue with his long bike packing trips from his mom.
What fixed it for my parents, is that I stopped telling them when I was leaving, and they didn’t know I was gone until I got home. Eventually when they stopped placing their anxieties on me I started letting them know in advance my plans.
With my SO’s mom, she was trying to get me to stop him too. I told her: “he is going on this trip regardless of your opinion. You can be on board, and be included in his updates and plans; or you can oppose this and hear from him after the trip is over. What do you choose?”
It’s a bit harsh, but it works. To be clear, we were both adults in our 20’s and had lived alone for years when these things happened.
Additionally, this question has been asked in this sub a few times already. I would recommend you check out posts here for more info & advice, I have commented this advice before myself, and there is lots of good resources in those threads!
This is such a great topic. I’m invested.
Is the issue the location or just bike trips in general? My bikepacking trips have mostly been in Sweden and Norway which are quite safe places. I know if I was planning a trip in another place that had a perception of being unsafe, my wife would likely veto that option.
Maybe your route actually goes through very safe areas of that part of the world, I don’t know. But certainly a conversation you should have to discern what the exact worry is and try to find ways to mitigate that with route changes, regular check ins, gear choice, etc. Simply trying to convince them to worry less is not a great solution.
One comment on “tranquilize”… I speak Spanish (as a second language) so I know what you mean, like “tranquilo, amigo”. But this is a bit of a false cognate. In English we tend to use the word “calm” as in “How do I calm my family down” or “How do I keep my family calm” or maybe “How do I keep my family from worrying.”
“Tranquilize” is the word we use more for literally sedating an animal. As in “we had to tranquilize the dog for surgery”. Or even more likely “we had to sedate the dog for surgery.” The most common use of “tranquilize” is “tranquilizer dart” for the dart loaded with drugs that you might shoot to tranquilize an animal.
Go in th 90’s?
My mom thought it sounded fun.
Look at the crime stats. Concern is warranted lol. You can still choose to go but let’s not pretend like there’s nothing to worry about