Day 44: St Johnsbury to White River Junction

100km/62m, 4hrs 40mins, 21.3kph/13.3mph, 647m/2103ft of climbing.

One of those days when one knows beyond doubt that the bicycle is mankind's greatest invention. Perfect weather, great scenery, quiet roads, terrain just challenging enough to be interesting and a feeling of invincible well-being.

I was going due south on highway 5 today. It has been superseded by an interstate which now runs parallel, so all the through traffic uses that and highway 5 is strictly for locals, and for me. As predicted, two days after a rest day and I'm feeling great so was able to zoom down to White River Junction at a healthy clip.

I was reflecting today on the solitary nature of this trip and whether I'd advise others to follow my example and undertake such a lengthy tour alone. There's no doubt that being alone has its disadvantages. Most of the time I am fine with my own company but there are moments when something happens and I think " I wish X was here to see that." And if one is less than fluent in the local language, opportunities for conversations that extend beyond the merely transactional can be few and far between.

On the other hand, one is much less alone than would have been the case in similar circumstances twenty years ago. This blog, e-mails, SMS messages, cellphones, all combine to make one feel accessible to and connected with people in a way that would have been inconceivable even in the early nineties.

And the big advantage of travelling alone is that it encourages interaction with strangers. With a companion one tends to talk solely to the companion. But alone one engages with strangers to a much greater extent. I have had dozens of conversations with locals and other travellers that simply wouldn't have happened had I been with someone. So on balance I'd say yes, go alone. Maybe not every time, but often enough to remind yourself that people you don't know are mostly OK.