Where Did You Stay?

When I headed out on May 15, I was nervous about a lot of things. But one of my greatest concerns was, where on earth was I going to stay? I'd read somewhere, and a few other touring cyclists had confirmed it, that I would be able to find secret hideaway campsites on private and public land everywhere. "Just look for a little patch of trees or a ditch that you can conceal your tent in." "If it's not fenced or posted, it's called 'unimproved land' and most states have laws that protect travelers who camp on unimproved land." I wanted to be tight on spending, so this sounded good to me. But I was a little nervous about trespassing. I've had some sour experience with that.

Turned out I only had to do this stealth camping twice, both within the first 10 days of riding (see that last two pictures). In the end, I found it it rather nerve racking and somewhat presumptuous. I was on edge all night. I worried both about getting busted and about giving private landowners or public land protectors a bad taste about cyclists. Some riders primarily stealth camp. But there are many other ways to camp, the first of which is to ask, "may I camp here?" And this question usually leads to a nice adventure.

So here's my answer to the question that I was most frequently asked as I rode my 3000mi. Even up to the end, I felt like every night was a new experience. I didn't exactly know how to find a campsite or who to ask. I was a perpetual novice at this. Which landed me in some pretty interesting places:

in private campgrounds

on baseball diamonds

in little cozy cabins


beside Christmas lights
outside churches


inside churches



outside firehouses

inside firehouses

outside strangers' houses


inside strangers' houses
at friends' houses




in the city park




underneath mountains


beside RVs


beside playgrounds

in the water

in the wilderness

in a Winnebago

in state parks


and twice, stealthily hidden away on unimproved land