My Love-Hate Relationship With Hotels

May 30, 2008 by Darren Alff

Hotel Room It’s easy to point out the benefits of staying in a hotel when on a bicycle tour. On the other hand, it’s a little more difficult to point out the drawbacks.

Hotels provide a number of amenities that are important to the traveling cyclist. When staying in a hotel you have a toilet, shower, drinking water, shelter, television, possibly a free meal in the morning, and a whole host of other amenities. But hotels also have some negatives.

First of all, hotels often times cost a lot of money! Unless you are able to obtain your lodging for free, you can easily spend hundreds or thousands of dollars when staying in hotels on a bike tour.

Secondly, I find it much more difficult to get up in the morning when at a hotel. I tend to sleep in late, watch TV, and procrastinate on checking out until the very last minute. This is especially tempting when the weather is bad and the last thing you want to do is get back on your bike and hit the road.

Finally, staying in hotels can take the adventure out of your bicycle tour. On my 4th bike tour down the Mississippi River I stayed in over two dozen hotels along the way… and while the cycling was great and I had a lot of fun, that tour just doesn’t measure up with my other bicycle adventures because it was simply too darn easy!

Photo provided by: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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