You would be amazed at what Americans tow behind their RV. Often you get a pickup truck being towed with a couple of dirt-motor-bikes in the pickup truck with a

You would be amazed at what Americans tow behind their RV. Often you get a pickup truck being towed with a couple of dirt-motor-bikes in the pickup truck with a trailer on the pickup truck to carry a boat. Then the RV is as big as a European coach, with untold junk on the top to further impair the aerodynamics. The joke of this is that all of these toys take a lot of time to get out and pack away. So in the National Parks where people join the dots between places like Bryce and Zion the humble bicycle becomes quite competitive. On the bicycle you can rock up at a camp ground at 7 p.m. with no booking needed. Then, by 8 p.m. one can be fed, watered, washed, clothes washed, stove washed, tent ready and tired enough for the best sleep ever. Food might be basic but there is a lot you can do with a simple camp stove. Meanwhile, the RV crew have arrived five hours earlier, having set up their BBQ, chairs, TVs and what-not they are not having much time left. They also have to have arguments about plates and other petty things. Then, the following morning, when on a bike there isn't much to pack away if it all fits into two pannier bags, even with a leisurely lie in the road can be hit many hours before the RV crew have got their first breakfast prepared. On the way the bike also pays dividends. Say you need to shop for groceries then you can park right next to the store entrance with no time wasted walking half a mile across a car park. Same with attractions en-route, there is no need to dismount. Meanwhile the RV crew are having to park a considerable distance away, have an argument or two about maps and fritter away the day doing RV things. The 'panoramic sunroof' is also a lot better on the bike, one's view of the world is not framed by a windscreen. Admittedly cycling is not for everyone, particularly if carrying a tent, sleeping bag and stove but, when you are covering the same distances as the RV crew in the same time and doing a better job of seeing the sights rather than picnic tables, you do have to wonder what it is all about. The other thing the RV crew don't get is meeting the natives, American hospitality is the best in the world, not that you would believe it from watching TV, but it is. The RV isolates the traveller from that, the bicycle opens it up. People you meet on the way do invite you onto their boats, show you their gun collections, even put you up in the RV that is parked outside their house. So all these things American people take with them on their RVs are kind of there for you if you go by bicycle through the splendid US scenery.