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hippy
It's a good point. And it was related to one of the reasons I decided not to do it last year (along with realising that I would be totally out of my depth) - I was particularly concerned about the impact on food supplies in remote areas from 100 hungry locust westerners eating as much in a day as locals might in almost a week. I did ask Nelson about it and he had thought about it, and tried to do things to make sure it wasn't an issue.
When I've toured in remote areas in the past I've tried to tone down the image a bit, avoid shiny lycra and just wear normal clothes. Bell to ring to children in villages, etc. Helmets in particular, are not a good look, given military associations. I think that people in full bike racing kit must look very other-worldly and intimidating. But, for a racer, there isn't much option.
TBH some bits of Eastern Europe felt like this as well. Just an hour out of Burgas on TCR the parcours took us through remote farming villages where fields were being tended by hand or with 50-year old equipment and tiny houses had crooked, leaking roofs. I felt a bit out of place there.