Lessons Learned

Every bicycle tour adds to my knowledge. Here are a few lessons learned observations from this tour:

• Web access: While the bandwidth varied, every place we stayed offered free WIFI (pronounced wee-fee in Spain).
• Bringing an unlocked phone and purchasing a local sim card can be a major money saver, but I had a few issues. I purchased a Vodafone plan, 15 euros, 60 minutes talk to most countries, and 1.5 GB of data. I inserted the sim card in a retired, unlocked iPhone 4s. With the updated OS, it took nearly a minute to become operational. Also, the battery life was poor. In hindsight, I should either wipe the phone and reload or at least delete all apps that will not be used. For example, who need Gas Buddy on a bicycle in Spain? 
• Buying and activating the sim card can be a hassle. You must bring your passport and go through a set-up process. Hopefully, someone at the purchase point can speak a language you understand and set up the phone. I also discovered that in addition to the phone being password protected, the sim card is also password protected. I did not understand this when purchasing. so upon restart, I inserted my phone password, but then was asked for the sim card password. I could not use the phone for 4 days until we entered a larger town that had an open Vodafone store. Getting help took another hour.
• Using your existing phone: I also carried my company iPhone 6s. AT&T charged $60 to get 300MB of data. I used it sparingly and got a notice with 5 days to go that I had used 80% of my data. So obviously, if you want to repeatedly use your phone for navigation and finding lodging, buy the local sim card or rent a local phone unless your cell provider offers a better international roaming plan.
•  Paper maps: Always carry a paper map within the group, but not everyone needs a paper map. While it's nice to buy them in advance, you can usually buy maps locally for less than at home and will not have to carry excess maps in the event your routing changes. 
• When to book lodging: Reinforcing an earlier note, booking all lodging in advance eliminates flexing according to weather,  locals' recommendations, and your energy level. Booking one day in advance still requires you to find the address. For this, a good GPS device is a big help, providing you have an accurate address and it's in the GPS map database. Riding into a town, spotting a place and asking eliminates the search, but that town might not offer lodging. Lodging (especially casa rurals) might not be on main routes, and inquiring at the open tavern requires some ability to communicate.
• Casa rurals are usually a good option. You stay in a small place and get to know a local family. However, some rent only by the week or month and this might not be apparent on line.
• Communicating when you do not know the language: Stuart demonstrated a good practice. Write what you are seeking on paper, highlight it, and show it to a local. He did this when seeking assistance with train directions, writing the departure and destination cities with a direction arrow. You could do this with lodging as well, perhaps preparing a limited set of cue cards.
• Google Translate worked well to read menus, eliminating pointing and guessing, but it requires web access. I need to learn the speech translation portion.
• Off-line maps, loaded on cell phones, are getting better but are not yet sufficiently reliable to trust without a map.
• If you have a number of electronic devices, bring something that allows recharging multiple devices simultaneously from a single outlet.Pack the proper converter. Also, carrying an auxiliary batter/recharging unit is helpful. 
• GPS Devices: John wisely advised to learn to use your GPS devices. I have a Garmin Edge Touring, selected because it was marketed as cycle-touring specific and less complex. However, the underlying routing assumptions are unknown, so it repeatedly redirects to obscure routes when the main road offers a better surface and is more direct. In hindsight, I suggest buying a more flexible unit that offers more routing criteria options. For example, selecting a "car" route will keep you off dirt footpaths with poor surfaces. Regarding rechargeable units or battery powered, both have obvious pros and cons. Rechargeable units are generally lighter and smaller, but you must have access to recharge each day, and if you  carry an auxiliary charging unit, there is no net weight saving. Narrow, stone-walled streets can block satellite reception, and you often have to ride in circles until the unit can more precisely identify your location and offer accurate directions.
• How much clothing to take: Much depends upon anticipated weather and whether you have time to wash clothes. If your bag can hold it, we often pack it. The only rain we encountered fell at night, just one night. Also, temperatures were moderate—typically 50F at night and 75-80 for the daily high. But we were going into mountainous areas, where temperatures could drop. Here were my excess items: stuffed, 15-oz. down vest; 2nd pair of travel slacks; wind jacket, stored under the saddle for instant access; rain jacket, never used; and warmer jacket with hood, never used; beanie or stocking cap; belt; short and long-sleeve business casual shirt (Needed only one.) 
• Most used items that all others did not carry: Corkscrew, pocket knife, clothes line and pins.
• Unused but essential: Night riding light/flash light, just-in-case wet and cold weather clothing.
• Flexible attitude: The larger the group, the more this matters. Psychologists tell us that change after 30 is rare, usually prompted only by a life crisis. We all have our quirks that others find mildly to significantly irritating. Our interests vary, perhaps baffling to others. Since we seldom repeat tour routes, if you want to explore the local sights and no one else is interested, go on your own, after telling others where you are going. Do not insist that someone or all the others want to accompany you or resent it when they do not.

Minor thoughts on bike etiquette:

• Touring bikes are unwieldy. Learn to park your bike in a stable position or lay the bike on the ground. Panniers protect your bike. Minimize leaning your bike against other bikes unless it's to lock bikes together or parking space is limited. No one likes to see their bike scratched and dented when someone's bike topples over onto them or their bike.
• Do not expect others to hold your bike while you pause for photos, etc. They might have other or similar priorities. 
• If leading, stop to regroup before a route splits or stop in plain sight on the preferred route. 
• If following, especially as the last rider in the group, do your best to keep the prior rider in sight. That might require a bit less coasting on flat or downhill sections. If the pace is too much, say so and others will slow down or stop more. Bike touring is not a race, but each person's optimal riding pace and style varies. Some climb faster, some limit braking on downhills, and some are uncomfortable with fast downhills.
• If leading, try to keep following riders in sight. If in the middle, try to keep both the preceding and following rider in sight. Generally, following riders will arrive within minutes unless someone has stopped for a flat or similar issue. If so, stay put, call them on your cell phone, or backtrack safely.
• If riding escalators in transit stations and airports, put the load-bearing wheel on a flat surface, lock the brake, and lean forward on the up, or backward on the down. If this is weird, go practice. Elevators are not always available or large enough to fit a loaded touring bike. (Load-bearing wheel: When using two panniers, it is the front or back wheel adjacent to where they are attached. Also, trunk and handle-bar packs place weight higher and reduce stability.)
• Do not expect others to lift your gear. They have their own gear.
• Train stops are brief. Have a plan, either rapidly loading your bike and luggage as one, in two "dashes", or as a team with one person on the train and another handing up gear from the platform.
• Consider boarding at different doors to minimize the congestion and have more space to park your bike and gear.
• If using panniers, practice rapidly hooking and unhooking your bags. If possible, try to grip the panniers in one hand and the bike in the other. If using four panniers (front and back bags), figure out how to carry pairs in each hand. Some panniers clip together. Consider devising a shoulder strap to hook panniers together, put the weight on your shoulders, and free your hands to grip railings or other support.