26-APR-08 Bike Camping

M

Max_Power

Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
20
Hi everyone, first post here even though I've been lurking for a while.

Saturday, a buddy of mine who I ride mountain bikes with 2-3 times a week decided we should go bike camping. We loaded up our packs about 8:00 pm and off we went. It's weird; we ride alot and normally have armor on plus Camelbacks, but having sleeping bags, food, therma-rests, and a tarp really added up quick and made for an interesting (i.e. wobbly) ride.

Our goal was to reach the top of a 200 foot drumlin and find a decent spot to set up. We rode for several miles to the top, bushwhacked for a mile, and found a nice spot under some pine trees.

The weather was OK with temps in the low 40's and reports of rain so we decided that hanging the tarp was the best bet. Slept for a good 6 hours before a wild turkey woke us up. Boy those things are loud in the morning. Enjoy the pics.

After clearing the forest floor for the tarp and sleeping bags in the background, we made a fire pit area and I went to work with cotton balls and a Light My Fire:

JaystartingFire1.jpg



It worked Great. Here's my Ranger RD-6 and the fire:

Ranger.jpg


And I decided to test the strength of the Ranger on a burning log. It held up fine of course:

JayandRangerandFire.jpg
 
Thanks for the pics. Welcome aboard!

I need to get out camping soon or I'm gonna come unglued.

Chris
 
Looks like a good time. I have to commend a first post that includes pics too :thumbup:
 
welcome to the forums max..:thumbup:

cool pics.. looks like a great time... i have done a few weekend long bike trips in the past...
 
Welcome and thanks for the pictures and thread on a new and interesting mode of camping. This is the first time I've seen mountain bikers mentioning bike camping. Usually I hear about it from long-distance roadies which take their bicycle tent with 'em in a Pannier.

So how did you transport your gear - backpacks or panniers? If panniers, how well do they do in the bush trails? How much stuff did you bring? Interested people want to know :)
 
Nice photos and sounds like a great experience. Thanks!


kgd,

I've wondered about the same thing. Although I have a mountain bike, I've camped only from road touring bikes. However, I've heard of many people camping from mountain bikes. In fact, while elk hunting in Montana last year I saw a newspaper article about guys hunting from mountain bikes. There was a picture of two guys who had lashed branches between the top tubes of their mountain bikes and were using them like a cart to walk a deer out of the woods! Looked like it would save some energy dragging (which I had done).

DancesWithKnives
 
Welcome.

But holding your ranger in the fire like that is a perfect way to ruin the temper of your knife.
Its a stupid thing to do and will make it weaker and kill it ability to hold an edge.
Just lookin out for you ;)
 
ah, thats really weird! I just took my bike on a test run that weekend too! I found some cheap bags that are waterproof that will hold on well . Didn't take pics of those though. I bent my damn derailer, It still works so its hopefully not that bad. I found out I should stick to normal mtn bike trails and not swamps. Probably got a flat from the non-snot coated tube. Will be ready soon for the campout though.

P1014946.jpg


P1014969.jpg


edit: yep, flat on the rear tire. woohoo.
 
Thanks for the advice on the temper of the knife. I had no idea my actions could lead to a bad outcome. Looks like I have some reading to do on tempers.

My bike is an 07 Specialized Rockhopper, and my buddie's in a mid 90's steel Diamondback.

We didn't have much stuff as we'd only be out for 24 hours or so. But, as I mentioned before, the riding was hairy with all the weight I had on my back. I had to increase the pressure of my tires and I had to get a little lower when a branch overhung.

I carried a tarp, sleeping bag, thermarest, hotdogs, fire starting kit, 1liter water, and a liter of whiskey like so:

bagsforcamping.jpg


Bikes. Mine is behind the yellow DB:

Bikes.jpg
 
Max_Power said:
My bike is an 07 Specialized Rockhopper, and my buddie's in a mid 90's steel Diamondback.
Click to expand...

I just got rid of my early '90's Trek 820 steel frame. Upgraded early '07 with a leftover '06 Trek 3100. I couldn't pass it up. The price was too good and the shop made some changes for me at no extra cost.

I've rode with a pack but not with that much gear.

Thanks again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top