# Mountain Bike Camping



## Will (Jan 12, 2004)

I'm going to try my first 100+ mile camping trip this upcoming weekend. I'm going with three coworkers over three days. One of my friends with back packing expierence has convienced me to forgo the tent for a hamock and a tarp. I hope this is a wise decision. This will be my first real camping trip where I will have to rely on only what I can carry on my bike. I've done a cross country motorcycle trip before but space on my mountain bike is much more limited. I had hard saddle bags on my motorcycle to pack stuff in and purchasing stuff along the way was not a problem. Does any one have some tips on what to bring and more importantly how to pack it on a bike. I bought a rack that clamps to my seat post and is suspended over the rear wheel. I also plan on ditching my camel back and going with a back pack and stuffing the bladder in it. Any good advice would be appreciated.


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## sstaurus (Jan 18, 2004)

Sounds awesome. While I can't offer any advice because I haven't done any camping/trekking on my bike yet, I'd reccommend Ken Kifer's pages (http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/), lots of great information he gives out.

Oh and be sure to let us know how it goes sometime in the future, I'm very interested in doing the same thing..

Good luck.


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## baker (Jan 6, 2004)

I've done some bikepacking, including a 3 day 100 mile offroad trip. I've prefer panniers and a rack over a backpack. Any backpack larger than a camelback tends throw my balance off, get in the way, and is annoying when worn for hours at a time. I've used seat mounted racks and frame mounted racks. I much prefer the frame mounted racks.

For water, I either use a camelback, or preferably just water bottles in cages. On a bikepacking trip, I don't feel the need for a camelback like I do on shorter technical rides.

A bar bag of some type is nice for keeping a camera, map, compass, etc handy.

Pack as lightly as you feel comfortable with. If it's going to be at all cold, the hammock idea may not be so good unless you have an insulator of some type for the bottom of the hammock. A tarp, ground cloth, pad, and bag works well for me. I don't feel the need for a tent unless there are significant bug problems. Check out some of the backpacking sites for ideas on how to pack lightly but safely:

http://www.backpacking.net/bbs.html

baker


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## Tillers_Rule (Sep 11, 2004)

Well I've never dont anything like that before, so I can't offer any advice. It does sound very fun though, so good luck and let us know how it goes.


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## palerider (Jul 15, 2004)

*ever tried sleeping in a hamock*

it had to be one of the most miserible nights when I tried to sleep in one. Just a word of warning, also wont you have to find sites with suitable trees to hang it from? I would go with a nice pad, bag, and bivy sack.


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## Slowjett (Sep 15, 2004)

*I purchased a nice small light bivy tent.*

This tent kicks so much but. I kid you not. Its small, like a 1 or 2 person if you like to be close. Works for my girl and I, and we even had just enough room for our gear to keep it out of the rain. I used it last year for hikeing into the winter. It is a perfect tent for bikeing. It packs up real small and light (3lbs). Its got good moisture shedding properties. Its pretty tough too. If I were bike camping I would DEFINATLY take this tent. The guy I went hikeing with was VERY impressed with the tent. His tent was the same dimensions, pretty much the same exact design. Except his was made out of Titanium Poles and some very high tech polymer, and his weighed about a pound more. His also cost 600 bucks. Some guy took the smae tent as mine hiking into the Andies where expensive tents didnt come out. Also my brother broke one of the poles (he over-bent it screwing around) and i called the manufacturer and they RUSHED me out an entire replacement set of poles for free.. This tent would be perfect for bike camping. Beleive it or not it only cost like 30 something dollars shipped on Ebay.

This is the tent.










Here is an auction for it on ebay

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36118&item=5132483039&rd=1

Go for it, it would probably weigh as much as a hammock and tarp, but its so much better.
Remember if your rideing your going to want a good nights sleep. It makes a BIG differance.

-Josh


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## otis24 (Apr 1, 2004)

I've got loads of backpacking experience and I'd have to say I've never slept in a hammock and it doesn't sound like a lot of fun. I do however have a tarp that I made with the help of my mom. Haven't used it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. It's made out of 1.1 ounce silicon empregnated ripstop nylon. Very light wieght. The tarp with steaks, and the floor+bug net will wiegh less than three pounds and fits 3 people and their gear. Check out Ray Jardine's Guide to Ultralight Backpacking. This guy changed my outlook on backpacking. I went from hauling upwards of 50 pounds for a weekend trip to 25 pounds for a week long trip. A lot of his stuff could work really well on a bike. 
I biked cross country on roads before and found that a BOB trailer worked great. Expensive though, maybe you could rent one from somewhere. I would avoid an overly large backpack as it will quickly become unfortable. Have you thought of a handlebar bag? Very useful. You'll still need paniers with the handlebar bag. Once you've figured out what you are going to take along with you lay it all out on your living room floor. Next take most of the stuff and leave it behind. If you have limited experience I'd be willing to bet that you have far too much stuff and that stuff is heavy. I hope this helps you out. Have a good time.


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## ArmySlowRdr (Dec 19, 2003)

KK's site is still up? That's good. Lots of useful info. I think I heard Kifer was hit and killed some time ago while out biking



sstaurus said:


> Sounds awesome. While I can't offer any advice because I haven't done any camping/trekking on my bike yet, I'd reccommend Ken Kifer's pages (http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/), lots of great information he gives out.
> 
> Oh and be sure to let us know how it goes sometime in the future, I'm very interested in doing the same thing..
> 
> Good luck.


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## Wombat (Jan 25, 2004)

The other problem with backpack is that it will eventually hurt your neck if it is too big as it will interfere with your ability to bend your neck.

Stick with panniers solidly mounted on the frame, or at least make sure that the seatpost mounted kind are rated for the weight you need to carry. I have seen sleeping bags carried on the handlebars and a friend swears that his front panniers help to stabilise the bike when pushing it up hills. On the slowest trip we managed 2 kilometres (about 1.2 miles) in two hours of pushing. It wasn't much fun.

Do you have clothes, food and spares sorted out? These take a fair bit of thought and you need to consider what the weather is like, what you need and prefer to eat and what may break on your bikes. Also, are the plenty of places to fill up along the way. Not much fun pitching the tent after a hard day knowing you have 1.5 litres, an orange and an apple as the only moisture for the night because you misjudged the availability of water.

I agree with the light weight tent suggestion; the one posted earlier looks good.

I can provide a copy of all the things I have taken on past 3+ day trips if you want, but the key is pack light, make sure you have some dry clothes if it might rain and don't take too much food. Something around 25-30 lbs should be about right.

Good luck and post pictures afterwards.

Wombat


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## C.J. (Jan 12, 2004)

*BOB trailer*



Will said:


> I'm going to try my first 100+ mile camping trip this upcoming weekend. I'm going with three coworkers over three days. One of my friends with back packing expierence has convienced me to forgo the tent for a hamock and a tarp. I hope this is a wise decision. This will be my first real camping trip where I will have to rely on only what I can carry on my bike. I've done a cross country motorcycle trip before but space on my mountain bike is much more limited. I had hard saddle bags on my motorcycle to pack stuff in and purchasing stuff along the way was not a problem. Does any one have some tips on what to bring and more importantly how to pack it on a bike. I bought a rack that clamps to my seat post and is suspended over the rear wheel. I also plan on ditching my camel back and going with a back pack and stuffing the bladder in it. Any good advice would be appreciated.


Take a tent (bivy sack). I used a BOB trailer for a 160 mile loop of the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Trailer doubles for table, food prep area, clothes drying rack.

Keep weight off your back.Strap your camelback to your gear, get a longer sipping tube (hardware store/pet store). Strap water bottle cages everywhere and behind the seat (zip ties)

Take small amounts of spices. After a long day of pedalling, camp food tastes better if you "spice it up" Most freeze-dried can be a bit bland. I recommend Mountain Harvest brand.

Get a therma-rest, (full or 3/4) and the inexpensive nylon/stick kit to create a chair. After riding all day, being able to lean back and let your lower back relax is crucial to avoid lower back cramps when riding multiple days.

Split common gear between your group. Don't replicate items.

I have more, complete packing list, etc.

Hope this helps a bit


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## TwoWheeldTerror (Aug 30, 2004)

A question....

is this camping trip involving hardball or mountain trails?


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## Zignzag (Jan 23, 2004)

*Check out the thermo-lite bivy emergency shelter...*

https://www.rei.com/online/store/Pr...productId=47781474&parent_category_rn=4500522

I do lightweight bike touring using a seatpost rack, lightweight thermarest and sleeping bag, and a goretex bivy tent. I carry a fleece jacket and street clothes in a backpack.


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## g c (Apr 22, 2004)

Lots of good suggestions here.

Get the weight off of your back if you can. Try out Old Man Mountain racks, built for full suspension mountain bikes even with disc brakes.

Basic backpacking principles apply so if you've backpacked, you're good.

The one thing I would suggest cutting down on is clothes. Get rid of the "fashionable" clothing (bike carp) and get some good river shorts (two pair) and quick drying shirts (two). You can alternate days and wash when you get in camp.

The only other suggestion is a map case on your bars, it makes for navigation easier. Oh yeah, one last thing. Get some sort of strap (small - six inches) with a binder or clasp. Put it around your handlebar on your front brake side. When you get someplace, put it over the brake handle and grip and pull tight. Viola, instant parking brake.

Enjoy the ride.

BTW, K Keifer's site is being maintained by the folks at bikelist.org.


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## bykhed (Feb 20, 2004)

*Seeing as no one has mentioned this...*

... you might want to try a shorter trip first. While 100 miles off-road in three days is certainly do-able, doing it with camping gear/food/water is another story entirely. You want to have fun, don't you? Why not try a short overnight trip first? I soloed the Kokopelli trail (143 miles/15,000' vertical gain) with a BOB trailer in 5 days and let me tell you it was no picnic. In fact, I sold the much-hated BOB and bivy sack when I returned. These days I stick to base camping with day trips, or sag-supported adventures. Not to put you off on bike camping entirely, but you might want to start with something a little less ambitious.


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## thebomb1 (Aug 10, 2004)

*In my experience*

I just have a couple things to add / repeat.

Keep the weight off your back, I fell a couple times with a 25 lb bag on my back. Let me tell you it doesn't take much to set you in motion towards the ground. Trails that are usually easy become frightful with a heavy pack.

I wear a set of zip off pants/shorts and in the evenings I just zip on the pant legs.

Your handlebar light can double as a flashlight if you have a LED like me. (Note LED is not so bright but lasts a long time)

Get a water pump. Water is heavy.

Finally, I like to ride in to a base camp with my gear, set up camp and ditch all the gear for a couple of day long rides. Then you can get really far out without carrying the pack the whole way.

Hope this helps,

Robin


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## Will (Jan 12, 2004)

Well as of now my trip has turned into a 50 to 60 mile 2 day trip due to some of the other people involved. Namely a guy who bought a top of the line Klien last year and it has about 30 miles on it thus far in about 16 months. I've never been to the place we are going but its the C&O canal ( his choice from his hiking trips). From what I've read its very very smooth. I wouldn't even call it a mountain bike trail so this actually is our trial run. It does go for 180 miles or so so if this goes smoothly I will probably do the whole thing over 4 days this spring. We have split up the some comon stuff and I can get every thing on my rack plus some in my camel back. I am honestly looking forward to sitting around a camp fire getting lit on port wine mostly.


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## Sprocketeer (Feb 22, 2004)

*Any one have a lot of experience with a BOB or Yakima bike trailer?*

Does anyone have any wealth of experience using a BOB or Yakima trailer? I've fantasized about buying one, but don't know if it would be too much of a hinderance off-road. Seems like the ultimate solution though.


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## Zignzag (Jan 23, 2004)

*C&O towpath is a roadie ride...*

Not that there's anything wrong with that! Technically it's dirt, but you could ride it on a road bike. People ride the whole thing in a day. I used to ride on it alot when I lived in Gaithersburg, MD. You're never really far from civilization, so getting supplies is easy. It's very pretty in the fall. Have fun.


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## Ken in KC (Jan 12, 2004)

*The flip side....*



palerider said:


> it had to be one of the most miserible nights when I tried to sleep in one. Just a word of warning, also wont you have to find sites with suitable trees to hang it from? I would go with a nice pad, bag, and bivy sack.


A nice pad and bivy hurts my back. A hammock doesn't. If I were to do extended back country camping these days, it would be with a hammock.

The real negatives of hammocks, IMO:

1. As palerider mentioned, it requires trees.
2. It's colder than sleeping on the ground because air flows around the entire area.
3. They are a PIA to get in and out of if you're using a sleeping bag. 
4. Not good for winter weather due to #2
5. Not as good as a tent/bivy in blowing rain.
6. No good place for your shoes (inside rainfly, etc.) so they're expose to weather or they sleep with you (and that smells great!).

All this though and they would still be worth it to me because I could walk (or ride) the next morning.

Ken


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## jparker164 (Mar 2, 2004)

Sprocketeer said:


> Does anyone have any wealth of experience using a BOB or Yakima trailer? I've fantasized about buying one, but don't know if it would be too much of a hinderance off-road. Seems like the ultimate solution though.


I spent about two months this summer pulling one around Europe. I thought it was great. Easy to pull on roads and trails. It changes the handling of your bike a little, but you get used to it quickly. Packing it becomes an art. I had mine loades with way too much stuff, probably about 50lbs total. It tends to bounce around alot on rocky descents, I was always afraid of pinch flatting it. I put some stans in there before I left though and was bouncing it off of curbs and rocks the whole time without any problems. If you get one, I would reccomend getting an extra clip or two. I lost both of mine right away. I learned that 14g spokes can be bent to shape as replacements.

There is a few random thoughts on the BOB. If you have any questions or anything, I'd be happy to answer.

Pictures are Lake Geneva and the top of the alp d'huez, and a few fellow bob campers in Grenoble.


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## Will (Jan 12, 2004)

Zignzag said:


> Not that there's anything wrong with that! Technically it's dirt, but you could ride it on a road bike. People ride the whole thing in a day. I used to ride on it alot when I lived in Gaithersburg, MD. You're never really far from civilization, so getting supplies is easy. It's very pretty in the fall. Have fun.


 That C&O tow path was the worst event I ever been involved in with a mountain bike. That includes hospital visits. That place was unbelievably crowded as there are access points and bike rentals all up and down it. Its as flat and as smooth as a road with no real point in riding on it as far as I'm concerned. One guy was blowing smoke as far as riding( he was looking for a spot to camp after 4 miles). If you ask some one to go on one of your after work rides all year and he declines every time there is a reason, he never rides a bike. We wound up camping near some railroad tracks that were empty all day but a freight train must fly by every 45 minutes or so at night. I got about 2 hours sleep all night. The only thing that was eventful was I figured out how to fix a tire that blew about 4 inches of side wall away from the bead with a gatorade bottle.


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## singletrack (Feb 19, 2004)

Will said:


> That C&O tow path was the worst event I ever been involved in with a mountain bike.


 Too bad it didn't go well; I've done the C&O a number of times and always had a blast.

Sounds like you started in DC...? It's all downhill if you start in Cumberland , and definetely isn't crowded.

Didya complete the trail? While the riding is undoubtably boring, it was always the historic site that attracted me. And Riding through the Paw Paw with no lights rules.


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## Will (Jan 12, 2004)

singletrack said:


> Too bad it didn't go well; I've done the C&O a number of times and always had a blast.
> 
> Sounds like you started in DC...? It's all downhill if you start in Cumberland , and definetely isn't crowded.
> 
> Didya complete the trail? While the riding is undoubtably boring, it was always the historic site that attracted me. And Riding through the Paw Paw with no lights rules.


We started in Harpers Ferry and I had the intention of going the sixty miles to DC over the weekend but was unable due to others involved. I can say that the hamoc was more comfortable to me than a tent and if bugs or extreme cold temps aren't involved I will use it in the future. I may do the C&O path again but my main reason will actually be for fishing and it will not be in the lower 60 miles.


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