MegaSack DRAW - 6pm Christmas Eve - LIVE on our YouTube Channel
Morning All
Taking inspiration from the "1 Ton Weekend" features in recent issues I'm planning a little bike/camp adventure of my own based on either the North or South Downs Way.
The plan loosely is to ride 60 miles each day point to point with an overnight somewhere. Initially I thought of B&B type affair then thought that it would be nice to camp out instead.
Obviously the need would be to travel light so I'd thought a few spares; tubes, chain, pads, gear cables, some food and means of cooking; freeze dried meal packs, gels, Jelly Babies, some kind of burner plus suitable receptacle (?), change of clothes; for riding and soft shell for the evening, light weight tent & sleeping bag/ bivvy bag although what I'm not yet sure.
Where to camp raises various questions; book into a site somewhere along the way has the option of showers and electricity however camping on the fly is also very appealing. Can I just find a choice little spot and set too or will I be roused by an angry land owner? Perhaps contacting locals prior to heading off for permission first?
Security also poses somewhat of a problem as I wont have a big enough tent to put the bike in so it will have to be secured somewhere, somehow. With this in mind would I be better of at a site or B&B?
I appreciate this is somewhat of a rambling text, as I said I'm looking into this so in need of some advice and guidance 😀
I can tell you what I'm planning but again, I'm a virgin at this sort of thing.
I'll be riding road for a week, so 100-140 miles a day. Hopefully stopping at YHA's most of the time but maybe a couple of nights sleeping rough. I'll take a bivvy bag but it's going to be summer so I'll just wrap up inside, no need for a sleeping bag, hopefully find a barn or something but if not behind a wall will be fine. I'll not bother with heated food either. YHA's will be close enough to shops I would have thought and I can get stuff at a chippy before the bivvying.
So stuff I'll take will just be some spare clothing, some travel wash, a toothbrush and toothpaste, some soap and some money. Bike spares. I can wash in streams when there's no showers available.
my best peice of advice for bikepacking would be weight on the bike not on the back.
personally i'd bivvy/ camp. find a remote enough spot and bike security isn't an issue - take a v. small lock to stop some one walking away with the bike and your set.
small ti mug (msr titan) and a msr pocket rocket would be perfect cooking stuff.
Just Bivi all of the way, its the best option.
Camp where you like, as a long as its remote-ish you'll never be spotted by anyone, so you're bikes safe as well.
Just grab food along the way at shops/pub/chippy, and eat on the move, so no need to take loads of food or cooking equipment.
You'll be fine without washing, its not going to kill you, and you can pop into campsites/yha's for a cheacky shower if you're going a couple of nights.
why no beg sturat to let you into the welsh ride thing next month.
I've not bivi'd before but would be up for giving it a go, would imagine it would be if not lighter then a tent/sleeping bag at least less to carry?
Remote is good as like the idea of getting away from it all for a couple of days. Shop/pub/chippy is a good idea as is taking a lock with me. Would need at least a small stove though as I'm going nowhere without the promise of tesa in the morning lol so have a look at the msr kit you suggested tomthumb.
As far as portage is concerned I'd need to look at ways to attach stuff to my bike. At the moment it looks like I'll be ridng my Scandal for the trip as I wont have my Slayer serviced by then.
flatfish: Welsh ride thing next month?
ahh looks cunning, will investigate further 😉
