[Closed] Manning up for wild camping?

No.1 tip is not to put off stopping. I've lost count of the number of perfect wild campsites I've passed, only to end up with something less than ideal. I think part of me likes to get the most riding in so I'm loathe to stop too early. Once you have your "campcraft" perfected it's not so bad.

I asked almost the same question a little while ago.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cougar-grylls

Lots of useful advice there. I was on foot but the principle is similar.

i am the other way.....i love cycle touring to bits, and always plan it round a campsite, near a pub, and with a hot shower.

i like the ethos behind all the bivi, and even bought the gear, but then i thought, why the hell do i want to sleep in a field.wood.wherever, by myself.

with a load of mates, it might be fun.....but not on my lonesome.

That is my point as well. Whilst I love the appeal of just stopping when you choose so that you are not constrained by camp site locations, being able to have a shower before you turn in is something that I am not sure I can do with out. But being able to just stop, pitch tent and bed down for the night is a useful one to have in the armoury

[quote=flanagaj ]being able to have a shower before you turn in is something that I am not sure I can do with out.
Never in the history of STW were the letters M, T, F and U more deserved 😆

But being able to just stop, pitch tent and bed down for the night is a useful one to have in the armoury

Ride until, you're tired, you'll sleep anywhere. I slept in a graveyard once.

I think what you will definitely need is a big ****off hunting knife...

Why didn't you sleep under the church porch Richpips? Invite anyone that objects to read the bible with you. "I'm on a pilgrimage to..." (Proverbs)

Wild camping: the later the better is my view, preferably after dark. No road access because people are lazy and don't like woods in the dark.

Some places I've stayed:

a locale technique in Chatelais les Halles

in the bushes in the middle of that big roundabout just outside Calais

various supermarket car parks in the blind spots of the video cameras.

police stations, "have you got a cell for the night?" If you're lucky you'll get a wake-up call with a cup of tea.

river banks, river islands, beaches (not Brighton or Nice sea front obviously if you want to wake up unbidded with all your possessions) and anywhere that is state rather than private. Be careful in France, if you bivi in a place with flood risk such as the Ardèche you'll be forcibly moved on and fined 80e.

farmland, ask, I've never been refused. get your "no fire - no litter" promise in early.

holiday home gardens, if I can get in easily without causing any damage they're fair game.

ski resort pistes, they often belong to the commune or region, in Summer they're deserted and in Winter no-one is going to hike up to bother you once the lifts have stopped.

Sports fields, there is often a tap.

Between midnight and six most of the world sleeps, so can you, because anyone not sleeping has better to do than bother you.

Scotroutes first tip is really valid.

Also it pays to use facilities as you find them. Stop in a cafe? Charge your phone and use the toilet and fill you water bottles.

Way back when I was a schoolboy we called it "camping" and no manning up was required. This was mostly on foot, easier to get off the beaten track that way but later on my wife and I have done the same touring on bikes in the uk and abroad. Cf "wild swimming", "wild walking", "wild shopping", "wild cooking".

being able to have a shower before you turn in is something that I am not sure I can do with out

Perhaps wild camping is not for you then. You big softie!

Cpt the world is a-changing. Mate wanted to wild camp a few weeks ago. Great says I. Weekend, 45l bergen, job done. Turns out his idea of wild camping was out the back of a car at a road side with 40 other wild campers and loads of stella. I walked up the hill found a nice spot sat in the last of the sun and had a nice dram or two of Jura.

Would it be a terrible admission if I mentioned I had to pack my moisturiser?

while we are on the subject of wild camping/touring/bike packing, can i add, i have just got the stuff out to pack in my pannier for a weeks tour of the southern isles next week.

1 x waterproof
1 x pair of shorts
1 x t shirt
1 x base layer
1 x spare undies
1 x spare socks
1 x cable lock

i reckon i would do well at the minimalist side of bikepacking.... 😀

Would it be a terrible admission if I mentioned I had to pack my moisturiser?

Now you're just trolling the bikepacking crowd... 🙂

Might as well make it enjoyable and a hot showers fantastic at the end of a long day riding.

Its supposed to be fun.

I dont see what there is to MTFU between camping in a campsite with a shower and just crashing somewhere without and your using a tent so its not that fnarr anyway..(Real men tarp or bivvy)

(Iv'e got a hennesy Hammock which is the dogs. You'd love it.)

But dont forget the FkG gert knife for skinning cows with though 🙂

Might as well make it enjoyable and a hot showers fantastic at the end of a long day riding.

So is chilling out in a remote spot up in the hills.. even more so waking up in one 🙂 You have a shower every normal morning, that can wait.

If anyone bothers you wild camping and gets angry with you - explain to them politely that you'll be moving on in the morning and that you'll never be here ever again - that your passing through - if they still seem angry then get angry back and tell them chill the hell out.!

I'd rather take a dip in a remote lake/loch/stream at the end of a ride than a warm shower on a campsite

So is chilling out in a remote spot up in the hills.. even more so waking up in one You have a shower every normal morning, that can wait.

I don't disagree with you tbh.