Surly Bikes
I'd love to take a week off every month and go camping somewhere, but it's not possible with my work and family responsibilities. I have, however, found a way to keep my out-of-doors skills sharp and use some of my camping gear....The bike-camping overnighter.
On Saturday, I rode 36km to the Arrowhead 135 Survivors Party in White Bear Lake, a suburb of the Twin Cities. Not wanting to ride home after the gathering because of the forecast of impending thundershowers, I packed to camp out after the shindig instead of riding all the way home in the rain and stream of buzzed motorists.
I have a new lightweight single-pole tipi-style tent, a Golite Hex 3, that I needed to test somewhere other than the backyard. It's big enough for me, my gear, and my bike. It's nice to have room for the bike when the weather turns foul. Eventually, I'll sew in a stove jack (for cool-weather camping with a woodburning stove) and snow flaps, but those projects will probably wait until fall. My Kifaru 4-man tipi is sweet, but it does weigh more than the Golite, and it takes up more ground space. When I have limited room in my bags and potentially limited area to pitch a tent, the Golite is a better option.
An overnight doesn't require much gear, so I didn't need much carrying capacity. I packed up my fixed Pacer (built with Karate Monkey track ends), fitted with a lowrider rack, waterproof front panniers, and a large Jandd seat pack, and headed out in the humid 60-degree air. I had a great ride; I was really happy that I'd opted to take the bike instead of driving the car.
When the festivities ended, I rode a few miles south to a somewhat hidden area in a small wooded park. Very light rain was falling. I set up the Hex 3, put all my gear (including my bike) inside the tent, and squared away my home for the evening. I was tired from the ride and evening's events, so I got into my 40-degree down bag and fell asleep soon after. I woke up when heavy rain started falling at 3am. The heavy showers continued for a few hours.
I got up around 7:30am and inspected the inside of the tent for leaks and condensation. There was condensation on the inside of the tent, but that would have been an issue with any tent in the humid, rainy conditions of Sunday morning. Overall, I was happy with the Golite's performance. I'm looking forward to using it on future warm- and cold-weather adventures.
I broke camp and was on the road home by 8:15am. My campout was short and sweet...exactly what I needed. And it fit almost seemlessly into my weekend schedule.
This year, I'm going to make an effort to camp out more, mid-week, along my commute routes. Over the last 9 years of riding to and from the office, I've noted dozens of sites where I can camp comfortably and discreetly. Stealth, leave-no-trace city/suburb camping is a great, efficient, inexpensive way to get a quick camping fix when there isn't enough time to travel outside of the city for extended R and R.
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When the festivities ended, I rode a few miles south to a somewhat hidden area in a small wooded park. Very light rain was falling. I set up the Hex 3, put all my gear (including my bike) inside the tent, and squared away my home for the evening. I was tired from the ride and evening's events, so I got into my 40-degree down bag and fell asleep soon after. I woke up when heavy rain started falling at 3am. The heavy showers continued for a few hours.
I got up around 7:30am and inspected the inside of the tent for leaks and condensation. There was condensation on the inside of the tent, but that would have been an issue with any tent in the humid, rainy conditions of Sunday morning. Overall, I was happy with the Golite's performance. I'm looking forward to using it on future warm- and cold-weather adventures.
I broke camp and was on the road home by 8:15am. My campout was short and sweet...exactly what I needed. And it fit almost seemlessly into my weekend schedule.
This year, I'm going to make an effort to camp out more, mid-week, along my commute routes. Over the last 9 years of riding to and from the office, I've noted dozens of sites where I can camp comfortably and discreetly. Stealth, leave-no-trace city/suburb camping is a great, efficient, inexpensive way to get a quick camping fix when there isn't enough time to travel outside of the city for extended R and R.
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