What do I want out of this trip? A bit of confidence; a bit of spontaneity; a bit of independence; to know I can set up camp and cook on a camp stove and carry everything I need on my bike. And that when an obstacle arises I can keep my head and fix the flat and improvise. I also wanted to see the magical in the mundane, an adventure in the middle of the suburbs.
Bike Camping 9-10-08I left work at 3pm, I rushed home and quickly packed. I left my house at 4:15. At 5:20, on the Bear Creek Trail I got a flat tire. Luckily in the front. I arrived at the campsite at 6:05. I pitched the tent and cooked some pasta. At 7:05 I sat down to eat, pasta with Peanut Sauce. Awesome and smple camping meal.
The bike ride out to Bear Creek Lake State Park was beautiful. I enjoyed having the bike weighed down (and it was weighed down!) It made me ignore the passing bikes and ride mellow so I enjoyed the ride and scenery.
I need a stronger back wheel. I put a lot of weight back there. I also need new tires. I've been getting a lot of flat tires recently. I packed too much food. The pasta and sauce were perfect and tomorrow I'll probably brew coffee and maybe try oatmeal and cookies for breakfast.
The campground is pretty horrible: no trees larger than 12 feet, all open spaces, all spaces with electric hookups and huge gravel parking spaces in front. The RV parked across the driveway from me has a bright spot light shining on the side of their Motor Home. I came out here to escape all of the light pollution and maybe be able to see some of the stars and they brought a little of suburbia out camping with them.
But I kid you, it was an awesome bike ride. The grade of Morrison was pretty intense with all of the additional weight on my bike. I had to shift down into the granny gear! As I was barrelling down the other side of the hill I asked another cyclist where the park entrance was. He pointed it out and added, "Don't freeze camping!" Its weather is pretty mild at the campsite yet. As the sun went down, I put on jeans and a fleece long sleeved shirt, (the Lantz Guernsey Farm shirt my brother gave me!) and I am nice and toasty warm.
For bear and raccoon protection, I threw a nylon cord over a 7 foot branch to tie up the food. Granted a raccoon could reach that on its tippy toes but I figured I should make an effort. Still, what a joke. There's no tree branch really any higher in the campground to throw it over. I didn't pack that much food, I decided against making black bean soup because of the mess to clean up afterwards. The pasta was a last minute grab on the way out the door and will become a camping staple because of its simplicity to make and clean up afterwards. The Light My Fire mess kit worked perfectly, I even used the colander.
Next time, I need to organize the load better, so I can get at my tools (spare tube, pump, tire levers) without having to unstrap the tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad from the rear rack to get at them.
What did I bring:Tent, footprint, pad, sleeping bag
stove, fuel, lighter
food (pasta, sauce, trail mix, tamari almonds, Uncle Eddie's Vegan Cookies, oatmeal, ground coffee, instant refried beans, and instant black bean soup)
water: 3 bottles and also camelpak
Extra clothes (fleece, pants, wool hat, gloves, socks, thermal underwear)
toiletries (soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, dish towel)
camera
raincoat
I will assess tomorrow whether I overpacked (it seems like a huge load for one night). But readingWhat do I want out of this trip? A bit of confidence; a bit of spontaneity; a bit of independence; to know I can set up camp and cook on a camp stove and carry everything I need on my bike. And that when an obstacle arises I can keep my head and fix the flat and improvise. I also wanted to see the magical in the mundane, an adventure in the middle of the suburbs
The tent pitched easily in 10-15 minutes. It would've been a different story if it'd been raining. Rain would've changed everything.
Bear Creek park was lovely to bike through, it was everything I miss: tree lined bike path, golden sunset prairie grass, a relaxed ride, easy going vibe.
I think when people saw my loaded bike they thought: "oh an eccentric!", or, "Oh the homeless!", or "Oh I want to do an overnight bike trip!" or "Oh, he's on a holy pilgrimage! A pilgrim, a Holy Fool."
What do I want out of this trip? A bit of confidence; a bit of spontaneity; a bit of independence; to know I can set up camp and cook on a camp stove and carry everything I need on my bike. And that when an obstacle arises I can keep my head and fix the flat and improvise. I also wanted to see the magical in the mundane, an adventure in the middle of the suburbs: and I am smack dab in the midst of the suburbs, the superhighways 285 and C-470 are both less than a mile from where I am camped. I can see the constant traffic from the picnic table I'm sitting at, by I can also see the moon and the stars.
Next morning:I woke up last night thinking: Wow, is it morning already? It was getting lighter in the east, then I looked at my cell phone and it was midnight. Oops! So I went back to sleep. The wind blew a lot, I was out in the middle with no trees to block the wind. I slept sideways in the tent because the tent wall kept blowing in an hitting the top of my head.
I woke up at 6:30am, by 7:30 I had pitched camp and was drinking coffee. At 6:30 there was a constant stream of traffic passing over C-470 already. If you close your eyes you can pretend its the sound of a river, a mechanical river. I left camp at 8am, got lost a couple times biking around the state park and got home around 10:30am. Fun ride home, a bit cold and damp, especially riding in jeans and with the camelpak on my back. But a nice ride, not too tired.
Additions I could have used:Pillow!
chain grease.
Didn't need to pack:camelpak
some of the instant food.
