The first one is the scariest - so much second guessing. Once under your belt, it gets easier. Each trip is a learning opportunity.
I heartily endorse the quilt. I've modified my sleep system many times over a lifetime of backpacking, mountaineering, and bike touring/bikepacking. I now use a Thermarest NeoAir mattress and a Thermarest vesper down quilt. With this added modification: I always carry a silk sleeping bag liner. Super light and compact. But I don't sleep inside the liner. Instead, I slide my mattress inside the liner. It serves the dual purpose of helping to protect the mattress, and allowing me to sleep on top of a silk sheet with a comfy down quilt over me. I sleep far better than I ever did inside a sleeping tube. Mike M On Thursday, June 12, 2025 at 7:56:29 PM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > So much good advice in this thread and I am taking nearly all of it. I’d > be more wordy but I’m on tour and pecking away on an iPhone. This is a > hotel tour, not camping, so don’t get too excited. > > I’ll be back Saturday evening, if you don’t hear from me. > > But you know I can’t stay away, so… > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jun 12, 2025, at 8:40 PM, Matt C. <[email protected]> wrote: > > Leah, > > > May I make the seemingly the lamest recommendation? Hear me out. Years ago > (in the early 2000's) I got into cycling as a hipster on a fixed gear. I > had done quite a bit of backpacking and then stumbled upon the concept of > bicycle touring. I was amazed that the two could be combined and that I > hadn't thought of it already<---maybe similar to your son. Around that time > I found a web page about bicycle touring by a man named Ken Kifer. His > thoughts on touring were inspirational. He has since passed but his > articles can be found here: > https://phred.org/~alex/kenkifer/www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/index.htm > He recommended that most tours should start and end from your home. Sounds > sorta lame, but I have done this many times and am always amazed at what > can be seen and experienced by just riding away from my house to a > destination. I feel like I always find something new as well. So it might > be logistically easier to just point to something a few days of riding away > from your home and just go. Sometimes this is difficult if you are averse > to stealth camping....in that case planning designated campgrounds might be > in your best interest. I have toured with my wife on a few instances and on > others with a few of my children. With them I always try to have something > arranged for camping. But by myself or with 1-3 friends, stealth camping > can be really fun. It really helps to tie places together. > As someone who has always had wanderlust, I think there is way more > adventure right out your door than you ever expect. Just going out and > finding it takes a bit of perspective shift. > > Also +1 to doing an overnighter. I recommend writing down everything you > bring. Then when you get home, write down everything you don't use with > possibly a rational on whether it should be used next time (weather > differences or tools in case of a mechanical, etc.). > > One last thing, expect that something will not go as planned. Plan all > your gear. Plan your tools. Plan all your food. Plan your route. Something > outside the plan will probably happen and it will be frustrating and also > be the thing you reflect on the most and laugh at about the trip. Bicycle > touring is often type 2 fun. > > Hope some of this helps and lowers the stress levels. > > Matt Cook > Spanish Fort, AL > > > On Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 3:32:29 PM UTC-5 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: > >> I, Leah Peterson, have refused to camp my entire life. A lover of safety, >> cleanliness, hot showers and fresh coffee, I never saw the allure. Why >> should I pitch a tent and sleep in the ditch if I could sleep in a hotel >> bed? >> >> Several of my bike world friends told me I was missing out. But I wasn’t >> missing out, because I was content in my hotels and unaware of the joys and >> sorrows of bike camping. >> >> But, we have this son. This child is not a child, he stands at 6’2” tall >> and is heading into his sophomore year of college. He has his head in his >> books with no time for anything else, but oh, he has the wanderlust. I read >> that 90% of the time you’ll ever spend with your kid is spent by age 18. >> That was a year ago…I have less than 10% of my allotted time left with one >> of the most beloved, treasured people in my world. I could sob just typing >> it. >> >> E discovered the term “bikepacking” at the Philly Bike Expo. And when he >> heard it he said, “Wait, say that again…” His eyes lit up and he was >> determined to try. Julian (from this list) sent him some bikepacking >> essentials he had, and that was the catalyst for getting E to hit the >> trails. I immediately decided that since it involved my son and biking, two >> of my great loves, I was going. All my friends said, Leah, you don’t camp. >> Leah, you’ve lost your mind. >> >> I know, I said. >> >> Then I went to the internet and to Pam Murray and I started to plan. And >> you guys, every brain cell in my head was being used and I decided I must >> be stupid because I could not figure out how to make the logistics all >> work. Choose a route. How do you get to the start? How do you get back >> again? How to use Amtrak? Why does their train station and schedule NEVER >> WORK for my purposes?! What do you mean there is no camping along most of >> the Hudson Valley Trail? Too much mileage between these two towns, not >> enough between those. I have scrapped 2 entire routes we planned because we >> just couldn’t get the logistics to work. I do not think it is supposed to >> be this hard, so I must be doing it wrong. (I’m going for a ride with The >> Lone Wolf tomorrow who will surely scoff and confirm that I am doing it >> wrong. But also, maybe he will give me some pointers.) >> >> Finally, we settled on a route that takes us along Lake Erie. With Chat >> GPT’s help, I have a decent plan and two campsites picked out so far. One >> is first come, first serve, so say a prayer for us. Say 2 prayers, because >> my husband is going to get roped into dropping us off and picking us up at >> the start and finish, and he has no idea. >> >> He also has no idea that I just spent $$$ on a tent, footprint, sleeping >> pad and sleeping quilt (ha! Have you ever heard of such a thing? What >> happened to sleeping bags?!). Like, really a lot. Big money. I got sucked >> down the gear rabbit hole and suddenly nothing but these ultralightweight >> things will do. It is shameful. I confessed to E who sent me this text: >> >> MOM SPENDING 700 ON A TENT IS NOT RIGHT THAT DOESNT MEAN YOU LOVE ME >> TENTS DONT COST THAT MUCH YOU DONT NEED IT TO BE COMFORTABLE😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 >> 😭 😭 😭 😭 >> >> >> So, that is what is happening over here. Be gentle in your rebukes. I am >> stressed out about this whole experiment on several levels! >> >> >> But this kid. What would I not do for him? I thought I’d draw the line at >> sleeping in ditches, but no, not even that is off-limits. I’ll do anything, >> it seems, to stay involved and relevant. Luckily, my second son is quite >> comfortable in hotels, and will not make me work this hard to be in his >> orbit. >> >> >> Leah >> >> >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/1-6ssrRirOQ/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e2131bcd-4aa3-49cb-86e1-53ad72d1cd9dn%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e2131bcd-4aa3-49cb-86e1-53ad72d1cd9dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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