I’ve had a few concerns about my trip, mostly about camping. I’ll talk about these more in a future post, but while I was trying to suss this all out, I came across a great article on the creepily named website wetleather.com. It’s for, I believe, motorcyclists in the rainy Pacific Northwest.
Great place to go to find out about camping in the rain, right? Yes it is. Basically, any camping in the Pacific Northwest must take rain into consideration.
Now, I certainly can’t go through his article and say “I agree with or don’t agree.” My scooter camping experience, thus far, has been rather limited. But that’s exactly why this article was so fun for me.
Here, check it out.
It’s one of those articles that makes you want to hop on your bike and start camping.
Here are some highlights & tips:
About Stuff sacks:
Handy as anything you can take. Make them, don’t buy them. Purchased they cost about $5 to $8 or more. With material, on almost any sewing machine, I can make one in about 2 minutes or less. Nylon is nice, but old denim (I use the legs from my cut-off’s jeans) also works well…and looks mellow. What! You don’t know how to use a sewing machine! Shame.
I couldn’t agree more, though I can’t really sew.
And about food:
I am having a hard time shaking off my old back-packing habits here. When back packing you have to learn to carry everything, not so bike camping. When I started moto-touring, I packed as though back-packing. I quickly learned that is dumb. It is no big deal to carry little if any food. Buy what you need as you go.
This is interesting as I really figured that I was thinking of myself as a backpacker. I read backpacking magazines and tons of backpacking websites. Now, I never planned to carry food (or much food), but I didn’t realize that this was what separated motorcycle/scooter camping from backpacking (aside from the obvious).
And he continues:
I must fully admit the more bike touring I do, the less cooking I do. Lately I’ve taken to getting up early, and after perhaps a cup of coffee I break camp and try to get on the road by 6:45-7. I ride until 10:30 or so and find a smallish town with a little cafe that normally serves the local farmers. I’ve had great meals well prepared and relatively low prices. Hitting places like that at odd hours puts you there between local peaks and assures (usually) good service. I will then ride until maybe 4-5 and hit someplace with a salad bar. A bowl of soup/can of ravioli or some other such one-pot meal in the evening ends the day.
Now, being vegan, this isn’t really an option. I wish it were, but going into a local greasy spoon and getting something vegan might be a bit difficult. Also, going into a greasy spoon when you’re a motorcyclist on a big Harley is much different than going into a greasy spoon on a little faggy red scooter. Just a thought.
And though I’m morally against them, he has this to say about bucket showers:
When out camping I will invariably change into my cut-off’s, or swim suit, get my largest pot and grab some soap and towel and head out for the nearest pump. Knowing that the water coming out of the ground is usually about 32.0001 F, I simply screw up the courage, pump out a pot full of water and pour it over my head. I keep doing that until I stop screaming. Then you soap up and do it again until you are rinsed off. The bright blue color tends to frighten off the mosquitoes.
This guy, and many people, are WAY more austere than I am. My hat is off, but I’ll use the regular shower, thanks.
Though his austerity has limits:
I also have been carrying a product called Baby Wipes with me. These come in a rectangular plastic box available in every super market I’ve been in, near other baby and child care products. These are damp paper towelettes, moistened with water and other soft things. They are great for a last wipe-down of arm pits and other vitals before crawling into a sleeping bag. Your sleeping bag will love you if you do. They are also hand when using outdoor toilets. Invariably these outdoor potties have something akin to wax paper for TP. Using Baby Wipes makes life mellower. The moisturizers/lubricants also makes sitting on a bike for miles a bit easier to take.
Great advice! I’ll be following that, for sure.
However, there is something he says, right at the beginning, that makes me thing that motorcycle camping and scooter camping might be slightly different:
When people think of camping, the first thing they think of is a tent. Actually, a tent is probably one of the least important items.
While he goes on to say that this advice is for motorcyclists who don’t really use commercial campgrounds and that he himself, in his old age, uses commercial campground, I still have to wonder about those motorcyclists. Just a piece of plastic when it rains? That’s WAY more austere than I ever care to be.
Also, there seems to be a LOT more room on a motorcycle than a scooter.
Get a _big_ tent, as big as you can afford.
While I don’t have the smallest tent available, I can’t imagine lugging around anything bigger. But then, motorcycles have much more powerful engines, so the extra weight isn’t a huge big deal.
Also, on the same page, just after the article, is a long ass list of things to take with you. There are some great ideas there, but you’d need a motorcycle trailer to do it. And that’s what many motorcycle campers use. We don’t have the luxury on a scooter.
So, oddly enough, though motorcyclists seem like a more austere lot, they carry a whole hell of a lot more than a scooterist could.
Oh well. This was a great article that I’m really glad I came across. I never thought of baby wipes. And I nearly forgot about motorcycle roadside assistance.
Thanks, Bill!
