Tips about touring, camping and cooking ?

[keepontriking]

My point is that I think us cyclecampers could learn a lot from the ultralight backpacking fraternity.

True to a point but bikes are the beast of burden, not your shoulders. On longer trips we found extra room in the tent, especially in wet spells, is worth a lot.

Tent? Whats a tent?

[jake]

Hubgearfreak,
Thank you for your questions.
1) According to a recent tgo magazine a propane/butane gas stove is roughly twice as efficient (from a fuel efficiency point of view) than a meths stove.
2) I have a basic Snow Peak Gigapower stove and find no problems simmering. A proper windshield is on my hit-list but I've managed with panniers/rucksacks.
3) I've adapted my cooking system down to a titanium mug and 0.7 ltr pot and it works just fine. By the way, titanium pots are much easier to clean than aluminium ones (especially porridge).
4) A folding plastic tripod base solves the stability issue.

The most fuel efficient meths stove developed so far (called the Caldera Cone) has recently hit the UK market. It weighs only 48gms (excluding pan) and they are selling like hot cakes.

I would never want to become "evangelical" about this ultralight stuff, after all it's only a means to an end. Getting "away from it all" is the real purpose.

Finally, in the "You Ride" section of Cycle magazine (Feb '06) a chap called Steve Grady says that his total weight (bike plus panniers) for a two week tour is 30lb (13.6kg). Would love to know his kit list.

[hubgearfreak]

thanks for the answers.

a chap called Steve Grady says that his total weight (bike plus panniers) for a two week tour is 30lb (13.6kg). Would love to know his kit list.

that's amazing

[Diane Bulley]

Weekends - south of France/religious festivals in Austria which meant everywhere closed Thursday p.m. . to Monday morning - I always took 48 hours dried food. Collect all the small dehydrated packs you can find -porridge takes up far too much space. Collect used film containers and label to fill with toiletries etc I took 8. There arent always shops on the way to the campsite you have booked into. I needed every crumb of my dried food until 9 a.m. Monday after getting off the EBE coach at noon on Saturday on the outskirts of Narbonne and riding 35 miles to the excellent site with swimming pool at Laurens - but they had no food to sell me, where the excellent grocer shop opened at 9 a.m. Monday. A lovely quiet touring area, smooth road surfaces - recommended.

Also get a Thermarest chair kit. Doesnt take up much space, but lovely to have a comfortable chair after a long day's ride.

[Diane Bulley]

Something else no one else has thought of - TENT PEGS.

Dont accept all smooth ones, that come with the tent.

They are ok on pasture land, or grassy camp sites.

But abroad, especially in Sud de France, some camping areas are hard, stony ground. So you need some aluminium ratchet edged pegs as well.

In strong winds, these will secure your tent, and save you a lot of trouble.

[raybo]

This page from www.biketouringtips.com provides 12 links to food preparation while bike touring. Several of the links include specific foods and recipes.

Ray

[reohn2]

What a basc question...(not intended as a slight)
Yes, it is more than possible to tour with just panniers. You need the following basics:
Tent, mat, sleeping bag, stove, pans, eating tool (spork), tin opener.

For the bike, spare tubes, pun****e kit, pump, tyre levers, multitool.
Clothing to suit.

Everything else is optional apart from maps.

Don't forget your Primus stove and clip.

[Diane Bulley]

Absolute rubbish reJohn.

You need a warm sleeping bag, it gets very cold at 2 a.m. Plus spacewarmer to put over the sleeping bag, to keep your hands and feet warm in the night.

It should take a whole day to pack everything properly. You should know where everything is, in your panniers, for easy access.

When you have put your tent up, put the bike inside for security, and everything else with your panniers for easy access on one side. Keep keys in your pocket.

[reohn2]

Absolute rubbish reJohn.

You need a warm sleeping bag, it gets very cold at 2 a.m. Plus spacewarmer to put over the sleeping bag, to keep your hands and feet warm in the night.

It should take a whole day to pack everything properly. You should know where everything is, in your panniers, for easy access.

When you have put your tent up, put the bike inside for security, and everything else with your panniers for easy access on one side. Keep keys in your pocket.

Your absolutely right Mrs B,I stand corrected.

[Diane Bulley]

Sorry, that should be Space Blanket. They are the silver plastic sheets given to finishers in the London Marathon to keep the body warm. Take 2, as if its very cold, you can use both - they are only small packs. Although you may have a built in groundsheet, get a strong plastic sheet. On arrival check the ground carefully for thorns before putting this sheet underneath the tent. One thorn in a wet climate can mean your tent will be flooded in the night.
Remember, most supermarkets sell food in family packs, and you just dont have the space. Canderel Sweetener dispenser essential instead of carrying sugar. Folded sheets of kitchen roll, and toilet paper vital.
Your sleeping bag will fill one pannier. Sort all these things out now, and make a list ! Remember liquid is important, take 2 or 3 bottles on the frame of your bike for water to drink.
Go through your bathroom cupboard, and take out all the things you will need on tour. Get some used film containers from your local processing shop. Think carefully, and label each one. Fill them with the exact amount you will need for one week/two weeks. Tooth powder is better than toothpaste. Talcum, sun cream, after sun lotion, liquid soap, etc. Camping is easier nowadays, as we have moist wipes for everything. You can clean the body every evening with them. Use them for cleaning used food plates. Check the pack advice carefully, as some cannot be used on the face. Antiseptic wipes should be taken on coaches/planes by everyone. Wipe around your nose, mouth and ears on boarding. This helps prevent infection from other people which can spoil a camping trip - I know, it has happened to me - when will these virusii go away !
January is a drag, but neednt be, if you do all this while the weather is dismal. Another thing, I always put most of my money at the bottom of the pannier, underneath everything else, and carried a small amount in my bar bag. I was never stopped, but if I had been, I would have said that was all I had as I was getting more money from a bank 40 miles up the road !

[hubgearfreak]

Sorry, that should be Space Blanket.

clue's in the name DB...ie space.

they're next to useless when you're in a sleeping bag in a tent, as heat is mostly carried away by conduction (contact with the ground, and convection, ie. you warm up the air near you and it rises to be replaced by new cold air.
the amount lost via radiation is minimal, unless you're in outerspace and have no air to lose heat to, and no ground to lay on, then it will be the case that your entire heat loss is by radiation.

whilst i acknowledge that they are given to marathon runners, it would be impossibly bulky for a marathon organiser to give everyone a proper fleece suit to keep them warm, and the wind chill (convection) is much greater on a wet body, hence why we sweat when we're hot. they do work on marathon runners as a wind proof membrane, but little more.

you don't see north pole explorers in anything else but big suits of trapped air pockets, and the same is true of your loft and hot water tank (hopefully)

if you're cold because of too little insulation (sleeping bags, socks, hats etc.) then the only answer (as R2 states) is the burning of hydrocarbons

[Diane Bulley]

More absolute rubbish.

The answer lies in the name - freak !

I have used Space Blankets many times , and kept lovely and warm with one just lying losely over my sleeping bag. They tend to slide off about 6 a.m. but its getting warmer then, so no problem. When it was very cold I put the second one under my sleeping bag for extra warmth. Very good.

Before commenting on this subject, consider experimenting with all equipment, and then there is no need to write this kind of bilge.

[Les Reay]

Reference keeping warm in a sleeping bag – I stumbled on the following idea last summer.

Fill a half-litre cola bottle with hot water and shove it to the bottom of the sleeping bag. As long as your feet are warm, sleeping is not too difficult, and the bottle can be used as a water carrier while on the road.

Another use: half way through the night, you can empty the bottle and replace it with another fluid, to save going out the tent and getting chewed by the midges in sensitive places.

[Achilles]

I agree with Jake and whilst I think you can take it too far, I tend towards a minimalist approach without, I think sacrificing comfort

Your sleeping bag need not fill a pannier - my 0C rated one with pillow and liner goes in a medium Exped stuff sack - I can get all of my stuff in 2 rear panniers. By using a bar bag and small saddlebag as well, I find that quite luxurious in terms of space for a multi day trip.

For ecamkple I think a Trangia is great for car camping but a Caldera cone is on my shopping list - stacks smaller and lighter

[thirdcrank]

Hi there hubbers

The clue is certainly in the name - and not yours