Halfords luggage straps - the really light ones - hold a tent on more securely - esp on rough tracks
Do you have a link for these or pic? Am moving away from straight bungees. They can overcomplicate things and I am always worried about my eyes - don't always wear glasses while wrangling them.
I use a couple of similar straps that I got from a camping shop years ago but have never been able to find again since. I've recently bought a couple of these from Decathlon that seem OK they're 1 m long 25 mm wide.
Personally I'd take some cooking kit, but I like my porridge & coffee before I can contemplate going anywhere. Away from the coast/broads we struggled to find cafes/pubs or even village shops during the day - a lot of the villages are now just commuter towns and there's not a lot there, although most had a house called 'The Old Bakery' just to taunt us! A few of the campsites were also a bit of a trek to the nearest pub, so it was handy to be able to cook, even if sausages & bacon were the only meats at one local shop. My tent is almost always bungeed to the rear rack, sometimes laterally, sometimes along the rack. I've now got some with carabiners rather than hooks on the end for a bit more security & to remove the risk of the hook making a hole in something. The bungees are also handy for tucking jackets and other bits under on days when you're not sure if you'll need them or not.
foxyrider wrote:Booking of sites - well it's well worth checking they're actually open and what facilities are open. Often out of main season shops/cafés are shut. And on that note stopping for breakfast could be interesting as cafés and even shops are in short supply in Norfolk generally.
At least near me, it's generally only the smallest of the small villages that have neither cafe nor general shop, such as my six-ish-street one (we have shops but unless you want to get very drunk or buy some garden furniture, it's not much use for camping), but even then it's only a mile to the next village and its two shops. Cafes are also opening at a surprising rate - mostly in towns, but also in villages with one in a former pub and one in an animal feed depot being two recent openings - but I agree in that I think not all village cafes open early enough for what I'd call breakfast.
Is this short supply? I didn't notice every village being festooned with cafes in Pembrokeshire a few months ago
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
mercalia wrote: when you are stopped and camping for the night
Yes, but why would you cover your bike at night? Leather saddle maybe, but the whole bike?
My bike is the single most expensive piece of equipment I take with me when I go touring. The one time I have camping toured, it's gone into the tent porch. I am not ever going to leave the bike somewhere I cannot see or feel if it's being moved...
Yes, but the issue here of covering the bike was about it getting wet, not about security, and about using a bike cover not about taking it into the tent.
Sweep wrote: Do you have a link for these or pic? Am moving away from straight bungees. They can overcomplicate things and I am always worried about my eyes - don't always wear glasses while wrangling them.
The original stripey ones were from Halfords - when i needed new ones I went to Halfords on internet and could not find - searched hi and lo on web and could only find the heavier ones for roof bars - found the red ones by accident in my local Halfords - motorcycle stuff I think
I always have a spare one - useful for lashing end of bike handlebars to a tree or a post in lieu of stand - with a reusable zip tie on the rear brake lever it makes the bike very stable when im loading and unloading
Sweep wrote:Thanks. I have something similar I think from my car camping days. There's another name/original brand name I think for those metal grippers?
Are you thinking of Arno Straps? More generically known as cam buckle straps. I've been using Wetkama ones recently because they're all-plastic so they don't rub through bags so quickly.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
mjr wrote:] Are you thinking of Arno Straps? More generically known as cam buckle straps. I've been using Wetkama ones recently because they're all-plastic so they don't rub through bags so quickly.
Yes, Arno Straps was what I was thinking of. I think they came up in a thread a while ago - dug out my old straps and it turned out that that was exactly what they were.
foxyrider wrote:Booking of sites - well it's well worth checking they're actually open and what facilities are open. Often out of main season shops/cafés are shut. And on that note stopping for breakfast could be interesting as cafés and even shops are in short supply in Norfolk generally.
At least near me, it's generally only the smallest of the small villages that have neither cafe nor general shop, such as my six-ish-street one (we have shops but unless you want to get very drunk or buy some garden furniture, it's not much use for camping), but even then it's only a mile to the next village and its two shops. Cafes are also opening at a surprising rate - mostly in towns, but also in villages with one in a former pub and one in an animal feed depot being two recent openings - but I agree in that I think not all village cafes open early enough for what I'd call breakfast.
Is this short supply? I didn't notice every village being festooned with cafes in Pembrokeshire a few months ago
I didn't suggest it was unusual just that I wouldn't rely on finding one when I needed one. By comparison when i've been in Europe bakeries with a café can be found open from 7am in almost every village.
Convention? what's that then? Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
