When camping on a big tour goes horribly wrong (w/ video)

[dave_VD]

Hi guys,

Was just digging through some hard-drives and found this moment from stealth camping whilst on tour last year. Sometimes stealth camping can be amazing - you see amazing things and experience total calm. Other times it sucks and you get sprayed by garden sprinklers. This was a bad time.

[youtube]toCOZsoSsjw[/youtube]

There's a full post about stealth camping and why the bad moments on tour are actually good moments given time. If you're interested check it out here: http://www.vaguedirection.com/when-adventure-travel-goes-wrong-why-thats-a-good-thing/

Tailwinds!

[LondonBikeCommuter]

Can't watch the video with sound as I'm at work but am enjoying reading your blog.... cheers!

[dave_VD]

Can't watch the video with sound as I'm at work but am enjoying reading your blog.... cheers!

Oh cool, thanks!

[horizon]

I would really like to know who invented the term "stealth camping". It's both silly and inaccurate. I travelled all over the USA and Canada and Europe in the 1970s hitch-hiking and putting up a tent by the side of the road. I've also done it in more recent years by bike in France, Spain and the UK.

Why stealth? I make myself well known to a nearby resident (or petrol station attendant for example) and visible enough to make sure that they can keep an eye on me. Usually I find a land owner and get permission. I don't make it obviously easy for the local louts to stop by for a laugh at my expense. In fact, in most places that you need to "wild" camp you are far from a town and both its facilities and trouble-makers. And this was always travelling alone. So stealth camping it isn't.

Couldn't we call it roadside camping? This says we are not on a campsite and it could mean anything from a literal roadside to tucked away in the forest beyond. That's the reality of cycle touring, not some remake of a Hollywood thriller.

[dave_VD]

I would really like to know who invented the term "stealth camping". It's both silly and inaccurate. I travelled all over the USA and Canada and Europe in the 1970s hitch-hiking and putting up a tent by the side of the road. I've also done it in more recent years by bike in France, Spain and the UK.

Why stealth? I make myself well known to a nearby resident (or petrol station attendant for example) and visible enough to make sure that they can keep an eye on me. Usually I find a land owner and get permission. I don't make it obviously easy for the local louts to stop by for a laugh at my expense. In fact, in most places that you need to "wild" camp you are far from a town and both its facilities and trouble-makers. And this was always travelling alone. So stealth camping it isn't.

Couldn't we call it roadside camping? This says we are not on a campsite and it could mean anything from a literal roadside to tucked away in the forest beyond. That's the reality of cycle touring, not some remake of a Hollywood thriller.

I agree - there's definitely a more secure feeling if you've asked someone whether sleeping in x spot is ok and they're alright with it. So often too doing just that would lead to being invited in for dinner or a room by the landowner. Definitely preferable to do it this way, and also it's a good opportunity to gauge whether the neighbourhood feels safe.

And yep, stealth is a shoddy term. There was nothing stealth about this!

[Vorpal]

I would really like to know who invented the term "stealth camping".

It's in common use in the USA, where trespassing is a criminal act. I used to understand it to mean that people who are stealth camping don't necessarily have permission to camp where they are.

[Sooper8]

I like your film making/editing style. I 'enjoyed' watching, if that can be the right word for such a grotty nights experience?

EDIT- just been on the blog, great read and great photo's!

[Therealsouthstander]

Wow some right miserable sods on here.


Great video and gave me a wee chuckle. Also a good read



Cycle with a smile,it's not sore

[shane]

Even in the middle of the nowhere you're not guaranteed a quite nights sleep

[youtube]2mMUbOnHtm8[/youtube]

I totally don't get the point of "stealth camping" in or near town, thats the time to just get permission to camp somewhere, which I rarely do either because of the previously mentioned reasons. When I hit a town thats the time for a shower and a beer

[lindagordinho]

That video made me laugh a lot, thanks for posting it!

[pedalsheep]

Shane always makes camping look such fun!