The Self Sufficient Bike Camping Thread.

[SummitFever]

CF sheet from HobbyKing. They have an Au warehouse, so any stuff kept there comes pretty quick. Drawings done in LibreCAD open source CAD program.

I only use the saddle bag when I take my 2 man tent. If I go without a tent (which is most of the time) then I have all the heavy stuff like water, cooking gear+fuel and food in my frame bag and a couple of bidons, plus 2 tubes and tools in a little saddle bag. Everything else only weighs about 5kg so I carry it on my back. Too much weight on the extremities of the bike (like on the bars or hanging out the back) makes it handle like a barge and in the steep mountains poor handling affects not only your ability to ride down things and have fun, but also your ability to clean the steep techo climbs.

 

[climberman]

Ta summit.

Nice reminder on the wight - heavy in the frame, light on bars and arse then?

I will look at Libre CAD.

 

[jp80]

Little overnighter last thursday, me and a mate rode up to Blue Range hut, ate and drank a little, slept a little less, then woke up and rode back to work. Was a good night out, but a little chilly.
Nice start to the morning ride out

my cockpit

campground was huge, had started taking the nemo down here, it looked a little better than that during hte night.

Tent looking wintery

The hut is big, could def get away with no tent and maybe even no cooking gear... just some bacon and eggs to chuck on the electric stove. Even a loo there.

Zipping along in the night, Revo pumping.

 

[SummitFever]

Excellent. Looks like a good little trip.

 

[FatGuts]

Blue Range is a well set up hut, has been for a long time. When I used to ride dirt bikes groups used to come down from Sydney and camp there and use it as a base for the Brindies.

I have been getting a bit of snow riding in this year (no camping though):

First attempt at Honeysuckle Creek.......



Second attempt on Smokers Trail........




Third attempt on Parrot FT (Bendora Hut).........

 

[jawry]

Just found this three. Has re-ignited my love of mtb camping. For about 10 years in a row we did an annual 'Peter Allen Memorial Ride' somewhere in the mountains around Tenterfield northern new. 2 to 3 nights, totally self sufficient. Have been rained on, hailed on, and even snowed on. Over the years we honed our kits down to the bare essentials. Stayed off roads and tracks as much as possible. Was always a map and compass job. Luckily we always had Murf - the human GPS. God this bringing back a flood of memories. The band has disbanded over the years. Love to get out and do it again before these 50 year old legs give out.

Jawry

 

[Elbo]

Nice little getaways there jp80 and fatguts. Good to see this thread back at the top.

Does anyone know anything about felt blankets? (weight, insulation qualities, etc.) Can't find any info online so I assume none's tried it. But felt and wool blankets are common in nomadic Mongolia. Can't afford an expensive sleeping bag, and got excited about my own idea, so was thinking of doing a ghetto setup and using a felt or wool blanket in a bivvy with thermal underwear/layers if necessary. I'd imagine proper wool/felt would be water resistant and still warm when wet. Just a matter of how small it would pack down… probably smaller than my current monster of a sleeping bag!

 

[Comic Book Guy]

I wouldn't use a felt blanket by itself. Might be alright for summer but not enough insulation for outside of summer.

The idea of a sleeping bag is to stop the layer of warm air that develops around your body from dissipating. Down is a very weight efficient insulating material but it is expensive and getting dearer all the time. Down bags do cost a lot but they leave everything else for dead. I can confirm this from first hand experience as I have a down bag. There are some very efficient synthetic materials like primaloft that do a very good job but they weigh more than down and don't compress anywhere near as well.

I don't see any reason that you couldn't use a felt blanket in conjunction with a sleeping bag but it would be trying this in warmer weather first.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers,
CBG.

 

[FatGuts]

Nice little getaways there jp80 and fatguts. Good to see this thread back at the top.

Does anyone know anything about felt blankets? (weight, insulation qualities, etc.) Can't find any info online so I assume none's tried it. But felt and wool blankets are common in nomadic Mongolia. Can't afford an expensive sleeping bag, and got excited about my own idea, so was thinking of doing a ghetto setup and using a felt or wool blanket in a bivvy with thermal underwear/layers if necessary. I'd imagine proper wool/felt would be water resistant and still warm when wet. Just a matter of how small it would pack down… probably smaller than my current monster of a sleeping bag!

Felt can be quite heavy and bulky. My dad used to own trucks and used to do furniture removal and we used felt blankets quite a bit.

Its been a while but I reckon one big enough for you to wrap up in would at least be a kilo if not more.

 

[Elbo]

Thanks guys, just brainstorming, but yes having mentioned removalist's using felt blankets FatGuts.. I remember the big ass heavy blanket used when moving my folks piano. The Mongol idea might work better with camels and carts to do the heavy lifting.

CBG, I would definitely go for down over synthetic. I went to the outdoor store to check them out - pack size is excellent in the higher lift downs. Given that winter's on the way out, I might hold off and buy a decent down bag next year. I'll be able to get away with very little over summer anyway I think.
Cheers,
Elbo

 

[gummo8]

Sea to Summit Spark

Hi,

On the subject of sleeping equipment...wondering if anyone has bought, or knows anyone with some real world experience with these:

http://www.seatosummit.com.au/sleepingbags/series/?series=spark

Obviously fairly tempting for the bike given the weight and size it packs down to.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[FatGuts]

Its not finished yet but its nearly there.

 

[SummitFever]

Nice work. Are you doubling up the fabric for strength? I made one for my Anthem as well, but only used one layer of 500D cordura for the sides and then 1000D ballistic nylon for the wear areas.

 

[FatGuts]

Ta. No its just ripstop nylon. The plan is to line it with plastic chopping boards from woolies so it wont bulge too much.

Pretty much an experiment at this stage to see if I (or Mum rather as she is the seamstress ound can do it. I am going to make another for my Masi CX bike. It will have a spot for the bladder to sit so I dont have to carry it on my back when I am touring.

Planning to ride to Melbourne in the new year.

 

[SummitFever]

Excellent. You can get some really thin (~2mm) plastic cutting boards that will give the sides a little stiffness. They are fairly light and you can also pull them out and use them as chopping boards which is really handy. A ride down to Melbourne sounds tops. Via the BNT?

 

[FatGuts]

Excellent. You can get some really thin (~2mm) plastic cutting boards that will give the sides a little stiffness. They are fairly light and you can also pull them out and use them as chopping boards which is really handy. A ride down to Melbourne sounds tops. Via the BNT?

Yah, I have them already

No, Barry Way taking in the rail trail from Orbost to Bairnsdale and a couple of others on the way.

I still have not worked out which way we will head into Melbourne yet. It will either be along the bay from Mordiallock or along the Yarra Trail right into Flinders St train station. I have ridden both but I think I prefer the Yarra. Depends on what my compatriots say.

 

[FatGuts]

I will add, the reason for the ride is there is a night ride on called Ride the Night:

http://ridethenight.org.au/

 

[shakes]

Yah, I have them already

No, Barry Way taking in the rail trail from Orbost to Bairnsdale and a couple of others on the way.

I still have not worked out which way we will head into Melbourne yet. It will either be along the bay from Mordiallock or along the Yarra Trail right into Flinders St train station. I have ridden both but I think I prefer the Yarra. Depends on what my compatriots say.

Yarra - no option.

Keep us posted.

 

[FatGuts]

Yarra - no option.

Keep us posted.

Hahahaha, yeah, its great how the city creeps up on you. Just when you think you are there it weaves away and there is so much stuff to see.

The day I did the Bay, there was a howling NWesterly........it sucked arse.......it was pretty good rocking into St Kilda and past the Espy though :Banane35:

I will let you know Shakes when we get there (no doubt you will see the pics anyway as I am a FB hoar........ :loco

 

[g-fish]

What's everyone using for a nice summer sleeping bag? Doing some trips this summer and riding in Asia next year so want something light and comfy.

Also needs to be available in a long size for my 6'5" frame.