Touring - Stuff it...

In a few weeks, my family is having a reunion at a local campground. :love: I am going by bicycle.

Apparently, word got around. Now, some family members want to use my space as overflow parking...:notamused: One of the reasons I bike tour is to be car free.

How do I tell them to "stuff it" without being kicked out of the family...

thanks in advance.

What do you mean "overflow parking"? Like, where you would've parked your car for camping someone else will use? Perhaps so they can use more than one vehicle?
I don't understand. It's what space you're talking about that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
And how important is the family? Personally, I'd tell em' to shove it regardless of what they say. No matter what space you're talking about, you're entitled to it just as much as they are. Just because you happen to be more space efficient than they are shouldn't mean a thing.
-Gene-

Just tell them your space is a "No Car Zone" .

http://www9.plala.or.jp/tourjapan/Rule/ILM20_AA09004.jpg

Why not tell them you were thinking of camping in their space to save money.......

In this campground, one can pull a vehicle into the camping space either a camper or truck. Some spaces allow two vehicles in the camping space. Some family members have several cars, and want to use my space as a parking lot.

Charge them a parking fee. It will pay for your camping spot.

Tell them they can have the campsite and you will get another.

Tell them you would be happy to provide overflow parking.........for their BIKES!

Am I the only one bugged by car-"camping" or RV "camping"? Car camping is a little less irritating, but people who claim to go camping in their house on wheels just irritate the crap out of me.
Bike, hike, and maybe horse camping are the only real kinds of camping to me.
-Gene-

Yep RV camping is not camping. Things that get to me are when people bring generators to their camp sites, they show up with a cargo trailer and bring out bbq pits sinks, basically a mobile kitchen. I guess being a minimalist, it just irritates me even more.

I never heard of anyone camping with an RV, isn't that RVing, o something like that?

Yeah, last weekend I was on a campsite next to a guy with his wife who had a tent the size of a small garage, electric generator, portable gas grill, etc. I was like, WTF? There are fireplaces and grilles on the site. Lucky, he didn't use the electric generator while I was there, I think I'd ask him to turn that off.

+1 on telling them they can have your camp site (and sort the costs out with the campground) and get a new one for yourself. It would be a good idea to check with the campsite anyway, the charges may be different for a tent+bike versus a tent+bike+someone else's car.

If they insist, and you don't want to tell them to shove it, charge a fee for the space. If the cost is higher because of their car, make sure they pay the increase in full and then half of the remaining cost.

--J

The option of just letting them park there and not getting worked up about it is still wide open for you.

Am I the only one bugged by car-"camping" or RV "camping"? Car camping is a little less irritating, but people who claim to go camping in their house on wheels just irritate the crap out of me.
Bike, hike, and maybe horse camping are the only real kinds of camping to me.
-Gene-

Meh... Folks can do as they please. I don't consider RV'ing camping, but if others do it is no skin off of my nose.

BTW, I consider your hierarchy a bit off. Where are canoe and kayak camping in this?

I really like bike touring, but it typically isn't exactly a wilderness experience most of the time. Some MTB camping might be, but that is probably the exception rather than the rule. If anything "bike camping" is likely to be reliant on roads and be in developed areas while backpacking, horseback camping, canoe camping, and kayak camping are much more likely to actually be out in the wilderness or at least the woods. In that way bike touring is more like car camping than more rustic forms of camping.

How do I tell them to "stuff it" without being kicked out of the family...
I would say you either just tell them and don't worry about it, or you let someone park in the paring spot on your site.

Just my take on it, but...
Personally, I would just do the latter. You are staying in a campground, will a car parked in what amounts to a driveway in most cases, really matter that much to you? This is after all primarily a family reunion, not a bike tour.

If you care about promoting cycling, my guess is that you will be more likely to positively influence someone to consider cycling instead of using a car if you aren't seen as the jerk who wouldn't let us park in his empty parking space.

The option of just letting them park there and not getting worked up about it is still wide open for you.

This. Or just politely decline, although I wouldn't do that . Why not do your own family a favor? I would do this for strangers!

Also, and this is in response to several posts in this thread, I really don't see the need to declare that your way is better than everyone else's way, and make sure everyone knows you feel that way. If everyone wanted to do the same thing you do, your stuff would be crowded and ordinary. THere's nothing wrong with a wide range of activities.

Where are all y'all planning to park your high horses?

I say stick to your guns- tell them you're not biking to the reunion so that they can bring another car. You ride a bike because you are trying to reduce The number of cars on the road, not to make it more convenient for someone else to drive. If they'll take umbrage to that, who cares. You can't tip-toe around people's feelings when you are doing something you believe in and that is worth doing. Family or not, nothing would ever get done if all we did was worry about what other people feel/think.

And yes, my acquaintances and family think I'm an ******* sometimes regarding things I believe in. But they get over it, and the ones that don't are not worth worrying about.

SNIP

Where are all y'all planning to park your high horses?


Ha! In someone else's camp. :p

Tell them they can have the campsite and you will get another.

This might be worth a try. The campground also has several "Tent Only" sites, I may try for one of these.

Thanks for all the input...

Man do whatever floats your boat..but I gotta say it gets alittle old hearing this stuff sometimes. Its kinda got a "holier than thou" attitude to it. If your not going to be parking a car there than whats the big deal? personally I love ridin' bikes but if someone else doesn't thats quite alright with me....I can still enjoy their company.

This whole cars are evil thing is just alittle played out....

Now if you'll excuse me i'm gonna drive my El Dorado two blocks down to the store for some smokes!

BTW, I consider your hierarchy a bit off. Where are canoe and kayak camping in this?

Honestly, I didn't consider those. But that doesn't mean I don't consider them real camping, especially now that I've been reminded of them.
My definition relies on how space efficient you have to be. With anything other than being in a car or an RV you've gotta be aware of what you're carrying. You have to make sacrifices and compromises based on the loads you're willing to carry. If you're willing to carry 50 pounds of camp gear, well, good for you. You worked for it, you deserve it. But if you load your entire living room up in your car/truck then park somewhere in the woods, fire up a generator and start watching TV I think you need to get over whatever your perception of camping is, cause that certainly is not.
Basically, if someone has to literally carry their own supplies, or in the case of a horse be concerned for what's carrying your supplies well being, and you're willing to camp wherever (plenty of people do that on bike tours), that's camping. That's what "roughing it" boils down to for me.
-Gene-

Typically a family event like this happens because a few family members spend lots of their own time and effort putting it together for the enjoyment of the group. Unfortunately, they sometimes project their attitude of cooperation and accommodation to other family members. It may be that they simply see the unused parking spots as "available" to the group and assume that the OP would not have a problem with it. Probably the extra parking is needed because various family members are coming from different directions and meeting at the campground; staying with others.

I wonder if anyone is being accommodating or generous to the OP. IOW, is the OP transporting all his own or ratable share of food, beverages, ice, coolers, charcoal, grills, etc.? Or are the "evil" autos being used to accommodate him? If they are, it would seem pretty selfish to be uncooperative.

It's something to think about. Me? I'd allow a few to park, but also express my concern to the planners that I don't want to feel like I'm camping in a used car lot. That would seem reasonable.

This whole cars are evil thing is just alittle played out....




Man, you're so easy going! It's refreshing! Yeah same with the whole anti-war thing. it just gets old. And so what if we have to bomb some people or dump 3.5million gallons of oil into the gulf to ensure a steady supply of oil. oh and anti-pollution regulation- christ, we've heard enough already.

some americans are too uptight.

Godwin's Law. The nazis drove cars, blah blah blah...

Man, you're so easy going! It's refreshing! Yeah same with the whole anti-war thing. it just gets old. And so what if we have to bomb some people or dump 3.5million gallons of oil into the gulf to ensure a steady supply of oil. oh and anti-pollution regulation- christ, we've heard enough already.

some americans are too uptight.

Easy there Francis!
We're talking about a few folks gettin' together for a family cook-out/camp. Not war, not drilling, no need to get the undies in a collossal bunch!

I like to think of my bike as a kind of "carbon footprint loan" that I get to pay off. After all, the materials used to make it were made in factories running off of electricity coming from fossil fuels, it was put on a massive ship to cross the ocean to get here that runs on diesel (no idea the MPG on those things, but it's a 3,000 mile trip), and was then loaded onto trucks/trains (also diesel) to cross the county to make it to my LBS which is lit/air-conditioned with electricity coming from (once again) fossil fuels. When you consider that my family doesn't even own a car and we ride almost everyday, we may yet pay off our "carbon loans" eventually.

So I figure I've got a whole lot of riding to do in order to pay that back/make a difference. I remind other people of this occasionally when they get too "holy" about how environmentally friendly riding their bicycle is.

Ah well... I'm really not an activist. Just do my part and keep it simple, living on what I need. People get all bent out of shape in both directions. Best to step back and take a more objective look.

To the OP, I would say if you are going to be riding and camping, then a Tent-only site sounds perfect. Usually quieter and more secluded. Everyone else can find their own places to put their vehicles... you lean yours against a tree somewhere.

I believe I would say no problem, and have them put it out of the way. I don't get what the big deal is.

Not sure how things are out in OP's neck of the woods, but around here, most state and national parks (I've never camped in a private outfit) allow one vehicle per individual campsite, maybe a few for a group campsite, with an "overflow" parking lot somewhere for any extra vehicles. I had assumed that one of OP's relatives wants to park a single car in his unused car spot, instead of in a more remote location. Not something that, under those particular circumstances, I'd probably get too fired up about (unless maybe my relative was going to engulf my site with a huge dual-axle, full-crew-cab, long-bed pick-up, or a giant Hummer, or something like that.) :)

Re: RVs and monster tents and generators and portable kitchens and the like . . . meh, I'm happy to see people at least mininally enjoying the outdoors, rather than being parked at the mall or wherever, but it's definitely not my thing. I always seek out "tent-only" sections of campgrounds, so that cuts down on a lot of that "McMansion-away-from-McMansion" effect.