Foo - Camping...you like or hate?

I've never been camping before and I'm going to have to stay in a tent at a cycling event. My friend is going to lend me a tent and I don't know if I can put it up. I'm not looking forward to it. The idea of sleeping in a field in close proximity to all those sweaty smelly cycling weirdos is a bit off putting. Maybe I'll look for a hotel nearby.

I like it. Getting out of all the trappings of day to day life. Sitting around a fire and looking up to see all the stars. Hobo meals.


Good times.

Coasting, go with a room. Personally, I prefer the tent, but you should go with a room.

I love camping out, especially close to a waterfall. Very soothing sounds.

Tents really are quite easy to set up as long as they're relatively modern.

I would personally take the camping option, think of all the people you could meet :)

Coasting, go with a room. Personally, I prefer the tent, but you should go with a room.

I love camping out, especially close to a waterfall. Very soothing sounds.


that is what i was looking for. thanks.

I'd go with the camping. It's a great experience.

I hate camping. Sure, looking up at the stars is really nice, but the mosquitoes and other nasty little buggers get me, decreasing my enjoyment of the outdoors by 300%. The ground is hard and dirty and utterly uncomfortable to sit or lie down on. Yeah, tents are easy to set up, but watch as all the bugs get in your tent and give you no. sleep. whatsoever. Cooking over a campfire is fun at first but ends up being a goddamn pain in the arse. I end up getting allergic to something or other and this triggers my asthma, so my camping trips always end up disastrously.

So yeah. I hate camping. I'm a city girl through and through, and I suspect coasting is very similar. Don't go camping, you will not like it. Or...go camping if you are feeling particularly masochistic.

Get a hotel room. Setup the tent inside. Watch Bear Grylls on Man Vs. Wild tv show. Best of all worlds.

I have a feeling that if the women here were to "camp out" they would not be the only ones suffering. Just sayin'.

The ground is hard and dirty and utterly uncomfortable to sit or lie down on.
Watch as all the bugs get in your tent and give you no. sleep. whatsoever.
Cooking over a campfire is fun at first but ends up being a goddamn pain in the arse.

1)Decent sealed tent bottom+a wet low spot in the grass+ground pad makes it lots nicer, even enjoyable. Camping on those gravel tent pads is awful.
2) Don't leave your door open for more than the time it takes to dive in, and don't leave any lights on in the tent when the doors are open. This pretty much eliminates the bug issue. A bit of liquid citronella near the door helps if it's still an issue.
3) Nobody I know who camps regularly cooks over a fire because as you noted, it sucks. Either bring a small stove, eat premade food/stuff that doesn't go bad, or just accept that you'll be buying food.

I'd go with the camping. It's a great experience.

Coasting, go with a room. Personally, I prefer the tent, but you should go with a room.

Interesting differing opinions. If its something you think might be interesting, go for it. On the other hand, if the concept of not showering for 48 hours bothers you, I'd find a room. Also, if you sleep in a tent you need somewhere to put your bike (neither bikes nor shoes have a place in tents)

I love camping out. Set up the tent, unfold the chairs, build a fire, ahhhh, bliss. Tents these days are a snap to put up. Most use one or two collapsible fiberglass poles that you simply slide into pocket and the secure to pegs at the four corners.

If you have the right equipment, sleeping in a tent is great. Make sure you have a ground cloth to put under the tent to keep moisture and condensation out. Then get a pad to put under your sleeping bag, or better yet, see if your friend has a folding cot.

You can do it Coasting. Why stay in some generic hotel room, by yourself, with hot water and flushing toilets, when you can sit around with other cyclists, sucking the marrow out of the bone which is life and pooping in a hole in the ground?

I love camping out. Set up the tent, unfold the chairs, build a fire, ahhhh, bliss. Tents these days are a snap to put up. Most use one or two collapsible fiberglass poles that you simply slide into pocket and the secure to pegs at the four corners.

If you have the right equipment, sleeping in a tent is great. Make sure you have a ground cloth to put under the tent to keep moisture and condensation out. Then get a pad to put under your sleeping bag, or better yet, see if your friend has a folding cot.

You can do it Coasting. Why stay in some generic hotel room, by yourself, with hot water and flushing toilets, when you can sit around with other cyclists, sucking the marrow out of the bone which is life and pooping in a hole in the ground?

Hay'll Yeah!!

I love camping. I especially love to backpack, the more remote, the better...:)

Just starting out? A good Therm-a-rest (or cot), good food, plenty of firewood...oh yeah!

I like camping but I don't really like sleeping in tents. It is all about the back of a pickup.

I like camping but I don't really like sleeping in tents. It is all about the back of a pickup.

who sleeps in the back of a pickup? There's other things you do there.

who sleeps in the back of a pickup? There's other things you do there.

Drive and around and yell at road bikers?

I have a tent, but I prefer using just a tarp or a hammock with a rainfly. It's lighter, simple to set up, and I don't care about dirt or bugs. Pitch the tarp, lay out a ground mat and go to sleep... That's so much easier than farting around with tent poles and stakes and ground sheets etc. The only thing simpler is a bivy sack.

Coasting, go with a room. Personally, I prefer the tent, but you should go with a room.

I love camping out, especially close to a waterfall. Very soothing sounds.

I don't like to spend long periods of time in a relaxed state with the sound of waterfalls or fountains. It makes me need to pee somethin' terrible!

I love camping though. It's great.

Drive and around and yell at road bikers?

:thumb:
and toss empty PBR cans at em'

I don't like to spend long periods of time in a relaxed state with the sound of waterfalls or fountains. It makes me need to pee somethin' terrible!

I remember one recent cub scout camp out where one of the boys needed to pee, but did not want to leave his tent. Looked over to see a "stream" arcing out of the tent! It was hilarious!

:thumb:
and toss empty PBR cans at em'

And who says recycling can't be fun?!

Try something new and live outside the box and pitch a tent. What have you to lose?

I definitely enjoy camping. This is my backpacking/cycle touring tent, by the way (2 pounds, packed weight)

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/campingtrip021.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/campingtrip015.jpg

Dinner (Tastes surprisingly good!)

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/UP2/UpperPeninsulaII121.jpg

From my Upper Peninsula of Michigan bike tour

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/UP2/UpperPeninsulaII090.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/UP2/UpperPeninsulaII032.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/UP2/UpperPeninsulaII043.jpg

Love camping. My wife and I mountain bike a lot and typically base camp by mountain streams preferably above 8,000 ft and do rides out of the base camp. We are going to Crested Butte next weekend to ride our favorite trails there and check out a few new ones in the neighborhood. Quiet, pristine, cool mountain air and good food cooked over a 2 burner propane camp stove (he!! with the campfire cooking, it's a hassle). We car camp and backpack camp at least 4 or 5 times a year and wouln't trade the experiences for anything.
I wouldn't camp in a field full of other "campers" due to the noise i.e. the zipperfest that ensues in the night as various people get out to use the facilities, late night partiers etc.. I can't sleep in those conditions and would prefer a hotel room. That isn't camping that is akin to surviving a natural disaster in my book.

Try something new and live outside the box and pitch a tent. What have you to lose?

sanity and dignity

i don't think i'm going to have a choice. I will be the only one to go off to a hotel and the others will be sitting around group hugging and talking about what an ******* I am.

Try something new and live outside the box and pitch a tent. What have you to lose?


sanity and dignity


yeah, like you have either of those to begin with :rolleyes:

I love camping, so does my wife and we manage to get out a few times a year. I think we still own three tents between us (a 1-man like Tom's from my premarital days, a 2-3 person backpacking, and a 7'x7' dome). But I always sleep like crap in the tent. Side sleeper + camping mattress = bad. But the camp coffee usually does it for me in the morning. So if you really need 8-10 solid hours of good sleep before your ride, get the room.

We may not get to do any camping this year on account of the baby and the dog... and an inability to figure out how we'll all fit in one 7'x7' tent without the baby getting stomped on or freezing to death.

yeah, like you have either of those to begin with :rolleyes:

sobriety and virginity?

i don't think i'm going to have a choice. I will be the only one to go off to a hotel and the others will be sitting around group hugging and talking about what an ******* I am.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAdaQhitdKg

sobriety and virginity?

Well, since Beefeaters is from England, I kind of doubt the sobriety issue.
On the second part; did you ship the gimp suit over there yet?

i just learned a new word from neko....slander. or libel. whatever. can't believe i forgot already.

i just learned a new word from neko....slander. or libel. whatever. can't believe i forgot already.

You should not threaten Neko like that. And I would take the suit seriously.

i just learned a new word from neko....slander. or libel. whatever. can't believe i forgot already.

yeah, gin can wipe out the short term memory. :D

i just learned a new word from neko....slander. or libel. whatever. can't believe i forgot already.

slibel? libander?

... Tents these days are a snap to put up. ...

if you're sober.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/StupidlyBrave/Canooooz/Juniata2009/DSCN0487.jpg

good point, coasting is seldom sober I suspect.

I love camping, just not in the heat, so here in SE Tennessee, that means I usually go in Fall/Winter/Spring.

the others will be sitting around group hugging and talking about what an ******* I am.

That describes our Road Cycling Forum perfectly.

Love camping! It reminds me of my first flying job working with Forestry on fires and with fisheries. Nothing like camp food, camp coffee and stinking so bad of musk, BO and forest fire no bugs will touch you!

I just got back from a week of wilderness camping - that means just out in the open with no running water, toilets and any hotel nearby. It was a mountain bike trip so after a hard days ride I had to clean up in a tiny little tent each night using baby wipes. Not a pretty sight believe you me. On the 4th day I finally got a quick solar shower. The poopie pot was just that, a small square pot. I much rather had dug a "kitty-cat" hole. If you are some place where there is running water (for wash ups) and toilet, even pit toilets, not so bad. It's all doable for a couple of days. Just get a decent air mattress and sleeping bad. The right food and wipe-ups, lots and lots of wipe-ups!!!!

I just got back from a week of wilderness camping - that means just out in the open with no running water, toilets and any hotel nearby. It was a mountain bike trip so after a hard days ride I had to clean up in a tiny little tent each night using baby wipes. Not a pretty sight believe you me. On the 4th day I finally got a quick solar shower. The poopie pot was just that, a small square pot. I much rather had dug a "kitty-cat" hole. If you are some place where there is running water (for wash ups) and toilet, even pit toilets, not so bad. It's all doable for a couple of days. Just get a decent air mattress and sleeping bad. The right food and wipe-ups, lots and lots of wipe-ups!!!!

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/Birth%20Place%20of%20Texas%20Ride/BirthPlaceofTexasRideApril2010037.jpg

Did you have a fan?

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/Birth%20Place%20of%20Texas%20Ride/494e1c6af8dce284c44558554bd89edb_25.jpg

... That isn't camping that is akin to surviving a natural disaster in my book.

Winner.

I hike and camp, ride and camp, and just camp. The absolute most miserable camping experience I ever had was in a field full of cow patties and a couple thousand Boy Scouts and leaders at a Camp-oree in the Bay area. This gathering sounds like it has the potential to rival that. Done right, it can be a great time. If I were coasting, I'd seriously consider the room.

i'm motivated now! If 10 wheels can do it, so can i! (10 wheels is the biggest softy on BF)

It's a 106 mile ride on saturday morning and i'll camp the night before and through to sunday for the festival. after a century i like my comforts and a nice meal rather than digging a hole and wiping my ass with baby wipes.

10 wheels is the biggest softy on BF

I agree

hey 10 wheels

That's a nice jersey. You a hippie or something?

hey 10 wheels

That's a nice jersey. You a hippie or something?

California Jersey.. I am a flower child.

I like it ...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2576/3829089765_bd63560808_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4704039927_7ba1e880db_b.jpg

greetings
macfred

I've seen a few pics of tents in this thread and they look simple enough. how long does it take to put one up typically? and do they have a floor?

Drop Cloth:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/Birth%20Place%20of%20Texas%20Ride/BirthPlaceofTexasRideApril2010008.jpg

Tent:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/Birth%20Place%20of%20Texas%20Ride/BirthPlaceofTexasRideApril2010010.jpg

With Rain Cover on:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/Birth%20Place%20of%20Texas%20Ride/BirthPlaceofTexasRideApril2010031.jpg

2 poles, 4 pegs. 10 minutes

Winner.

I hike and camp, ride and camp, and just camp. The absolute most miserable camping experience I ever had was in a field full of cow patties and a couple thousand Boy Scouts and leaders at a Camp-oree in the Bay area. This gathering sounds like it has the potential to rival that. Done right, it can be a great time. If I were coasting, I'd seriously consider the room.

Section hike through bear country on the Appalachian Trail and spend a few sweaty nights holed up in a bear cage with the same stank-ass dozen people you know haven't bathed in a week because you haven't either.