Dear Dan,

I'll admit that I've never used a hammock for a bike tour, but that's because I prefer riding through deserts. As you guessed, there are few desert trees worthy of holding up a hammock (the larger mesquite and palo verde are well-defended by a tussle of thorny branches, so you'd need a saw as well as a hammock). And the chances of finding not one but two the correct distance apart are mighty slim. Worse, I wouldn't attach a hammock to your bike, for use as a fly - it could very easily bring your bike down on top of you with a gust of wind. (Does the wind come in the night? Yes, particularly when a storm's approaching, or near the rims of canyons, or in mountain passes).

Yours,
Jim Malusa