Okay - been thinking of this all week and had to give it a try. I have been having a discussion on Hammockforums.net in regards to taking your hammock to ground in the event of no trees. A couple of folks chimed in about setting up a shelter system using their bike as the support sections.

I found out a Surly Long Haul Trucker with Jandd Expedition racks are quite stable when taking off the front wheels. Since the Expedition Rack reaches below the drop outs and flares out somewhat, it is pretty stable when setting up. I probably did not have to add the guidelines to the handlebars, but figured in a high wind, I would want the extra anchor. I only had 8 stakes and realized if I would have had two more to pull out the middle of the sides, the tautness of the tarp would have improved.













https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...e-ground/page4

Nice! How big is the tarp? Looks like there is plenty of room inside for sleeping bag and gear. Clever use of the front wheel!

Pretty slick. I'd not want to have that as my nightly setup, but it shows what hammock/tarp camping involves, adaptive problem solving or simply coping. Usually I carry a long line, and use it as a ridge for the tarp with one end anchored to the ground and the other on anything from a picnic table, fence, whatever. Then my bug netted hammock as a bivy under it. Ive never had to use the bike as an anchor for the line, but have practiced just in case. since I carry a much smaller tarp than that, I usually set it lower on the ends, so the bike seat would be to high.
I love how most of the time when hammocks come up one or two people always trot out the same pictures of Montana or Kansas prairie. My first thought when seeing them is identifying where I would set up without a tent, and how.

Interesting, but I'm not sure it's worth nightly dismantling/disabling a thirty pound bike to save 8 ounces.

BTW: These probably never caught on for the same reason.

That's a good rigging idea, but like others have mentioned, it would be tedious to do often especially once other gear is stowed on the bike. I have considered similar situations. Often one can find one pole or tree, so it is possible to use the bike as the second support for a hammock and tarp. Here's one example:

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...-Hammock-Stand

The tarp is an Equinox Globe Skimmer 11 x 12 tarp. I wanted the extra rain protection for my hammock. In this case, the extra length gives me the opportunity to hide the rear cassette and seat under some weather protection. It st leaves me about 9 foot of space for mt gear and sleeping bag.

What drove me to experiment with this set up is that most fire stations and church yards around here have no trees for a hammock ( no cost option for nightly stays with access to water). I plan at stopping at a few next year on my first two week tour. I am sure I will have the opportunity to hang from my Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock most of the time. Just wanted to have an option should I need to go to ground.

As far as the set up time, I figure I could do this in about 2 or 3 minutes if prompted by an impending rainstorm. On my first attempt, it only took me about 5 minutes.., so I reaally don't think it would be a hassle. I am running disc brakes, so getting the front tire off and on is a breeze.

I have used the bike instead of a pole, while the other side was a tree or picnic table. No disassembly required. There is a correct pitch to a hammock of the type I have, and using a bike as a ridgeline is not it.