KLW2

Wore surgical scrub bottoms in camp last weekend...very comfortable...wore them on the road and really nice. Was suprised how cool they were in the sun. They were a light OD green color. Wonder if they still make Zubas..hmmm

Nadash

Can't find any non-cotton underwear and I don't feel like wearing tights. How do you guys feel about wearing speedos while touring?

stokell

Tilley make a great polyester underwear that feels and looks like cotton, is bacteria resistant , wicks and dries overnight.

KLW2

So does Target..I think the boxer briefs are 7.99 or 9.99. I picked up some and they work great..

Nadash

I'm in Singapore, so I don't think those two are available. =(

wheel

for a bear bag, I use a cheap thin bag with strings so I can use it as a backpack. I then take a log attached to a rope and throw like a javelin. Works every almost everytime. I some times will have no trees at all I put all my food under my tent and practiced the piss method.

In 74 days nothing ever touched my food. I wonder about hunting style. Say if I am there only for 8 hours will my chances of seeing a bear increase I think this plays into it also. In that time I had several occasions were I camped for days I know they were out there just never bothered me. One time I left my chicken out for them and it was gone in an hour.
I had animals come up to my tent, I just shooed them away. Another trick is I put my food under my trailer and covered it. I would come back from two days of hiking and it was still there.

Not to say you or I will have the same adventure. I rarely ate at my sleeping site if I was hungry I would go for a walk and have a picnic.

Use a stream to keep your item cool.
Buy milk the previous day and drink it after it cools overnight.
Most refigerated items can go days with out power.
Peanut butter and flour tortillas.
Apircots
Look for water bieng more expensive than pop. Simply buy pop drink and refill with water.
Use pop bottles to steep oatmeal plus water to rinse throw away after done.
Buy half gallon milk jugs Chop of the top but leave the one side not cut make a handle with a bowl throw away.


buy tupperware from dollar stores
Camp soap no hot water needed. biodegradable
Raw diet no camp stove of fuel needed. Microwave at nearest city.


I like 40 upfront and 60 back. Especially where on the road the front can slide on you.
Also if I have a flat tire I might take the load off.
Buy a shearer valve adapter so you can use the gas station air. .
Take a picture of a map so you can view it latter you can even zoom in

Buy a trailer so you don't get stuck buying expensive food.
I cycled for 5 days till my first food store. Ate like a king the whole time. I then spent another 5 in the forest after replenishing some items.

Ship it back home through greyhound about a buck per pound. Should have a BOB box also.
Better yet Set up care packages for you then find buddy to drop them in the mail. Pick them up at the US post office via general delivery. I thin everyone could use a tube tire box. You could even send a duffel back or suit case for your bike. I met a person on tour who would get food sent to him.

Search forums or boards and or meet up with people along your tour.

Look for visitor centers or ranger stations prune at will. All of the ones I went to could list sources of water for a hundred miles. Some were described as a church spicket with clean water.

I stopped at a ranger station in Silverthrone CO which are everywhere CO, for the usual restroom, cool water, and a place to sleep in their nice forest or wilderness. Come out and changed my route to ride on the bike path after she suggested a ride to Vail. Best 400 miles I could have ever imagined.

Bring water tablets to filter
A whistle light weight and powerful

Most libraries have gazetteers (maps) where all the free camping is. To be honest I never carried a map I just took pictures of the map and used bikely to plan as I went.

tourdottk

Each month we publish a tip of the month and this comes straight from our site:
So, sorry if it is way too long and repeating other tips already posted, but I don't believe in re-inventing the wheel if you know what I mean

A lot of the tips are leaning more towards the long-term tourer

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Bear-proofing
Camping in a spot with no food cache? Then, here's a tip, besides the tedious hanging your food bags between two trees solution:

If a rubbish bin is in close vicinity, then open up the back (you'll need two hands for this operation) and underneath where the rubbish bags hang is enough space to store your food overnight without it getting contaminated by the rubbish that comes in from the front.

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A FlatOut Tupperware Treat
The Tupperware FlatOut™ 3-Cup Container has come in so handy during our travels, that we thought we had better share the secret with everyone. They are expandable airtight containers that flatten to a disc for easy lightweight transport when not in use. There are different sizes but we found the 3-cup (700ml) variety to be the best for us. Being expandable, also means it has three different sizes for storing the left over rice dinner or salad that can be enjoyed the next day while on the road.

Just take a look at the storage section on the Tupperware site for more details.

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Best travel value valve...
There are lots of debates about which valve type is better and we don't really want to enter into that debate, but as far as travelling in out of the way places and in not so westernised countries, it is better to take the common car valve tube (Schrader) along for the ride.
There are a couple of reasons why we recommend this:
1. You can purchase these tubes nearly everywhere in the world. Biggest bonus!
2. You can pump them up with air everywhere at petrol stations, tyre establishments, bike and motorcycle repair shops. This valve is truly universal!
3. Once you have the car valve fitted, then the hole in your rim will accomodate all other tube types, whereas the French valve (or Presta), for example, won't.

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wet boots!
It's all a bit of a common sense thing really, but seeing as we had to use this antidote yet again, after the skies opened up on us in Malaysia, we thought we'd share it with you too:

Basically, if your shoes are wet, stuff them full, (and I do mean to the brim), with tightly screwed up balls of newspaper. The paper absorbs the moisture quite quickly, so be sure to check them after a few hours and see if you need to replace the wet with fresh paper. Furthermore, if they are not completely dry the next day and you have to wear them, then line them with a few pages of neatly folded newspaper. Much better than wet socks, I can tell you and helps dry them out as well.

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pillow equipment stabiliser
It was always a toss up whether we would take a pillow along or not on this trip. Comfort won out and amazingly enough, the super small and lightweight Yeti pillow gives just that little bit of angled support that it really does makes all the difference to your night's sleep.

And, as time went on we found a dual role for this little creature comfort...
After trying all sorts of foam padding, which works well, but does take up a lot of space, I now pack my camera in the pillow, which fits perfectly double folded around the equipment, in my handlebar bag.

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recycled reflectors
Anyone who has travelled in Asia will have seen this numerous times before:

Old cd's used as bicycle reflectors. I only use one on the back of my Ortlieb dumpsack which I think is enough, but I've seen wheel spokes completely filled with discs. Another popular spot is to attach one behind the usual back red reflector for added visibility.

I made a custom ripzip (velcrose) strap so I can attach it to my ocky straps or anywhere else on my luggage.

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Thermarest chair: not just a campers best friend!
Time to giveTherm-a-rest a plug. Not only have we experienced some of the most curtious and quick remedy service but their Lite Chair kit has become a faithful friend even away from the campsite. For long term camping phanatics, they are a must and the dilema of "which position to sit in next" is solved immediately. The chair, being filled with your thermarest matress is also insulated and will provide a warm comfortable seat in the most uncomfortable of places.

Outside the camping field, we have used them in hotel rooms without chairs or with chairs that we didn't dare put our bums on. But it truly outdid itself when I recently had back problems: it supplied me with a very supportive, back-relaxing seat.

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multi purpose shower cap
And you always thought that a shower cap was nothing more than to keep grandma's hair dry
while she was under the shower. Well you are wrong...
Of course, grandma still uses hers, but cyclists can make use of them too.

Perfect for keeping your seat dry while you're not sitting on it.
For extra waterproof on your handlebar bag and even your day bag in a downpour.
Available world wide for almost nothing in an amazing assortment of colours.

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Take your spares to India!
Although we only travelled in the north of India, we imagine that finding specific parts is difficult all over the subcontinent, even though there is a bike shop to be found in the smallest of villages. Any of the bike bazaars in the bigger towns had only kit bikes and everything was of a pretty poor quality or completely different sizing to our mountain bikes. No car tyre valves or French valves on their tubes either, so, if that's your fancy then bring them with you. There is a chain of Firefox Bike Stations throughout India, stocking Trek bikes and associated parts so this could be an option in the future.

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Smelly Tevas?
Tevas are renowned for stinking. So if this happens to you, soak them overnight in a bucket of reasonably concentrated Dettol solution. Can't hurt to give them a bit of a scrub in the stuff as well.

Should stay pretty fresh for at least a month.

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when the ergon-grips wear out...
I think most people that use ergon grips or similar brands have felt the benefits while touring. We both have fitted the GP-1 series on our bikes. After a little more than a year of cycling however, they were wearing pretty thin on the top side and although the manufacturers will surely dissuade you from doing this, we decided to turn them over and see if the grips had the same supportive effect on the reverse side.

Turns out they worked perfectly, however they did take a few days.to wear-in, but then again, so would a completely new set. We cycled happily with them up until last month, when we both decided it was definitely time to replace our well weathered grips. That was an extra years worth of riding and all in all we cycled with them for a total of 26 months.

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the everyday cotton tea-towel for multiple uses
Okay, you are thinking, what do you need a tea-towel for with all that microfibre out there these days?
Well actually, some things are just good the old fashioned way and our cotton tea-towel, a seasoned 6 years old when we left, has remained strong throughout its further 2 year bashing on the road.

So, we use it roadside as a picnic cloth, for making sandwiches on or just plain sitting on. It hangs almost permanently from a bungi cord on the back of my bike so it's always accessible and this is how it usually dries as well. Also, when preparing pasta or rice, we cook it halfway through and then wrap the saucepan in the towel for the other half of the cooking (soaking) process and while we get the sauce ready. It keeps the pot piping hot. And then at the end of the day, it works well for drying your dishes as well.


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tourdottk

Inner tube bike stabilisers.
Miriam and Javier told us about this great tip for stabilising your bike in almost any parked situation. Just cut your old inner tube into rubber band like strips and put them around the ends of your handle bar. When resting the bike on a hill. slope or position likely to result in the cycle falling over or rolling away, use the bands to hold your front and/or back brakes in position.

The elastic bands also come in handy for setting your brake blocks in place.

Furthermore, if you cut the strips thin enough, you can use them as normal elastic bands.
They are super strong and don't deteriorate as quickly in the sun and heat like the normal variety do.

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A primus cleaning tip
Trouble with a badly burning fuel stove and you have done everything to try and rectify it? Probably due to a built up residue in the lines and places that you can't really get into to clean. And, no matter how many times you prick the fuel hole, it just keeps on clogging up.
Dismantle the whole stove and immerse everything in Coca Cola (overnight preferably). Before putting back together, wipe clean with a rag and make sure all parts are bone dry. It is probably a good idea, at this stage, to renew your fuel source as well. The problem is often caused by dirty or old petrol. If that's impossible, then filter the fuel through a coffee filter to remove any unwanted bits.

Note: Coffee filters are also quite useful for putting on the end of your water filter's inlet hose in high sediment areas. So, it is handy to carry a few with you and they take up hardly any space in your bags at all.

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Tape and old tube to secure Ortlieb bags.
Just to annoy all Tubus rack owners, a few years ago, Ortlieb decided to change the size of their clips, so they could be used on a variety of bike racks. In order to fit Tubus models, you now need to insert a small black clip into the existing fastener. Problem with this is, they inevitably fall out even when you glue them in, which of course, leads to irritating search parties around campsites and in hotel rooms and corridors. Furthermore, this system does not stabilise the bag at all and they continually fly off on poor condition roads. Nigel, a cycling guru, who we met in Osh and on the road for over five years now, told us about this great idea. Wrap a few layers of old inner tube and secure them in place with gaffa or power tape. He swears his bags have never come off since he made this adjustment.

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Only pristine paper bills
In Central Asia especially, it is important that your American dollar bills and European Euros are in pristine condition. No unusual ink marks, pen scrawlings or even small tears because the banks and exchanges will not accept them. Beware though, as they'll have no problems dishing you out the shabbiest of currency and often on purpose. But of course, it works both ways: you have every right to refuse sub-standard bank notes from anyone and although they'll make a fuss at first, they will change it for you eventually.

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Keeping the Sigg bottle fresh!
There's nothing worse than musty flavoured water and here's two ways to keep your Sigg bottles (or any other bottle for that matter) a little fresher. Sigg does sell "special" tablets to clean their bottles, but at a ridiculous price. They are little more than denture cleaning tablets, which you can usually obtain from either a well stocked supermarket or pharmacy. They are very inexpensive and do the trick just nicely. Fill the bottle almost to the top and pop a tablet in and allow to soak overnight. Empty and rinse a few times with fresh water the next day. You can also use the denture cleaning powder: it does exactly the same job.

Another way to keep your water tasting good is to squeeze just a little bit of fresh lemon juice into your bottle. You don't need much to get the desired taste and it is especially good for those of you who don't like drinking water. Adds a bit of an edge, while keeping the water bottle fresh.

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for those times without a shower
After a sweaty days cycling, there's nothing like a hot shower. Unfortunately, water is not always available nor suitable for cleaning in and this little tip is the next best thing. The commonly known "wet ones" are available all over the world and these days come in the handiest sized packets. The example from a Dia store in Turkey on the left has fifteen sheets, which lasts us between four and five days. They really do make you feel and smell cleaner.

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survival sheet comes in handy in the cold
While huddled inside our tent at minus tempertures and sipping on an air-cooled beer, Simon and Pierre-Yves (the two French guys we joined up with at the end of the month) told about this great tip that is very close to my heart. To protect yourself from the cold: lay a survival sheet on the floor of your tent and if it gets well below zero, then place one over the top of the inner tent as well. They are light to carry and every cyclist should have at least one in their first aid kit anyway. Obviously, they are not indestructable, however replacing them at intervals is not really going to break the budget.

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SilNet - silicon seam sealer (McNett outdoor products. USA)
Every camper/ travelling biker should have a tube of this stuff. Made by the same people that make SeamGrip, we have used it successfully to reinforce stitching and seal leaks in our tent, fix holes in the Ortlieb bags, and even repair a reasonable sized snare in a Goretex rain jacket.

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Ockie Straps (Bungi ropes) of a different type
In England about 12 years ago, we found the ockie straps that we are still using to this day. Also known as bungie cords, they are made with a plastic mould clip which is virtually indestructable. The advantage over the commom stretch cord with wirehooks is that it doesn't bend out of shape, rust or make unwelcome holes in your luggage. We made our own this time round and the separate components can be purchased from Bike4Travel should you want to try them out.

Other uses include:
Winding two together and stretch between posts to make a great washing line that doesn't need pegs. Another bonus is they don't damage trees.
Securing your bikes together and to railings on boats and trains.

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feed the ants don't kill them
Want to be sure that the ants don't raid your tent? Then give them something to eat too. A couple of sugar lumps (or anything sweet really) placed at a distance from the tent will keep the neighbourhood ants occupied for the length of your stay. Glad ziplock bags (the genuine ones not some copy brand!) are also pretty good for keeping pests out of your food supplies and are easy to wash and re-use.

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the only way to carry the loo-paper
An ozzie friend once told me about this and I'm sure that most backpackers already know the secret. At first I thought she was mad and it wouldn't make any difference to the "carrying easablity" by removing the inside carton roll. But there you go, I was wrong and for those of you that have never tried it, it's a great way to carry toilet paper. What's more, it makes a nifty little dispenser at the same time: Take the cardboard roll out of the middle (this can take a bit of work but persevere). Flatten the roll, making sure the middle piece of paper is sticking out and place it in a zip lock glad bag (or similar). This all fits really neatly and in the tiniest of spaces of any bag. Pull the paper from the middle each time and this creates the dispenser. You never need to get it out of the bag which makes for handy usage in the grottiest of loos and anyone who's camped or travelled on a budget will know exactly the benefit of that.

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for storing liquids, use a baby bottle!
If you don't mind clowns and happy faces on your storage bottles a good, very cheap, and 'super-safe for liquids' alternative is a baby bottle. In the past, I've always used Body Shop containers since the ones at camping stores are always so astronomically priced. But after no success finding an outlet in France I resorted to trying the baby bottle and it's really good. You can also cut the teat off and you have a rubber ring for extra sealing, however it works fine without it.

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Nadash

Wow, thanks!

Snake8

I found that finding two trees was far easier than finding a flat spot to pitch a tent, so I started to bring a hammock instead of a tent. There are myriad benefits and only a few drawbacks. Hammocks can be hung on steep slopes, so you can find a ton more suitable campspots w/o those loathsome R/v 'ers and all the other junk at campgrounds. Bring a tarp for the rain, which conveniently provides a place under which to cook/hang out when its raining so you dont have to cook in the tent or get wet while you cook. Once you get used to sleeping in a hammock you might find it is perfect for keeping those hamstrings from tightening up, blood drains out of the legs too. The best hammocks are the fine cotton ones made in Central America which is where I first started using one. Oh and bring a mosquito net if there are bugs where you are camping. You can also buy a ready made camping hammock.

https://hennessyhammock.com/

I've found that with a hammock and a green tarp you can pretty much camp anywhere and no one will see you/bother you, whereas a tent is like a red flag. I love camping on steep hills with great views. And usually your bike will fit under the tarp/hammock too so it stays dry and protected.

Obvious drawbacks: if no trees, no hammock, but in the desert I sleep under the stars anyhow. They are not as good in cold weather. Some people just cant seem to figure out how to sleep in them. My experience is that a good properly sized hammock is key.

On the food thing, I never understood the oatmeal thing, always find myself bloated for an hour ok for an hour then hungry again. Yogurt and granola cereal work well and no need to heat anything. Most yogurt will be fine overnight unrefrigerated unless you are in the tropics.

Dogs: I carried a small squirt bottle filled with hot sauce, nice for meals and a squirt in the eye of a menacing dog will ruin his day. I'll never forget the expression of that black lab in Ontario that chased me about a half mile when I got him in the eye

I second the dry-bag over trash bags. They come now in all sizes and even come with compression straps, much better than trash bags, worth the coin for the things like clothes and sleeping bag that should never be wet at the end of a 100 mile day in the rain.

But really, the hammock changed my camping/touring life more than any other thing i have done.

smirnoff04

Dude thanks for that link! I've been reading about their hammock now for about an hour. For only 140$, plus the fact that right now they are throwing in a second hammock for free, I don't think I can stop myself from buying one. Super cool solution I'd never heard of before.

T-Hussy

Skip the dishes all together! Most all of the single serving oatmeal packets or granola packets are wax or foil lined, you can pour boiling hot or cold fluids in them and eat right out of the bag. This trick saves lots of time and feels good on your hands on cold mornings.

4000Miles

Hello everyone! I have a few suggestions (disclaimer: these are simply things that I've found handy while riding short distances, I haven't actually done a tour yet)

- Save your busted inner tubes! You can cut them into slices to use as rubber bands (they work great as the "parking brake" that was suggested above), cut them into strips to use as bungee cords (if you don't have the hook ends, you can use carabiners or simply tie them in knots), wrap a long piece of one around your drive side chainstay to keep chain grease off, use them as handlebar tape, and they'd probably hold a wound dressing in place reasonably well if you're lacking tape or bandages. For any of these, I'd recommend washing the powdery stuff off of them first.

- If you have a Nalgene bottle (the kind with the graduations marked on the side), you can use it as your "measuring cup". The wide mouth makes it easy to measure dry ingredients as well as wet ones - just remember that 8 oz = 1 cup.

Hope these were helpful!

vja4Him

Wow .... These tips are really great ... !!! It's taken me several days, but I finally finished reading through this long thread on tips. Each time I run across a tip that I like, I add it to my duffle bag of camping equipment, or put in on my list. I have added several film canisters (duck taped wrapped around each one) with stuff (vaseline in one, needle/thread and other small items in another). I also fixed up a roll of toilet paper in a zip-lock baggie, with the center tube removed. I will definitely try the oatmeal with dried fruit and brown sugar in a baggie!! I love oatmeal ... !!! I also have my peanut jar for small tools ready to go!

I'm getting ready for a solo camping trip to a local campgrounds (Caswell Memorial State Park). I'm still trying to figure out how to get past the freeway. Haven't found any roads on Google Map yet. I'm hoping that I can get the map that the bicycle club uses from AAA ....

bokerfest

It took about 3 hours but I got through the whole thread.
And as far as I can remember, not seeing this one yet.
Tip:
Take a couple pairs of latex gloves with you so your hands stay clean when doing repairs and adjustments. Your handlebars will also like you for it.
When you are done with them, take them off inside out and reuse them.

bokerfest

Tip:
If you ever find yourself in position without a pump with a presta end or an adapter find a department store pump and unscrew the valve at the end and insert the presta valve into the end of the hose. I have done this twice and it worked great. I was able to get my tire to the 80 psi of 85 it called for.





ALSO, (stolen from Guggles, off of Bicycle Mechanics forum gave this advice) I have not tried it.
when you get a flat and have no pump, patches or new tubes. you can take your tire off and pack grass or leaves where your tube was then put your tire on and carefully ride to the nearest place to fix your tube. you have to be extra carefull to not damage your rim, but it will get you out of a jam.

I know sounds crazy but desperate times call for desperate measures.

bokerfest

I keep on thinking of more tricks I forget to mention.

Tip:
3M Vet Wrap (it cost around $1-2 a roll)
It is non-adhesive self sticking.
When touring pick it up at any Veterinarian.

Uses:
Extremely cheap handlebar tape (it will adsorb shock well)
First aid it works great as a tourniquet or medical/compression tape (which is what it is meant for on livestock)
It also is a great duct tape alternative.
And once you use it for the first time you will be able to add 20 other uses to this list.

4000Miles

I've actually heard that this is a Really Bad Idea(TM) but can't remember why - perhaps someone can confirm or disprove?

If this is the foamy stuff I'm thinking of, you can also get it at any sporting goods store - just ask for ankle tape.

bokerfest

Yeah I have seen ankle tape that is similar that a friend was using. It was not as full as vet wrap and it was probably more expensive. Also vets usually have it in many different colors.

RalphMalph

Oh man I needed that. Thank you

mechanicalron

Want fenders that will last forever just use your old tires like I did in the photo. snow and ice fall off!

kipibenkipod

Can you post some more closeup pictures. I really want to see how did you mount the tires, and how they hold shape.

Cheers,
Kfir

Cyclebum

Ever wake up with a pool of water in your tent after a heavy downpour when water ran between the ground cloth and the tent floor? Easy fix. Sew a few pieces of velcro to the tent and matching pieces to the ground cloth. Press together to create a tub effect with the ground cloth. Of course, this only works for double walled tents with flys that extend to the ground.

Heavy rain predicted? Worried about misting? Fashion a piece of lightweight tarp as a partial double fly. Anchor with guy lines. Will stop most of the misting.

Hand problems from bars that are too small and hard? Get a stick of pipe insulation from the hard ware store for a buck. Fit to bar and wrap with bar tape. Greatly improves ergonomics and reduces hand stress.

mechanicalron

I used stainles wire and a hole punch on the side walls but you can zip-tye the tire/fender to your stays and rack. When you cut the wire beads on a tire it will open up wider. Than you just slip it in the way you want it. You can have a fender that wraps all the way to the ground if you wanted! ron.

mechanicalron

Ever break a spoke on the drive side of your rear wheel? Buy a handfull of spokes a bit to long for your wheel and put a "Z" bend at the end to hook into the hub flange. You can use the spoke nipple from the broken spoke and you wont need a free wheel tool or need to even take your wheel off the bike! This spoke will out last a reg spoke and it works great.