A brief ride report: over the break I tried to ride as many different bikes as I could.
One of them is the semi-fat tyred, fully rigid beast I acquired many years ago for a Tour Aotearoa I didn’t do. The bike has been a faithful companion on many jaunts, but last week I loaded it up with some camping gear and went on an overnighter, just to see if I still liked doing that. It has been many decades since last I went bike camping.
It was a sort of test flight for some new camping stuff, methods of attaching it to the bike, and to ascertain whether my much older and less-flexible carcass can be accommodated by a one-person tent and a smallish sleeping mat in reasonable comfort.
I did an experimental lap of the local with the bike fully loaded just to make sure nothing about my setup would turn out to be unrideable. The route I selected took longer than it had several days earlier on my gravel machine. But not much longer, and nothing fell off or proved to be annoying - it all sort of worked.
The test flight was to a place with no creature comforts, a campsite in the middle of Pureora Forest via the stunning Timber Trail. When I say there are no creature comforts I am excluding the very well-appointed Timber Trail Lodge, which overlooks the campsite. There for any emergency but to be ignored for the purposes of my experiment.
I loaded up with enough stuff for a week, because needing that much is the longer term plan.
The bike was surprisingly obliging. It trundles along better than usual with a few extra kilograms on board. Going uphill is admittedly slow, and descending is best done fairly slowly as well, but the big soft tyres take the edge off and provide gobs of traction.
I only had to go forty kilometres, but I didn’t start until late in the day. I didn’t muck around, and even at my postman’s pace I got to camp by six. I was fully encamped within a quarter hour, and had cooked and eaten my surprisingly adequate dehydrated dinner shortly after.
The cup I found in the old camping box was perfect for boiling water in, but has no handle. I was briefly flummoxed once it was boiling hot, but realised my Nzo gloves have faux-leather on the grip side, and I can now announce they are serviceable as heat protection.
After dinner I lay down experimentally in the tiny tent, and woke up several hours later in full daylight. Took a minute to realise it was not yet morning, or even sunset. So the sleeping arrangements worked.
The rest of my night was not the kind of comatose experience I am used to back home, but it was not bad.
It even got cold enough to need the sleeping bag I had carted along.
The morning revealed a low mist, everything covered in a heavy dew, including my tent. Note to self: pick a spot that will be in the sun first thing. I drank my two coffees and ate more rehydrated food, then wandered around while I waited for the sun to clear the small copse I had tucked myself under.
After a pleasant natter with a few other campers, including a guy who was walking Te Araroa but had knocked off for a couple of days and rented a bike to do the Timber trail, I packed up my mostly dry stuff and headed back the way I came.
Second note to self: the Timber Trail is very popular. Most people go north to south. Some of them are beginners, on e-bikes, and are arguably completely out of their depth. Be very aware that at any moment somebody could be coming the other way and might not be absolutely sure which brake is which.
That source of excitement aside, the return journey was sublime, and set the tone for any future camping excursions I might take.
I rode slowly on purpose, cruising along and enjoying the day, the forest, the birds, and the occasional friendly interaction with people I met head-on. Choosing flat pedals and walking shoes for this trip inspired some off-trail exploration to interesting looking trees and down into a couple of small ravines just to see what was there.
The outcome of my experimental outing was a renewed interest in dawdling somewhere nice on a bicycle, with enough baggage to not come home immediately. The principal beauty of bikes, for me anyway, is that there are so many different ways to enjoy them.
By the way: Dobies, Nzo Merino, Nzo Trail Socks, Nzo Gloves FTW! All performed better than I did. But I would say that wouldn’t I?
1 comment
Hey Gaz, Camping at your age, you better get on with it before it’s too late. Always love reading about your adventures. This one brought back memories of my own camping tour through NZ in the quieter days of 1988. Take care young man.
Cheers,
Philippe
(Portland. Oregon)