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  Rally Camping For some, a simple bed roll, a good set of leathers and a change of socks is all the camping gear needed for a weekend of partying at the bike rally. Those old school folks are pretty industrious and will scrape together what ever is needed, once they arrive, it’s just how they roll. But, for the not so old school folks or those of you who are thinking about trading in your room key at the Ramada for a new tent and sleeping bag, we’ve put together some helpful camping tips to try and make your camping experience more enjoyable. The two things that must be remembered is that the degree of camping comfort you experience is directly proportional to the amount of crap you can strap on to your scooter and inversely proportional to the amount of important stuff you forgot to pack. And before we got to all the important info, we should give a special thanks to the guy who invented the bungee cord, those things rate right up there with silicon tits on a stripper. I swear, the dude that invented those things had to be a biker. Make a List! Make a list, make a list, make a list. If you’ve never gone bike camping before, I can’t emphasize enough about how important it is to make a list. If you’ve done this before then you know what I mean and you already have a list. But all kidding aside, it’s important to make a list the first few times you prepare for bike camping. You’re not gonna get it right the first time and probably not the second either, so make a list! It’s also a good idea to keep all your camping gear stored in a common place when it ain’t in use. We have a couple of those large plastic storage bins we throw all our gear in and we DO NOT take anything out of them unless it’s getting strapped to the scooter. And as with every list, you’ll have essential things and not so essential things you’ll need or want to pack. You’ll sort it all out as you go along but to help you get started, here are some suggestions:
Rally Information It’s always good to try and collect as much camping information as you can, about the rally. Even some of the most remote rally locations still have hot shower facilities, in the form of a haul in shower trailer, so you might be inclined to pack shampoo and maybe even a blow dryer. If located on a lake or river, you might want to pack your favorite bikini or swim trunks. Most rallies have someone peddling fresh coffee in the morning so you wouldn't need to pack the gas burning and coffee pot. I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. The Weather The weather plays a huge factor in what to pack. Knowing 100% for sure you’ll not be getting dumped on by Mother Nature, frees up a shit pot load of space, on your scoot, for more luxury items. Knowing you got a pretty good chance of getting wet might prompt you to save room for the rain gear. I’ve made it a practice to start watching the weather a week or so out. Weather.com has a 10 day forecast feature so you can watch the changing weather, as the leave date approaches, and should help you make a more informed packing decision on what to pack in the way of rain gear. I’ve also learned that you can never have too many large trash bags, so I line the bottom of the touring bag with a few, just in case. Inspect Your Stuff To avoid avoidable camping discomforts, I’ve made it a habit to look over all of our camping gear a few days before it’s time to hit the road. There are a million things that can go wrong, from a tent pole that got left behind at the last rally, to discovering you forgot to replace the chair that got broken during the last lap dance you got while sitting around the camp fire. Take all your gear out, put it all together and give it the once over twice. This is a great time to use that list you made as well. Roll Your Clothes Not sure where we learned this, but somewhere along the way someone enlightened us to the space saving trick of rolling your clothes. After you’ve laid all your clothes out, gone through three rounds of eliminating unnecessary items and are sure you have only the absolute bare necessities (don’t forget warm clothes for at night) then roll everything up nice and tight. Once rolled, figure out what is needed at the top of the tour pack and what can be buried at the bottom. Consider layers that might need to be added or discarded, on the ride to the rally, and be sure you have anything you’re going to need to change in to close to the top of the tour pack. We cargo net a bunch of stuff to the top of our tour pack so getting back into it ain’t real easy so we put anything we might need in one of the side compartments of our tour pack. Once you’ve got it all figured out, it’s time to get to packing. Keep Dry Keeping your gear and clothes dry might be the single most important aspect of bike camping. Once your stuff is wet, it’s wet and life just sucks. The only thing worse than you and all your gear being wet is you and your gear being cold and wet. Trash bags and duct tape are a wonderful thing. Always keep enough large trash bags and duct tape on board to cover your bed roll and travel pack. Fresh Batteries Getting up to take a wiz in the middle of the night is the worst time to find out the batteries in your flashlight are dead. I’ve made it a practice to replace the flashlight and air mattress pump batteries before each outing. I’ve also learned the hard way, NOT to leave the batteries in any battery operated devise, while traveling. If it can be turned on, it will get turned on and you’ll arrive at the really with a bunch of useless battery operated devices. Throw all your new batteries in to a zip lock bag and install them once you get to where you’re going. Pack It Up If you’re looking to make a fashion statement, while rolling down the highway, keeping the clean lines of your bike undisturbed, you need to read no further and don’t plan on being too comfortable when you’re camping. Now, if you don’t mind looking like Jed Clampet, moving the family to Beverly, then you’ll be just fine.
I line the left saddle bag (it’s a classic so it’s got the soft bags) with the tarp and use it to protect the air mattress. That and any tennis shoes and flip flops we bring pretty much fills that bag up. The right saddle bag I store the tool bag, air pump, non-essentials and any items I might need to get to that are not packed in the tour pack. I also throw a few extra bungee cords in there, you can never have too many bungee cords. Once the saddle bags are packed, it’s time to strap on the bed rolls and chairs. The pillow goes between the saddle bag and the chair/bed roll, three bungee cords strap them on good and tight, then I do the same to the other side. Drop the tour pack on the backrest and rack, secure it down and call that part done. Last, I use a cargo net to secure the tent and all our leather on top of the tour pack. It took us a few tries to get it all figured out but once we did we just keep repeating it and it’s worked for years so we ain't gonna change it. Setting Up Camp After patiently waiting for months and then riding 500 miles to the rally, all you want to do, when you arrive, is set up camp and get that first cold beer in you. If you’re looking to set up camp right on titty row, then you’re pretty much gonna get what you get so there is not much to consider. However, unless you already have your favorite spot picked out, you might want to consider a few things before making camp selection. The no brainers are jumping on spots with shade and avoiding spots that are in major traffic lanes. The other thing to consider is, if you are at a rally that allows RV’s, you might want to try and avoid camping near them, unless you enjoy the sound of their generator running all night. High, soft and level ground is another biggie to consider. If you’re at a rally that is going to get some rain, those low spots turn in to small ponds. Proximity to the port-o-potties is always important, you don’t wanna be too close but you don’t wanna be too far either. If you see a large area taped off with yellow crime scene tape, you can assume that a large crowd of friends are on the way and it’s gonna be a noisy night at their camp. If that’s what your looking for then pull up right next to the tape and set up camp, If not, you might want to look down the road just a little further.
If you’re looking for privacy, then you’ve probably come to the wrong place as when prime camping spots start becoming scarce people tend to get mighty neighborly. But don’t worry, rumor has it those biker types are pretty friendly folks. If you've got any great camping tips that you'd like to suggest, please send them on over to us so we can get them on here and start sharing with others. Send it to CustomerService @ bikercrap.com |
