It’s been a while.

Was daydreaming and found myself itemizing, costing and weighing (literally) a list of what it would take to get a bike to bike camping/touring solution. Technology has come a long way since I last bought camping gear (1999/2000).  I’ve got it down to the following list:

• Eating utensils, cookware, stove, equipment
• Sleeping bag
• Sleep pad
• Tent
• Extra water storage (empty) + purification
• Front and rear racks
• Tools for on-the-job repairs and spares
• Clothes for ~2 days
• No food or water included in this list

All up it comes up to around 19 lbs (6 lbs were the two bike racks, 2 lbs for the tools & spares), which actually seems pretty light to me.  If it were for two people, it would actually be ~13 lbs per person, which tells me to either man up or find a buddy.  The cost is a little high, but WAY cheaper than buying goods in Australia - not to mention, some of the stuff isn’t even available for purchase in Australia.  I compared this to the Ride the Divide guys, who opt for lighter bikes in favor of convenience due to the nature of the conditions they’ll experience, and they nut it out to be about 15 lbs - however they usually opt for a single, much lighter rack, and their tent options could hardly be considered luxurious.  For instance, a bivy + space blanket instead of a sleeping bag, sleeping pad and dome tent would make a difference of around 5 lbs right there, but your equipment would be out in the open, and sleeping wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable. Not bad if you’re out in the middle of nowhere, but perhaps not the best option if you’re sharing a campground.

I should probably pick Meaghan’s brain on this one. She would know more about this than I, since I usually go camping in places where your biggest concerns are dehydration, sunburn, venomous creatures and drop bears.  It does also make me think of Janeen’s crossing the country, another person who I’d love to buy a case of beer in exchange for picking her brain.  She opted for a Bob trailer, which is 13 lbs on its own vs the 4 lb racks, but positions the weight down low which would be desirable for handling, and could easily carry more in terms of food, water and other consumables (although in all fairness, so far the way I designed my set up, there are no panniers).  I wonder if she has used the Bob trailer since though, and I suspect it probably doesn’t work too well in off road conditions either, although I could be surprised.