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Do You Camp Or Stay In Motels?

56K views 137 replies 83 participants last post by  Retired Guy 
#1 ·
Maybe I'm "old school" . . . I got my first bike (1970 Triumph TR6R) about the time Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper were doing "Easy Rider" (released 1969).

For those not familiar -- They were riding choppers, smuggling cocaine across the Southern US, Ariz. New Mex. headed for Mardi Gras in Louisiana --

Bed roll on the sissy bar and they camped out. (Yeah, sure they had a crew truck from the studio packing all their gear, but the "road gypsy" is the point here, not reality :D)

I just did 5 days heading to Reno. Camped out on the side of the road, rest areas, campsites. Sleeping on the ground, looking at stars through the mosquito netting on the tent, listening to the coyotes. (In LaPine OR, I actually called them into my camp site.)

McDonald's has WiFi -- also a large commode area in the rest room, secure and ample enough to change clothes. I can wash up at a roadside rest area. I don't shave . . .

My one iPod has an FM radio, (so does the Harley), iTunes, WiFi. It's not like I'm culturally isolated on the road.

Staying in a motel seems like "cheating" somehow.

:71baldboy:
 
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#31 ·
I wish I could do that Mike, but after riding for so many miles I just can't sleep on the ground....I slept on cement once, because I was dead tired, but that was only a couple of hours...:D
 
#32 ·
Don't get me wrong; a nice bed in a clean motel is just fine for me, but you gotta do what ya gotta do. With the wild swings of income with my publishing business, sometimes I barely scrape by and other months I have plenty. With time that ought to even out, and I can have more choices. That said, who the hell ever thought it would be a good idea to put gravel down in tent spaces in state and national parks? lol
 
#35 ·
Yes, I saw that one to Mike......
I have done same u show but also used one side to a fallen tree then over to the bike......how do u deal w/those gawd aful B-52 Mosqito's??
I remember them size of silver dollars around swamp bayheads in the natn'l forrest.....my last 16yrs was in ocala/silversprings......just got to hot.....
 
#36 ·
It's been a long time since I did any tent camping, but the nylon dome tents were so easy to use, I can't imagine not using one for protection from the elements and the critters.
They weigh almost nothing and take up very little space on the bike.
Set up in a minute, come down the same way.
Cost less than $100.
What's not to like? :)
 
#38 ·
Traveling cross country and camping on the side of the road wherever you feel like stopping sounds pretty awesome but I don't think I would ever do something like. I have much to dark of a view of the world. Call me a pessimist but it seems like asking for trouble. Unless maybe traveling with a decent sized group. Now purposely stopping in places that have designated campgrounds would pretty fun.
 
#41 · (Edited)
Being an avid outdoors man and Jeep enthusiast, I usually tent camp with my small 2 man hiker/biker tent:




Folded down and rolled up it's in a tube shape about 18" long and 6" in diameter. It should fit comfortably into a saddle bag.
In the other saddle bag I should be able to fit my sleeping bag and ground pad. I have to buy or build a sissy bar so I can strap on a backpack of clothes and such (depending on trip length), but that won't be too hard.

Here in PA there's a LOT of camp grounds with shower houses or open streams/rivers to wash up or bathe.

Edit to add:
I'm thinking more about hoteling and I guess it would depend on the trip and how many of us there are. I can see if there is 2-4 people (2m, 2f) splitting a hotel so we have showers a soft bed.
 
#44 ·
It would depend for myself. Im fine camping if im just solo. If im in a group of people on a run i would camp or stay in a hotel. It would depend on what they were gonna do. My step father refuses to camp out. His idea of camping includes a 5 star hotel with room service.
 
#48 ·
Definitely camping... but you definitely have to pick and choose your places accordingly. Lots of weird people out there.

I have found that bike people are a lot more friendly and get looked after a bit more than average travelers though. Case in point, parents hit a deer this year, parts all over the road, no one stops to check or help.

Where as, I pull over at night to change my gloves over as it was getting cold, and I had people turning around on the highway asking if I was alright.

Restored my faith in humanity a bit. Just a bit. Bar is set pretty low though.
 
#50 ·
We use the backpacking Toughtripod grill

When we go for trips we take the backpacking Toughtripod. It only weighs 9 pounds and breaks down easily for traveling with our Honda Goldwing. The grate is only 13 inches wide, It is just right for the two of us grilling in camgrounds over a small wood fire. Then later on we have a campfire :)
 
#57 ·
endless camp

Camping is a subject that is important to me. I have been playing with it for 40 years and have tried, the backpack, mtn. bike camping, ski camping, river raft camping, sailboats, it just goes on and on. Now on my bucket list is motorcycle camping. Probably not in keeping with road touring, but more forest roads and mountain lakes. I have found some stuff that might be of interest to some. First is a video about three guys that cruise Mexico on old school scramblers. They each had a single army duffel behind them. It became my quest. Duffel on the back, no ad on boxes or panniers... Here is the link to Cycles South. Kinda like a Warren Miller ski or surf film. A little bawdy.




Then to address the matter of sleeping on hard ground... I am contemplating this handy little tent. It is a tree tent, and of course no use in the flatlands. Here, however it can keep one up and away from bears and wolves and mosquitoes, since they are all at low levels.

http://www.tentsile.com/collections/frontpage

Motels , nah. There ain't any in the woods.
 
#58 ·
Not sure how old this post is, but for those of you looking into lighter/smaller gear and easier on the back, look into hammock camping. I'm still in the process of getting into a class and then a bike. I eventually want to do a Blue Ridge Parkway ride and stay at the campsites there. Of course some places restrict hammocks for whatever reason, but it can be done much lighter than a tent. But for each their own.
 
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