Issue 4: Plans Change
Bike Camping Made Easy
September 18, 2019
From the pages of Issue 4: Plans Change
Interested in getting into bike camping but don’t know where to start? Here’s a few faves from Martina Brimmer, the Co-Founder & Head Honcho of Swift Industries.
• Use a combo of Google maps, Gaia Maps, and a gazetteer to build your route and upload it into Ride- withGPS on your smartphone.
• Invest in a good travel battery so you can use your smartphone to navigate, but be sure to print out a set of maps in case you gotta go analog!
• Load up and shakedown! Pack up your bicycle and commute to and from work fully loaded up with all your gear. It’s a rad way to make sure everything fits and feels right.
• Leave at least 25% of your space free for food! Whether you resupply every day or once in a blue moon, you’ll need plenty of space to carry your grub.
• Find the best pace for your body. It’s not a race, unless you want it to be.
• Free your senses: Take in the sights, sounds, and smells of life on the open road. It’s the gift a lifetime to slow down and wander.
• Saddle sores are the very epitome of a PITA. Treat your bum like gold! Refresh with bird baths, let yourself air out at the end of the day, and bring along healing salves or chamois butter to lube up.
• Put three large trash bags in the bottom of your bags. They are large enough to be your makeshift poncho, a dry-ish spot to sit after a downpour, or a pack-liner if the rain gods decide to join you for the ride.
