Best Place to Start
This post is in: Motorcycle Camping
Event Date: 1/1/1970
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I have been musing about where to start this blog. With gear and gadgets? Fun adventures? Or deep woods nightmares? Recent trips? Or a waltz down memory lane? Motorcycle camping, as an activity is definitely not something to jump right into the middle of; if you are wise you don’t head out for a month-long cross-country moto-camping odyssey on the spur of the moment. So I have been musing and ruminating about the best place to start sharing my thoughts on motorcycle camping.
Funny thing about musing, that solitary process of thought, it is both at the core of motorcycling and camping and yet diametrically opposed to it. On the one hand riding is by its very nature a singular activity. Even with a passenger aboard you are up front riding by yourself. True, you feel your passenger’s presence; you might even communicate to some greater or lesser degree, still in the final analysis you are alone with your thoughts at the wheel. Camping is also that way, especially when in conjunction with a motorcycle. To camp one sets out to bring the needs of shelter and substance into the wilds of the natural world, even if that is found at the KOA. A camper worth their salt comes prepared to function self-reliantly, whether they pitch their place in an isolated primitive site or next to an uber-RV packed with kids, satellite TV and enough stuff to furnish a mansion.
Singular as these pastimes can be, they both lend themselves readily to sharing. This is as plain to see as motorcycle rallies and KOA campgrounds. Folks love to share things they are passionate about; and you don’t ride a motorcycle or camp because you have a lackluster interest in either, let alone combining the two. At rallies you can meet so many interesting new friends with whom you share a common passion. This is also true at campgrounds. Just as bikers like to kick tires and bench race, campers like to share the fireside and tell tall tales or share information and observations about life and the camping arts. Contrast the two, consider how many friends you’ll make at car dealerships, gas stations or motels, there is just no comparison. The world of automobiles and road-trip motels are just not modes of journey and repose that are conducive to inspiring camaraderie or creating enduring memories.
My musing did bring back all sorts of camping and riding memories. Some memories going way back to my childhood as a city kid bound for summer camp; others nostalgic recollections of adventures in the wind and woods. As I have scrolled through my memories I have unearthed layers of gear, methods and approaches to the basic components of motorcycle camping. There are a few clearly important functional areas to consider when one chooses to become a motorcycle camper: shelter, sleeping, cooking, bathing and packing the gear safely on your bike. Add to those a good amount of advanced planning and a measure of both flexibility and resourcefulness, and then top it off with an open spirit. Put it all together and you have a recipe for adventure.
Well that is a start, as time goes on I will share reflections and observations along with tips and recipes. I hope you will join me for the adventure!
