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Hello from Denton

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Dec 4, 2018
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Location
Denton
Getting back into riding after about 8 years without a bike.

I picked up a BMW 750 GS and have put about 1200 miles on it tooling around North Texas up to the Red River and across 455.

Looking to get into motorcycle camping, and perhaps picking up a small DS to work on off road skills as well.
 
Welcome to TWT and back to riding! :wave:

If you want some excellent DS training, Bill Dragoo runs a school in Oklahoma that is highly regarded by many TWT riders.

https://billdragoo.com/
 
Welcome! I'm new here too. Lots of riding opportunities for rides.

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Welcome, we do a lot of camping and riding. Watch the threads, we have one coming next weekend at the adv show in lewisville. Come on out and meet some of the folks and camp.


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Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

Bill Dragoo's class in Oklahoma looks excellent, I'm very likely to sign up for it.

I'm 100% certain to show up for the ADV Show in Lewisville, not sure I can do the overnight camping gig, as I only have the 'motorcycle' side of motorcycle camping purchased, but it's great timing for the show.
 
Don't let them convince you to bolt all that unnecessary crap on your bike. A bike and a duffle bag(roll top dry bags are great) with a couple ROK straps to carry your gear will take you anywhere in this country. I started that way, went through having hard bags for a few years, and am back to the duffle bag to carry stuff. When all the bolts shear off in your racks many miles from nowhere you learn to pack light and be flexible.
 
Don't let them convince you to bolt all that unnecessary crap on your bike. A bike and a duffle bag(roll top dry bags are great) with a couple ROK straps to carry your gear will take you anywhere in this country. I started that way, went through having hard bags for a few years, and am back to the duffle bag to carry stuff. When all the bolts shear off in your racks many miles from nowhere you learn to pack light and be flexible.

Thanks for the tip. Although I went with the vario-case hard bags, but was thinking of going with a soft-roll bag rather than a top case.

The real issue for next weekend is I have zero camping gear. I got rid of 15 year old 'stuff' when I moved to Denton a decade ago. So am pretty much starting from ground zero. I'm going to use the expo/presentations/BTDT crowd to figure out what makes sense.
 
I'm pretty much in the same spot and hoping to learn some from this show as well.

MisterK is the local expert, it seems. He is a fan of the hammock versus tent, I believe. It seems like a decent expense to get into either. I'm not sure which one would work best for me.

I was just looking at large, waterproof, duffel-style, dry bags a moment ago.
 
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There are a couple of camping threads I started years ago, that give a lot of suggestions on what to carry, and what NOT to carry.

One is MC Camping on the Cheap: http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88016&highlight=primer

The other is the Moto Camping Primer: http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99365&highlight=primer

A couple of basic tips about moto camping:
1) Don't stress too much about weight. Modern bikes will carry a lot. But size matters; you'll run out of space long before your load starts getting heavy. Basically, backpacking stuff works great with motorcycles.
2) How much you take with you is dependent on (a) the level of comfort you want to bring with you, and (b) how much you do in camp. If you don't cook at all, that'll cut quite a bit out. I moto-camp with about 50 lbs of gear. But that includes all my clothing, cooking gear, a full sized camp chair, and 2-3 days of food.
 
I'm pretty much in the same spot and hoping to learn some from this show as well.

MisterK is the local expert, it seems. He is a fan of the hammock versus tent, I believe. It seems like a decent expense to get into either. I'm not sure which one would work best for me.

I was just looking at large, waterproof, duffel-style, dry bags a moment ago.
all the above is great advice. Camping is different for everyone, then add the motorycle element and there are 1000s of variations.

Most people might camp 3-5 nights a year out in the great outdoors. It will be a very slow trial and error to find out what they enjoy and dont. I spend about 50-60 nights a year camping off my motorcycle. Many times just a Friday night northwest of Ft. Worth at different locations. Here is my camping progresion:

1. boy scouts till I was 18 years old, camping every month from the time I could join till they kicked me out at the old age of 18.

2. camping from a truck when family was young.

3. tent camping on motorycle, I literally looked like the beverly hillbillies. I have probably had 20 different sleeping pads. It would take me a week to pack for a trip. I went through about 3 different tents till I settled on one I enjoyed.

4. Started hammock camping about 20 years ago. Used a sleeping pad inside hammock for many years, kept sliding off the pad and arms would get cold. I also used a sleeping bag, very frustrating to get in and move around. Super frustrating during the middle of night pee pee time. I almost gave up hammock camping when it got cooler than 60 dgrees.

5. Discovered top quilts, new types of hammock suspension, still used sleeping pad. Would set up camp and go to town to eat or eat before I got to camp. I was also introduced to the Solo Stove. I chopped wood at camp. I have used many different tarps and combinations. Started taking tent poles to set up tarp. Sometimes I use them sometimes I dont.

6. Discovered bottom quilts for hammocks, moved to freeze dried Mountain House meals to eat at camp. Discovered packaged wood at walmart or Ace for about $6 per bag. I grab a bag when I go camping for the Solo Stove.

7. This year a nifty hammock stand became available, changed everything. Now I like to cook at camp, relax in my hammock while I eat...and cook food. I also enjoy watching movies at camp, especially during non daylight savings time when it gets dark early. I really enjoy this with a nice campfire in my Solo Stove. A fire is campers TV.

8. Now I have been introduced to Dutchware gear. I have learned about "zing it", amsteel and dynameen line. Different ways to gear your tarp while saving space and weight. I can also have my stuff and bike packed in 10 minutes for a one night or week long trip.

There is a huge leap from #3 to #8. I don't thing I could have ever gotten to #8 with out #2-7. A person has to go through each step to discover what they enjoy and what they don't about camping. It is one thing to motorcycle camp, it is another thing to do it comfortable and be able to travel long distances.


I recommend not changing anything for several camping trips. There are a lot of people that cannot get comfortable in a hammock, there is a learning curve. If you want to try it.....grab a $30 eno hammock and try it out. You may want to splurge for the bug net :) I have seen plenty of my friends invest $500 in hammock gear to only use once!

Here is a tip to justify to your wife when spending $ on camping gear. " A hotel for one night would cost me $100, so this $80 sleeping bag is actually saving me money because I will use it more than once:" Just imagine if you kicked that out to 5 nights! There is $500!


So the bottom line is grab a tent at walmart for $30, a sleeping bag for $50 a mountain house meal for $8 and go camp. Don't forget to take water and a flashlight....well now your phone is a flashlight so scratch that!
 
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I try and do one huge camping trip a year, looking to hit cloud Croft then up into Colorado on my bike. Gonna try and do this sometime the end of May 2019. I’ve found the more I camp the less I bring.


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This is some gold, right here. Thanks for taking the time to type it up.

My tent camping is limited to lots of hunting trips when growing up and then again in my mid 30's when my daughter was younger. It's been a long while since I slept in a tent at this point.

Have camping mattresses gotten better over there years? I used to use (and still have) some of those early Thermarests in the garage.

I need to find somewhere I can lay in a hammock and see if I can imagine sleeping in it.

all the above is great advice. Camping is different for everyone, then add the motorycle element and there are 1000s of variations.

Most people might camp 3-5 nights a year out in the great outdoors. It will be a very slow trial and error to find out what they enjoy and dont. I spend about 50-60 nights a year camping off my motorcycle. Many times just a Friday night northwest of Ft. Worth at different locations. Here is my camping progression:

1. boy scouts till I was 18 years old, camping every month from the time I could join till they kicked me out at the old age of 18.

2. camping from a truck when family was young.

3. tent camping on motorycle, I literally looked like the beverly hillbillies. I have probably had 20 different sleeping pads. It would take me a week to pack for a trip. I went through about 3 different tents till I settled on one I enjoyed.

4. Started hammock camping about 20 years ago. Used a sleeping pad inside hammock for many years, kept sliding off the pad and arms would get cold. I also used a sleeping bag, very frustrating to get in and move around. Super frustrating during the middle of night pee pee time. I almost gave up hammock camping when it got cooler than 60 dgrees.

5. Discovered top quilts, new types of hammock suspension, still used sleeping pad. Would set up camp and go to town to eat or eat before I got to camp. I was also introduced to the Solo Stove. I chopped wood at camp. I have used many different tarps and combinations. Started taking tent poles to set up tarp. Sometimes I use them sometimes I dont.

6. Discovered bottom quilts for hammocks, moved to freeze dried Mountain House meals to eat at camp. Discovered packaged wood at walmart or Ace for about $6 per bag. I grab a bag when I go camping for the Solo Stove.

7. This year a nifty hammock stand became available, changed everything. Now I like to cook at camp, relax in my hammock while I eat...and cook food. I also enjoy watching movies at camp, especially during non daylight savings time when it gets dark early. I really enjoy this with a nice campfire in my Solo Stove. A fire is campers TV.

8. Now I have been introduced to Dutchware gear. I have learned about "zing it", amsteel and dynameen line. Different ways to gear your tarp while saving space and weight. I can also have my stuff and bike packed in 10 minutes for a one night or week long trip.

There is a huge leap from #3 to #8. I don't thing I could have ever gotten to #8 with out #2-7. A person has to go through each step to discover what they enjoy and what they don't about camping. It is one thing to motorcycle camp, it is another thing to do it comfortable and be able to travel long distances.


I recommend not changing anything for several camping trips. There are a lot of people that cannot get comfortable in a hammock, there is a learning curve. If you want to try it.....grab a $30 eno hammock and try it out. You may want to splurge for the bug net :) I have seen plenty of my friends invest $500 in hammock gear to only use once!

Here is a tip to justify to your wife when spending $ on camping gear. " A hotel for one night would cost me $100, so this $80 sleeping bag is actually saving me money because I will use it more than once:" Just imagine if you kicked that out to 5 nights! There is $500!


So the bottom line is grab a tent at walmart for $30, a sleeping bag for $50 a mountain house meal for $8 and go camp. Don't forget to take water and a flashlight....well now your phone is a flashlight so scratch that!
 
I use the Big Anges Q core for sleeping pad. It’s inflatable insulated. And roll s up super small, fits in my panner.


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This is some gold, right here. Thanks for taking the time to type it up.



My tent camping is limited to lots of hunting trips when growing up and then again in my mid 30's when my daughter was younger. It's been a long while since I slept in a tent at this point.



Have camping mattresses gotten better over there years? I used to use (and still have) some of those early Thermarests in the garage.



I need to find somewhere I can lay in a hammock and see if I can imagine sleeping in it.



Pads have not changed much, some will be insulated.

You can’t “imagine” sleeping in a hammock. You just have to try it. You will either love it or hate it. All hammocks are comfortable for the first two hours.


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I use the Big Anges Q core for sleeping pad. It’s inflatable insulated. And roll s up super small, fits in my panner.


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That is probably one of the best pads!


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Welcome!

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Welcome to TWT. We do some camping around here when it is doable. Maybe we will run across you down the road at a gathering. KP
 
I forgot. Welcome to TWT. There are lots of folks with lots of different schedules on here and I’m yet to have a bad ride with any of them. The meet and eats and slackers rides are fun. I keep missing the pie runs but I bet they are great, maybe I can actually make some next year. If you get down to central Texas give me a holler and I will be glad to join you for a while.


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Says the man with the rv and 5 bikes in 6 months lol [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Went and blew some dough at REI today. Ready to give it a whirl.

I think my Border Collies are more ready than I am.

47575953-206488623570137-2148547507104251904-n.jpg
 
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