Motorcycle Camping for the Ladies

[coffee_brake]

Motorcycle Camping is about my favorite thing to do, year round. I think I've got a pretty good setup, but I'd love to hear your tips for the, er, uniquely feminine aspects of "roughing it."

Like:

1) Nevermind a full-size toilet paper roll. Cut a drinking straw in half and wrap as much as you think you'll need (x 2) around that instead. It won't crush and ball up, it stores in a plastic bag easier, and you can use some of the extra to help get your campfire started.

2) Speaking of campfires, the past month's dryer lint (in the plastic baggie with the TP) will be a good fire starter for paper. And the last town you went through almost certainly had lots of free sales papers in that restaurant you just ate at, and they will fit between the seat and your gear. Pack a lighter!

3) Don't pack dish soap. Get the funk off with sand, then use a tad of your shampoo to finish it off. Rinses clean. Air dry or use the campfire or stove to dry that sucker off, you don't want whatever's growing in that pretty stream! I don't even pack soap. I just use the shampoo as soap. Good enough when you're gonna be riding all day anyway...who you tryin' to impress in that tent?!


See, the guys mostly don't worry at all about this sort of thing. What do you gals have?

[Dichotomous]

dont use sand to clean pots and pans, it will scrape too roughly and create micro grooves that are too small to clean well and food and bacteria will grow in there. a small scrubber doesnt weigh THAT much. and for soap, you should try castile soap, check out the outdoors stores for it, ask for the everything soap. you can use it for EVERYTHING, teeth, hair, skin, pots and pans, clothes, pack, bike, and its biodegradable and environmentally friendly. you dont need much either cause its WICKED foaming power. what work even better than bringing toilet paper on a small roll or a half used rool? grab some baby wipes, an amount half a stack of cards will last about a week, and get you nice and clean and you can quickly clean your face too or your hands fast and easy before cooking. and if you dont care about weight (cause you got it on a bike with a motor instead of your back) then bring some more and its happy wiping for you, yay!
took my lady with me this weekend and she had a "uniquely feminine" status, wipes and an extra plastic baggy and she was a happy camper

[coffee_brake]

I'm glad to hear someone tell me about the Castile soap, I had my doubts about it. It doesn't cost that much, I'll try it soon!

I'm still not toting around a wet scrubby growing its own bacteria. Surely heating the pan either to dry it or before using it will kill off the uglies just fine...but you have a point about the scratches. My stuff's all stainless, no aluminum, so it holds up pretty good anyway.

How are folks packing food?

[Dichotomous]

I'm glad to hear someone tell me about the Castile soap, I had my doubts about it. It doesn't cost that much, I'll try it soon!

I'm still not toting around a wet scrubby growing its own bacteria. Surely heating the pan either to dry it or before using it will kill off the uglies just fine...but you have a point about the scratches. My stuff's all stainless, no aluminum, so it holds up pretty good anyway.

How are folks packing food?

scrubbies are much easier to clean and also toss when they get nasty than a nice pot. stainless is nice, but it still scratches. you could bring a few really tiny (like 2x the size of the end of your finger, just for scrubbing the hard spots) scrubbies and never reuse them, usually I just hit the inside with soap and my fingers, let it soak if it needs it

[Shorts]

We're not able to go bike camping yet, but we do carry our own TP. Here in JPN it's pretty necessary to have always have a personal stash. Very common here are the small tissue packets in a plastic wrapper. I keep an individual pack in the inside packet of my riding jacket and it stays there. It's no bigger than my slim fit wallet/card holder so it doesn't take up much room and I'm always covered

[Lion_Lady]

I love to camp, and camping at rallies means you can really enjoy yourself (no need to tee-total so you can get back to your hotel room).

For travelling, I pack a Jetboil stove and coffee, plus some dehydrated meals (those have come a LONG way in flavor, let me tell you), and packets of instant oatmeal for start up food.

It is fun to set up camp, leave the hard cases and gear behind, and then go find a nifty local restaurant for supper. Then we'll maybe buy a bottle of wine and head back to start a fire and relax before turning in.

I've got to have my coffee in the morning, and other than that, like to keep knock down simple.

P

[coffee_brake]

That sounds like the perfect way to spend the evening after a day's riding, Lion Lady!

Nice bottle of red makes the sleeping bag very warm and soft, doesn't it?
And it packs down smaller than a 6-pack and needs no cooler.

Now then...when it rains, and here it rains almost every night all summer...you really have to just make up your mind to have fun no matter what the weather. Switching from leathers to my Aerostich was pricey, but it made rain into a small delay instead of a show-stopper. Wet leathers are awful but in the 'Stich you just set up camp in your riding gear and stay dry. We certainly are in a good time, where the ladies can ride with or without the fellows, and decent camp coffee is a reality, and affordable gear exists that fits us!

[Lion_Lady]

Whoo! Found the keenest little "gadget" to help with rain set up: A Noah's Tarp 12. It packs in the same stuff bag as the tent and covers both tent area and a roomy 'vestibule' space.

Set up Noah first, then I can set up the tent underneath and not have to worry about what is getting wet while I do it.

Here's a pic of our campsite from a rally, with the bigger of our two tents pitched underneath:



It is kinda awkward out in the middle of a meadow, but in a wooded camping area, this works great!

P

[Bluebabe]

Hey, that IS pretty cool! Where did you pick this up at?

[Lion_Lady]

You can walk into REI and pick one up. Cabellas or any other outdoor outfitter should have them in stock where they have tents, as well.

Or visit Campmor.com They're called Noah's Tarps and come in 3 sizes: 9 feet, 12 feet and 16 feet. Don't forget to get the collapsable poles. We've got two, a big one and a short one. Makes for more adaptability. I recommend at least one pole.

Here's everything in the previous picture, loaded on the bikes:


My bike is the white one. The yellow roll bags on each bike have sleeping bag, Thermarest pad, pillow, and sweatshirt. Out clothing was in the sidecases. Hubby carried the folding chairs.

The black roll bag (Helen2Wheels.com) on my bike has the 3 man tent, groundcloth, poles, pegs and Noah's tarp. The bikes were loaded up for the 700 mile trip from Baltimore to Shelbyville, TN.

For a solo trip, I've packed my 2 man tent, chair, and sleeping bag sack all on my bike. Also packed the same (no chair) for a two up weekend with my daughter.

P