Bike/car Packing kit/advice

rubertoe
rubertoe Posts: 3,994
edited March 2017 in Tour & expedition
The EPO and myself are lucky that we will get a couple of child free weeks to ourselves this summer and are looking at a 5 day tour of either wales and scotland.

We will have the car to carry kit from point to point and will just cycle loops using the car as a base and camping near to the car (moving about as we see fit).

My question is what sort of things should we be taking. We have camping equipment, but at least one night i'd like to wild camp if possible. Also where should we go and where should we cycle - We will be looking between 50-75 cycling miles a day.

What DO we definitely need and what do we definitely dont need?
"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills

Comments

  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    What you need and someone else needs may be quite different. Can you try a smaller practice before the big event ?

    This may help.

    https://www.pitchup.com/wild-camping/

    Have fun !
  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    Can definitely have a practice - there is a campsite 5 minutes walk from home....
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

    PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
    B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills
  • courtmed
    courtmed Posts: 164
    Sounds great! I've never done it myself, but I live in South Wales & think the Brecon Beacons would be ideal for this sort of thing. Plenty of places to go & visit in all different directions. Some stunning scenery around that area as well. Where better for a night of wild camping than somewhere near Pen Y Fan?

    http://www.breconbeacons.org/camping-gl ... aravanning

    https://coolcamping.com/campsites/uk/wa ... on-beacons
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    are you thinking of wild camping away from the car? So - ride 50 miles from the car one day, camp then come back the next?

    What you'd need depends on how willing you are to rough it ... essentially all you need is some food/drink and a bivvy bag ... although that can be optional ... ;)
    My wife (and I'm with her on this) will demand a bit more comfort away from home - hence we have a campervan - complete with cooker, fridge, separate toilet compartment & hot running water! Somewhat different to camping away in a car ... especially when you can come back to a cold beer after a long ride! :o
  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    Slowbike wrote:
    are you thinking of wild camping away from the car? So - ride 50 miles from the car one day, camp then come back the next?

    What you'd need depends on how willing you are to rough it ... essentially all you need is some food/drink and a bivvy bag ... although that can be optional ... ;)
    My wife (and I'm with her on this) will demand a bit more comfort away from home - hence we have a campervan - complete with cooker, fridge, separate toilet compartment & hot running water! Somewhat different to camping away in a car ... especially when you can come back to a cold beer after a long ride! :o

    I am tempted by this idea very much. But yeah, park car - ride on and camp and then ride back. I guess the level of equipment is very much weather dependent,
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

    PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
    B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    Ok - so basically it's a camping holiday with days out on the bike.

    Usual camping kit then ... but also consider how you're going to recharge devices like your bike computer and (less importantly) your phones ... if you're campsite camping you may be able to get hookup - otherwise you're going to have to see what facilities your car has for 12v feed without the ignition on.
    I'd also ensure you've got facilities for drying your bike kit.

    5 days isnt a long time away - and if you're going to be moving about (new site each night?) then you'll want to make setup and packup as quick and painless as possible.
    Last camp holiday we did was to Provance with an older tent that took quite a while to get setup - no great issue on a 2 week stop - but we had a tesco cheapy "4 man" tent to pop up on our stopover 1/2 way down through France - just had enough room for our deluxe electric inflate mattress - comfy!

    Wales & Scotland - you've got to be prepared for it to be wet - nothing worse than having nowhere you can sit comfortably and dry out ... one of the reasons we went campervan - complete with heating!
  • gethinceri
    gethinceri Posts: 1,665
    Brecon. Good campsites, access to Elan Valley, all the "known" climbs in South Wales.
    Drive North.
    Bala. See above, substitute Snowdonia for Elan Valley.

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