So you have decided you want to go camping on your motorcycle. Congratulations! Motocamping provides freedom for exploration like no other means of transport. Camping on your motorcycle isn’t difficult, but it is a different (and you could say a little more difficult) than car camping and thus need to be approached in a different way.
If you have never been motorcycle camping (or camping at all) then this series will be a good jumping off point for you. If you are a veteran of motocamping, you may not learn anything groundbreaking, but you may learn about how other folks are doing things or offer other insights that might be helpful.
First, let’s start with the w’s of motocamping.
Who
Well, soon it will be you doing this thing! Setting off on an adventure that will stretch your abilities and increase your knowledge of the world and, more importantly, yourself.
What
Camping whilst traveling on your motorcycle. Any motorcycle will do. You don’t need a special bike or special luggage capabilities. If you have a motorcycle already, use that one. Some will go faster than others, some slower. If you can take your time and move forward carefully, your bike can do anything (the right tires help too).
Where
Your typical camp grounds work just fine, but the motorcycle does afford you the benefit of opening up other options that are off the beaten path. I’ll talk more about where in the planning peice.
When
When you are riding a motorcycle (1-up, at least) you can come and go whenever you would like. Time is up to you and your schedule rests on your shoulders. How about now?
Why
Just like riding a motorcycle, motocamping affords us an amount of rugged individualism that most of us don’t get to enjoy in our day-to-day lives. There is something fulfilling about the self-reliance necessary to a motocamping trip. You aren’t alone in the world – not a lone ranger out to win it all, but everything you do on a motocamping trip has a deeper sense of purpose and meaning.
It is not the same as a simple car camping experience: you can’t just run back to the car when there is a problem. Planning always helps the trip go more smoothly, but there are inevitable risks with motorcycle trips and motocamping. Crud hits the fan from time to time, how you deal with it is what is important.
How
That’s why I am writing the rest of these posts. I’ll try and walk through some of the things you might not think about right away and give you a good starting point. No one can motocamp for you, but hopefully this series helps you start.
Moving forward I am going to break it down into a couple posts:
- The Stuff You Need (less than you think)
- Making the Plan and doing it
