Tip jar...

Finding a place to pitch camp in the great south west, or the desert in general, can pose a problem if you would rather not be seen by passers by...Heres the solution for you and you ride over them every day without even giving them a thought...Box culverts! They are out of the way, secure and have plenty of shade...Box culverts are very common all over the country but not recommended in this capacity except in the desert setting...The next time you are looking for camp, look for a box culvert...Many are just tall enough to slip your bike into, while others are tall enough to stand in...So, relax, have a hearty meal and a good nights sleep, you're covered...

A sheltered life

Shelter is one of the three basic necessities any human being must have to survive, the other two being food and warmth...Unless you are planning on going from motel room to motel room, you need a tent!

What do you need in a tent, other then not flogging your wallet into submission?

A tent should keep you dry when it rains, be able to stand up to the wind, should keep the creepy crawlies off of you and give you a comfortable place to call home when you take those zero days (days you don't ride anywhere). I have used a number of different tent manufacturers over the years, from Kelty to Sierra Designs and all performed extremely well...

As you wander the endless isles of tents and manufacturers wondering if this tent or that is best for you, lets look at the types of tents you will encounter, as this will help you in the decision making process...There are two classes of tents -- free standing and stake down. The difference between them is a "free standing" tent is just that, a tent that doesn't need to be staked down to erect it. Non free standing tents need to be staked down to stand. Not always an issue, but I like a free standing tent as it can be erected any where, a stake down tent makes where it is erected more selective. If you cannot drive the stake into the ground, then you won't be able to erect the tent...

There are also two types of tents, the single wall and the double wall...The single walled tent is just as the name implies, it has a single water proof wall. The double wall has a removable rain fly...The major problem that is encountered with the single walled type of tent is that it cannot breath adequately. Therefore there is no way for condensation to escape. It will all collect on the wall and as soon as you tap the wall, you get a little rain shower in the tent...No big deal, simply annoying. It also means that you will always be packing up a wet tent on the inside if you don't give it time to air out, this creates the possibility of mold being able to grow, mold will quickly destroy a tent...Also, because a single wall cannot breath adequately, it tends to be very uncomfortable during the day when the sun is out. There really is no reason to use a single walled tent as they are primarily designed for back packing where weight is a constant issue...

A tent retains heat much in the same fashion as your car does. Ultraviolet rays penetrate the glass of your car and are absorbed by the materials inside. A chemical reaction occurs and the material releases inferred that cannot escape the glass and builds up. The tent does the same thing except in this case the material releases the inferred into the tent...A tent will also keep the ambient air temperature 10F to 15F (5.5C to 8C) warmer then the outside air as the nylon has a good R-factor to it (The R-factor is the thermal efficiency of a material)...Always keep your tent out of the sun for prolonged periods of time as ultraviolet rays are harmful to the material your tent is made out of and will cause the material to fade and become prone to ripping...

The last thing to consider is how big of a tent do you want. I personally like a tent I can sprawl out in a bit, so I pack a 2 man tent, but you may also want to consider a single man tent as well. A tent will have a pack size in inches that will tell you how big it is. I carry a Sierra Designs Electron that has a pack size of 24 in. x 6 in. (60cm x 15cm). This tent is far to big to be carried inside the pannier and must be strapped to the top of the rack...This is further complicated by rain, putting up a wet tent for the night is a drag, so you must look into further protection with a dry sack, which is a water proof stuff sack. Depending on if you have a trailer or panniers will dictate whether you need to make this extra weatherizing for the tent. When I used panniers, I carried a Sierra Designs Light Year CD single man tent and loved it! It fit well into my pannier and I could sit up in it...In comparison to the Electron, the Light Years pack size is 19 in. x 5 in. (47.5cm x 12.5cm), which is 5 inches (12.5cm) shorter and 1 inch (2.5cm) smaller in diameter. So, as you can see, it is considerably smaller...

If you are more of the daring type, there is an alternative to a tent and thats a tarp...A fine tarp example is Keltys Noahs Tarp 9. This form of shelter does require poles to erect like a tent, but it's packed size is considerably smaller then that of a tent. The major drawback here is simply you are exposed to insects, snakes and other things...A tarp can also be strung with only a single tree or even a picnic bench...You can string a tarp pretty much anywhere if you are creative...Tarps are not by any means for every one, but they are something to consider as an addition to your tent as well...If you string the tarp and erect your tent at one end, you will have a small porch for your tent...Great for festivals you find along the way!

So, lets say you have found the tent you like, that you can afford and hey, it's even in a color you like! What needs to be done as far as care for your new home away from home? The first thing to look at is a "Foot print." Yes, a foot print...A foot print is a ground cloth that sits between the ground and the floor of the tent. As you move around in your tent, the floor of your tent rubs against the ground, this will damage the floor of your tent. The foot print acts like the sole of your shoe against your foot and takes that punishment instead of the tent floor...It also stops condensation from the ground making your tents floor wet...You can buy the foot print for your tent from the manufacturer and can run as high as $40 or $50...But if you don't have that kind of cash in your gear budget, go to your local hardware store and buy a blue 8x8 tarp and make a foot print! Simply lay the tent on the ground as though you were going to set it up and slide it over the tarp...With a sharp pair off scissors, cut the tarp about 2 inches (5cm) smaller then the edge of the tent being careful not to cut the tent. If you let any of the edges show and it rains, rain can seep between the foot print and the floor of the tent. If the tent floor is not a material that is water proof you will wake up in a puddle, and trust me, that be no fun! The foot print need only cover the areas in the tent that takes the highest wear. And "never" wear shoes inside your tent, that is the surest and fastest way to damage the floor of your new and expensive condominium...

When your tent arrives (if you ordered it online), go through it and make sure it is all there...You will find that you will need to purchase some extra stakes...Your tent will only come with the minimum number of stakes required to erect it. Then erect your tent in the back yard if it's the stake down type or in the living room if it's free standing. When you attach the rain fly to the tent, don't wrench down on the straps as this will place too much tension on the fly, simply snug the straps up to remove excess slack.There are points on the tent you will want to go over with "seam sealer," which is a weatherizing sealant...Along the stitched seams there are little holes and thread through them that can and will wick water through the fly. The seams may have been sealed on the back side of the fly with a weatherizing tape at the factory. To check, simply look at the seam on the inside of the fly and see if there is a sealing tape that runs the seam. If there isn't you need to seal those seams...Also seal the seams on the corners where the join the floor, I have had tents leak like a sieve from there...The layer of sealant doesn't need to be thick and can be done in an afternoon...

When you are done, store the tent in it's stuff sack in a cool, dry and dark place...The poles, on the other hand, should be stored connected and fully extended if possible...What happens is the elastic nylon cord that holds the lengths of the pole together weakens after so long from being stretched out from the poles being folded up for too long...To avoid that, store extended...When you tour, carry a tent repair kit with you as well as an unopened tube of seam sealer...Accidents happen, thats why they are called accidents!

“A home is not a mere transient shelter: its essence lies in the personalities of the people who live in it” Henry Louis Mencken