I’ve been tenting and backpacking since I used to be a child, however I didn’t begin driving bikes till I used to be in faculty. Even then, for fairly a number of years I by no means thought of combining the 2 hobbies. Bikes felt harmful sufficient on their very own.
Attempting to make use of a bike to go tenting felt even riskier, to not point out complicated, including new logistical snafus and stresses to people who already come from a tenting journey.
It wasn’t till a visit to Guatemala in 2021 that I first started motorbike tenting. I rented a Honda XR250 Twister, spent a month touring the nation, and fell in love with residing off of two wheels. Within the years since, I’ve ridden and camped on over a dozen bikes in areas from the Andes to the Himalaya, South Pacific, and Balkans.
On this article, I’ll share why I fell in love with the apply, with 4 causes you would possibly wish to contemplate motorbike tenting (and one purpose you may not).
1. You’ll Save Cash and Be Extra Eco-Pleasant
Motorbikes current quite a few benefits each in your pockets and your carbon footprint. Small-to-medium displacement motorbikes are sometimes a mere $5,000 new. Older or smaller bikes can simply be discovered for much much less. I’ve bought motorbikes for as little as $900 in some nations.
Bikes aren’t simply higher in your pockets on the entrance finish, although. A small motorbike’s fuel mileage is infinitely higher than even probably the most fuel-efficient automotive. You’ll save TONS on fuel. This varies primarily based on the bike, however for instance, with the Royal Enfield Himalayan—a motorbike I’ve ridden in India, Ecuador, and the US—you’ll be able to stand up to 70 or 80 mpg, if not increased.
NOTE: Motorbikes emit far much less CO2 than automobiles, however do emit extra smog-forming pollution like hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. Nevertheless, whenever you additionally account for the uncooked supplies and power used within the manufacturing of a motorcycle vs. a automotive, there’s a clear winner within the eco-friendly contest.
2. You’re Compelled to Pack Smaller, Lighter, and Smarter
Motorbike tenting encourages an uber-minimalist method as a result of house is at a premium. You possibly can solely carry what you’ll be able to match behind you. In contrast to in a automotive, the place you’ll be able to throw in oodles of random gear and provides and choose what you need whenever you get to the campsite or trailhead, on a bike you need to make all these selections earlier than you permit residence.
I used to assume this was a ache within the butt, however the extra I’ve camped off of a motorbike, the extra I’ve appreciated the way it forces me to take heed to what, and the way, I pack.
It is an effective way to combat the consumerism so rampant within the outside business today, to be taught what you actually want and what you are able to do with out, and what items of substances and attire are so light-weight and versatile that they’re value bringing. Years of journeys on motorbikes have helped me pare my gear closet right down to the naked necessities, so once I do attain the wilderness, I’m not surrounded by half of REI’s catalog and may truly concentrate on the character round me.
3. You’re Extra in Contact with the World Round You
One other seemingly irritating characteristic of motorbike tenting is that you just’re all the time on the mercy of the weather. Wind, rain, snow, sweltering warmth and freezing chilly… None of this actually issues whenever you’re touring by automotive. You possibly can merely roll up these home windows and placed on Spotify to dam all of it out.
You’re out of luck on a bike. I’ve spent many hours caught beneath freeway overpasses as rain poured down or prematurely stopped to arrange camp for the night time amid snowstorms and excessive winds.
This may increasingly seem to be a curse, nevertheless it’s actually a blessing. In spite of everything, tenting is about getting out in nature, outdoors of our little bubbles at residence and work, and experiencing the pure world round us. Bikes pressure us to be on the market. When issues go south on a bike journey, there isn’t a escaping to the A/C, radio, and plush reclined seats of your automotive. It’s a must to pivot and profit from it.
4. The Journey Begins the Second You Depart Residence
Whenever you drive a automotive to a campsite or trailhead, your journey doesn’t begin till you arrive and park your automotive. Whenever you use a bike, your journey begins the second you swing your leg over the bike and depart your storage.
In a automotive, the journey to go tenting is simply anticipation. You’re sitting behind your glass home windows, sipping espresso, listening to podcasts, and attempting not to go to sleep because the world drones by outdoors. On a bike, the journey is a part of the journey.
One Cause You Shouldn’t: Bikes are Harmful
The largest purpose most individuals won’t ever be taught to journey a bike—a lot much less take one tenting—is that they’re harmful. In keeping with the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA), motorcyclists are 28 occasions extra seemingly than passenger automotive occupants to die in a motorcar visitors crash, and 4 occasions extra more likely to be injured.
There isn’t a method round this. Among the danger will be mitigated by defensive driving, common abilities apply, carrying high-quality gear, and never driving underneath the affect of medicine or alcohol. Nonetheless, you’re taking a danger anytime you get on a motorcycle, even for those who’re an ideal driver.
If it’s not for you, it’s not for you.
However as outside fanatics, we take dangers on a regular basis in return for rewards. In the event you give motorbike tenting a shot, you could discover that the rewards are greater than you anticipated.
