First mini tour

[doog]

Hi

First time tourer here.

Have been commuting / road biking daily for several years and the touring idea has slowly grown on me.

Have built up the equipment list. My bike is a Spesh tricross sport,my commuter for the last 2 years. I have upgraded the cassette / chain / chainset etc and had a service.

Equipment in brief :

Vango Tornado tent , 2 person...weighs in a 3.5 kg but has large porch.
Vango ultralite 200 sleeping bag...cold in April but ok now.
Silk liner for said sleeping bag.
Highlander self inflating mat
Altura arran panniers 46 litres
Coleman F1 lite stove
A bottle of red wine

All went well , cycled from Poole to Mere in Wilts via Gillingham (about 40 miles), spent the night at a small camp site in Wilts for £6.50 and travelled back the length (height) of Dorset (North to South)

I was looking at doing Exmoor / South West next week but really could do with some decent maps.

Im an avid reader of crazyguy on a bike and i guess thats my encouragement in life at the moment

 

[dubman]

congrats on your first tour , i completed my first overnighter about a month ago , looking at a longer one in couple of weeks.

Is the porch on your tent big enough to take the bike ? im looking for something bigger as i have to leave mine out at night at min and would rather it came inside.

 

[Muddyfox]

Looks great Doog ... i'l be doing my first (small) tour this summer

Whereabouts in the south west were you thinking of heading for ?

Simon

 

[vernon]

Is the porch on your tent big enough to take the bike ? im looking for something bigger as i have to leave mine out at night at min and would rather it came inside.

Bikes cope quite well with being locked up outside of tents.

A carrier bag slipped over the seat will keep it dry. A well lubed chain will repel rain.

Adding a large porch adds cost, weight and erection time to tents.

 

[doog]

congrats on your first tour , i completed my first overnighter about a month ago , looking at a longer one in couple of weeks.

Is the porch on your tent big enough to take the bike ? im looking for something bigger as i have to leave mine out at night at min and would rather it came inside.

no....the tent cant quite take the bike I went for the big porch to lob everything else in there.

I had issues over the tent, not really the weight but the time to pitch, It has two long poles that are a pain to thread and I guess at some point I will regret it!

I camped in Wiltshire in the middle of nowhere at a very small site, however locked the bike to that bench in the photo

My plan for this week is to try and encompass Exmoor in some way shape or form from Poole.

 

[dubman]

Bikes cope quite well with being locked up outside of tents.

A carrier bag slipped over the seat will keep it dry. A well lubed chain will repel rain.

Adding a large porch adds cost, weight and erection time to tents.

Im aware bikes cope well outside , but i would rather mine inside. Im not concerned with added cost , weight or errection time. This is why i was asking if this particular tent had room for a bike in the porch area.

 

[doog]

This is my plan: tomorrow will head north again up through Dorset to South Wilts. I just love this route.

Spend the night in Wilts and then head west to Exmoor / North Somerset. Another night camping then head south towards Dartmoor....and start home, spend a night on Devon / Dorset border and head home.

Leaves a bit of a slog home and looking at the winds it could be a pain but would like to watch the England game with the family

Weather looks spot on, will just look out camp sites en route.