leaving your kit when camping

[aqaleigh]

Could anyone please tell me what is the best thing do with your panniers and possesions when you are camping i.e. when you go to the shower block or bathroom and also when you are shopping or eating

any ideas will greatly received - I will be travelling for approx 14 days through west france and north / east spain camping where possible in campsites and if needed wild camping

one last thing -aswell as the great info on this site, i have found www.bicycletouringpro.com very informative if this helps anyone

cheers

aqaleigh

 

[Tim Bennet.]

Keep your passport and money with you at all times and don't advertise what else you've got by leaving it lying about.

I zip my tent up and put a useless cable on the bike and that's about it when I go away from my site. Never had a problem in France.

 

[andrew_s]

Take valuables - money, passport, camera etc with you, leave everything else in the tent or in your panniers. A handlebar bag or large-ish bum bag makes this easier.
There isn't much else you can do.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Get your panniers organized so you can just grab the one you need and leave the others...this is what i do:

Front L = Kitchen (all cooking gear etc)
Front R= Bathroom (all washing gear etc)
Rear L= Bedroom (sleep bag/mat etc)
Rear R = House (tent etc)
I put cloths in the two rear ones as well & carry food in the two front ones as required.

Bar bag= valuables etc
(i always carry a spare credit card and some wedge in one of th eothe rpanniers jus tin cast the bar bag gets lifted)

I NEVER go ANYWHERE without the bar bag. I carry it to the showers...everywhere. So when I go to the wash block I just grab the bar bag and the 'bathroom' pannier leaving the rest inside the tent.

The most important thing is to not camp in a place you feel could be a risk in the first place.

 

[vernon]

I leave everything in the tent apart from my Camelback Mule which has all of my valuables in it.

The only time I lost stuff from my tent was at the Le Mans 24hr motor cycle race 10 years ago and the loss was confined to a 1/2 case of beer-far more valuable than any other possession as the bar prices were astronomical compared to supermarket bought booze.

 

[summerdays]

I've never done cycle camping, but I do go camping. So far we have never lost anything. On the whole campers are a trusting lot - they have to be as they are leaving all sorts of kit around. Other campers they kind of keep an eye on your tent as well, usually are nice - if you need to borrow something too. But don't leave anything of value on show, and carry it with you.

 

[xilios]

I agree with all of the above and would like to add, when in campgrounds always try to get to know your neighbours that way you always got someone to watch your stuff and (if they got electricity) even charge your phone

 

[Bodhbh]

Only been up to it the last year, but so far been pegging down the panniers and bike down under a tarp next to the tent (porch in the tent is not huge). Problem I have at the back of my mind with this is a bike + panniers under a tarp looks like a motorbike and perhaps more of interest to someone nicking, I dunno. Bike I just use a cable lock on. Like most peeps say, I keep valubles in a barbag and have that with me.

 

[aqaleigh]

SO FAR GREAT ADVICE - VERY REASSURING - I AM A LOT HAPPIER NOW AND WILL JUST KEEP MY VALUABLES WITH ME IN THE BAR BAG

CHEERS PEOPLE

 

[vernon]

Only been up to it the last year, but so far been pegging down the panniers and bike down under a tarp next to the tent (porch in the tent is not huge). Problem I have at the back of my mind with this is a bike + panniers under a tarp looks like a motorbike and perhaps more of interest to someone nicking, I dunno. Bike I just use a cable lock on. Like most peeps say, I keep valubles in a barbag and have that with me.

If that doesn't attract attention to your valuable - nothing does.

Ditch the tarp - it is one less thing to carry.

Lock the bike to a tree or immovable object. I'm surprised that you can't get your panniers into your tent. I am not a thin bloke by any stretch of the imagination and I can get my panniers into the sleeping bit of my Argos Tiger Paws tent with few problems and it's not a big tent.

 

[aqaleigh]

i am carrying a tarp on my trip but was only going to use it if wild camping and chucking it down with rain, i'm doing france and spain in july and august so rain unlikely - do you think its better to just forget about the tarp altogether? its only small when folded and weighs 90g

 

[foggy]

put your panniers in your tent you can get a small padlock to fit the
zippers i have fitted a bike alarm to my trike under the seat and it
is a motion alarm sounds like a car alarm going off

 

[vernon]

i am carrying a tarp on my trip but was only going to use it if wild camping and chucking it down with rain, i'm doing france and spain in july and august so rain unlikely - do you think its better to just forget about the tarp altogether? its only small when folded and weighs 90g

The only overnight weather protection that my bike receives is a carrier bag over the Brooks leather seat. Isn't it a pointless exercise to have the bike under a tarp after being in the rain all day or removing from under a tarp to ride it in the rain all day?

 

[aqaleigh]

yeah good point vernon - as a mainly fair weather rider i'm being a bit naive - the only other thing was i thought it could double as a ground sheet for damp / condensation etc. - again due to lack of experience this may be a crap idea - what do you think

 

[samid]

A shower cap is perfect as rain protection for a Brooks saddle.