laurence
Veteran
- Location
- in the aeroplane over the sea
lol
What I learn't from my 'shakedown' last night!
- Thread starter Bigtallfatbloke
- Start date
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Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
...it was certainly a new experience...Canvey Man 'on tour'
Yorkshireman thanks for that link...looks like I can learn a bit by lurking there a while.
Giant man...yep we can be proud of our county...North Essex imho is pretty chav free and a wonderful place to ride....Sowf Essex is...well it's a problem lets admit it
...as a result of my adventure last night I have just invested in one of these:
http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16260&category_id=253
which is proof that i should have bloody listened to Broc in the first place
... I should add actually in defence of the site at kelvedon Hatch that the actual site is excellent, nice staff, small shop, fresh eggs, bacon etc...the toilets were very clean but there was only one shower...but then again the chavervanners only need it once a week!
oh yes...another bit of learning....
...I locked my bike up to the old worn wooden slatted fence around the water taps....great idea I thought, secure, safe and visable. I used two locks front and rear, through frame, wheels and saddle (covered in a poly bag as it's a new brooks) & retired for the evening.
Next morning th ewooden panels had expanded in the rain and I had real trouble getting one lock back through the gap between the slats!! Took a hefty kick and tug....which i thought might have triggered Mr Chavervanner to yell..." Oh stop nicking that fckin' bike...or even...oh leave the frig'n fence alone pal!"....but no...not a single hungover eyelid was raised...later I figured out it was nothing to do with the hangovers....Vandalism and bike theft are accepted behaviours in their natural habitat.
Yorkshireman thanks for that link...looks like I can learn a bit by lurking there a while.
Giant man...yep we can be proud of our county...North Essex imho is pretty chav free and a wonderful place to ride....Sowf Essex is...well it's a problem lets admit it
...as a result of my adventure last night I have just invested in one of these:
http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16260&category_id=253
which is proof that i should have bloody listened to Broc in the first place
... I should add actually in defence of the site at kelvedon Hatch that the actual site is excellent, nice staff, small shop, fresh eggs, bacon etc...the toilets were very clean but there was only one shower...but then again the chavervanners only need it once a week!
oh yes...another bit of learning....
...I locked my bike up to the old worn wooden slatted fence around the water taps....great idea I thought, secure, safe and visable. I used two locks front and rear, through frame, wheels and saddle (covered in a poly bag as it's a new brooks) & retired for the evening.
Next morning th ewooden panels had expanded in the rain and I had real trouble getting one lock back through the gap between the slats!! Took a hefty kick and tug....which i thought might have triggered Mr Chavervanner to yell..." Oh stop nicking that fckin' bike...or even...oh leave the frig'n fence alone pal!"....but no...not a single hungover eyelid was raised...later I figured out it was nothing to do with the hangovers....Vandalism and bike theft are accepted behaviours in their natural habitat.
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
That was some shakedown you had!
Essex does seem to be a county of two halves - I lived in the NE bit for a few years before crossing the Stour. Very pleasant then, hope it hasn't changed too much over the years.
WRT to stuck tent pegs, you can use another peg as a kind of hook to give a little more purchase. Round here it's more of a problem to get them even half-way in rather than out.
Essex does seem to be a county of two halves - I lived in the NE bit for a few years before crossing the Stour. Very pleasant then, hope it hasn't changed too much over the years.
WRT to stuck tent pegs, you can use another peg as a kind of hook to give a little more purchase. Round here it's more of a problem to get them even half-way in rather than out.
lifeson
New Member
- Location
- Here or There but mainly Here
Bigtallfatbloke said:
Oi
I am a caravanner, but I know what you mean, we only stay on small certified sites that only allow upto 5 vans or tents usually with no facilities other than water and a drain. Some of the sites we have seens look like pure hell (Brean sands hosts a number of fine examples of caravan hell)
Yep, first stage is to put the hook of the second peg through the hook of the first and use it as a tool to pull the first peg out. Second stage is to use the second peg as a lever, but be careful, as this is a great way to bend expensive lightweight pegs. It can be useful to have one heavier, tougher steel peg for this purpose!asterix said:
When I'm camping out of the back of a car, I have a rubber mallet for dealing with hard ground, but otherwise it's a case of hunting around for a suitable rock.
I noticed that the Alpkit site has 13g titanium tent pegs at £16 for 10. That doesn't seem that light, but they are angle pegs, rather than traditional pointy ones, so possible a bit tougher in some situations.
The titanium and rosewood, foldaway chopsticks made me chuckle tho!
That’s some learning curve, thankfully I’ve never stayed anywhere like that, even in Essex. I have a preference for small sites and am not too bothered with facilities. I’ve only stayed at one campsite with a shop and that was the worst so far.
That sounds like a feast you cooked up, my meals are better described as heated up rather than cooked. What would you do if it’s raining? When I make tea in the tent it causes condensation, so I wouldn’t want to cook a full meal inside.
I experienced the groundsheet puddle. I’ve now cut the under groundsheet 2” smaller than the tent groundsheet which cured it.
You won’t regret the mattress, that’s longer and thicker than mine, it’ll be luxury. Tip I picked up recently for rolling them; Open the valve/s roll it roughly to get most of the air out, close the valves, unroll it, roll it again, only open the valves when you’re near the end. I find I can get it much smaller this way. Don’t store it rolled up, a friend ruined his Alpkit mat that way, mine lives behind the wardrobe.
I like short camping trips, I probably get more pleasure from them than tours. Cycle somewhere, camp, cycle back. Or get the train on Friday afternoon and spend the weekend riding home.
Here’s some inspiration
www.rivbike.com/bike_camping/bike_camping
That sounds like a feast you cooked up, my meals are better described as heated up rather than cooked. What would you do if it’s raining? When I make tea in the tent it causes condensation, so I wouldn’t want to cook a full meal inside.
I experienced the groundsheet puddle. I’ve now cut the under groundsheet 2” smaller than the tent groundsheet which cured it.
You won’t regret the mattress, that’s longer and thicker than mine, it’ll be luxury. Tip I picked up recently for rolling them; Open the valve/s roll it roughly to get most of the air out, close the valves, unroll it, roll it again, only open the valves when you’re near the end. I find I can get it much smaller this way. Don’t store it rolled up, a friend ruined his Alpkit mat that way, mine lives behind the wardrobe.
I like short camping trips, I probably get more pleasure from them than tours. Cycle somewhere, camp, cycle back. Or get the train on Friday afternoon and spend the weekend riding home.
Here’s some inspiration
www.rivbike.com/bike_camping/bike_camping
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Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
..well I was lucky in that it started to rain after dinner...if I ever have to cook under cover I see my options as:
1) find a pub
2) Cook under a half opened fly sheet...I would never cook inside the actual tent...it's not big enough and it's way to dangerous for me.
3) find a chinese take away
..interesting thought though about the condensation...I wonder if a simple heath robinson upturned funnel with a length of hosepipe might be able to direct the steam out of the pot outside the tent?....
....erm...my mind is racing now....why not use a similar arrangement to avoid having to leave the tent in a storm to answer the smaller calls of nature?.....would need to avoid just taking one funnel and pipe though
Dayvo
just passin' through
- Location
- 59° 50′ 5.55″ N, 10° 47′ 41.89″ E
Bigtallfatbloke;29287... I should add actually in defence of the site at kelvedon Hatch that the actual site is excellent said:Being a Brentwood lad I know Kelvedon Hatch very well. I seem to remember two good pubs there, opposite each other near the village pond (probably near the village idiot!
Don't know where the camp site is, though! And seeing it was full of chavs, are you sure you didn't camp down on a gypsy site!
Bigtallfatbloke said:
There is a school of thought that says if you cook in the door of your tent, or in the fly, you should keep a sharp knife handy. Should the tent start to go up, you can exit at speed out the back using the knife. Better a hole in your tent than bits of burning material stuck all over you.
Some tent material used to burn very well, but it's possible that product liability legislation has made tents less flamable these days, it still seems like a good idea though.
just jim
Guest
It's the snoring which is the worst though eh? That well earned hot shower and meal comes at a price. Fat Snoring People. I swear I'll wild camp next time. All that beer, all those fat guts; unfortunate combination. the funny thing is, it seems as though it's coming from UNDER THE GROUND! Anyway, it's got to beat the sound of rain any day.
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Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
...it's at a place called Frog lane...appropriate given the weather i thought.
Edit:
Ok th enew Alpkit mat just arrived. Pretty impressive after a ten minute test 'sleep' I can say it is more comfy than my blacks mat, warmer from underneath and weighs about the same (judged by feel not scales)...I got the red and black one because I'm a red and black type of chap.
It came with a black stuff sack and I have no probs getting it all in again. I did spray the stuff sack with Fabsil because this will need to go on my rack rather than in a pannier....although I reckon it would fit in a pannier if folded instead of rolled.
It did self inflate to about 50% then I had to perform oral sex on it to get it fully up.
The cover note from Alpkit also had a handwritten thankyou note from Jim thanking me for th eorder which I thought was a nice touch.
